The Rams will welcome arguably the hottest team in the NFL to SoFi Stadium in Week 14, hosting a Bills team riding a seven-game win streak. Kickoff on Sunday is scheduled for 1:25 p.m. pacific time on FOX.
In advance of the contest, here is your First Look at Rams-Bills, presented by Hyundai.
Notable Bills additions
- Acquired WR Amari Cooper in a trade with the Browns on Oct. 16: The veteran receiver still remains one of the league's elite route-runners. While he missed a pair of games due to injury (Weeks 9 and 10) and his numbers were slightly down over his last two games, his four receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown in his Bills debut in Week 8 showed the kind of impact he can still have at full strength.
- Selected Florida State WR Keon Coleman 33rd overall in the second round of this year's draft: Coleman made waves last fall with a viral one-handed catch against Syracuse, and had another highlight-reel grab in his Buffalo debut in Week 1. He has missed the Bills' last three games with a wrist injury, but when healthy, he's proven capable of connecting with quarterback Josh Allen for big pass plays.
Top performers in Week 13
Allen completed 13 of 17 pass attempts for 148 yards and 2 passing touchdowns – including one to himself off a lateral from Cooper – and also rushed 3 times for 18 yards and a touchdown in the Bills' 35-10 home win over the 49ers on Sunday Night Football.
RB James Cook led Buffalo's backfield with 14 carries for 107 yards and 1 touchdown.
TE Dawson Knox's 56 yards on 2 receptions led all Bills receivers.
DE Greg Rousseau led Buffalo's defense with 4 total tackles (1 for loss), 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery.
On special teams, K Tyler Bass missed his lone field goal attempt (55 yards) but made all 5 of his extra point attempts, while P Sam Martin averaged 46.7 yards per punt across 3 punts.
Early storylines to watch, and what they mean for the Rams
It was just two weeks ago the Rams found themselves hosting a streaking NFL team at home in a major broadcast window, with the chance to move to move to an above-.500 overall record on the season.
The ensuing loss to the Eagles taught them some painful lessons.
Enter Week 14, and Los Angeles welcomes Buffalo under similar circumstances. Like the Eagles, the Bills have shown opponents how small the margin for error is, regardless of how veteran or inexperienced the opposition's roster is (see Week 11 against Kansas City, or how things snowballed for San Francisco in Week 13).
Against these kinds of teams, there simply is no room for error – especially the kinds of self-inflicted mistakes that derailed promising early momentum against the Eagles.
Like Matthew Stafford, Allen has proven to be a quarterback who can elevate those around him. The gap integrity and rush lane mistakes that cost the Rams against the Eagles cannot be afforded against a Bills backfield featuring Allen and Cook.
The Rams showed last week against the Saints that they learned from those lessons. Can they show it again this Sunday?
