Our offseason opponent breakdown series on theRams.com continues with us getting caught up on Los Angeles' Week 14 road opponent, the Buffalo Bills (Dec. 8, 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX).
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2023
A 3-1 start for Buffalo was quickly damped in Week 4 by the loss of star cornerback Tre'Davious White to a torn Achilles. On the other side of the ball, the Bills' offense seemed to be producing at an adequate level, but they elected to part ways with Ken Dorsey after a 24-22 home loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 10. Joe Brady was then elevated from quarterbacks coach to interim offensive coordinator as Dorsey's replacement.
Buffalo was 6-6 by its Week 13 bye and coming off a 37-34 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but whatever changes the Bills made during the break proved effective. They returned from the bye and won their final five regular season games to win their fourth-straight AFC East title and clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference.
In the playoffs, the Bills defeated the Steelers 31-17 in the wild card round before falling to the Chiefs 27-24 in the divisional round.
Key changes
Brady was promoted to full-time offensive coordinator in late January.
The Bills also moved on from multiple veterans, trading Stefon Diggs to the Texans and releasing White, outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, center Mitch Morse, safety Jordan Poyer and safety Micah Hyde.
Head coach
Sean McDermott enters his 8th season as head coach of the Bills, compiling a 73-41 record season record and 5-6 playoff record through his first seven years.
What to watch for
A somewhat new-look Bills team
For the Rams, the two biggest questions right now regarding the Bills are what will their offense look like by Week 14, and what will that unit look like with Brady overseeing it full-time?
Quarterback Josh Allen still leads Buffalo's offense, but that unit experienced a lot of turnover this offseason between the departure of Diggs and Morse and Gabriel Davis signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. Diggs and Davis were the Bills' leading and second-leading receivers, respectively, last season, vacating 44.2% of last season's targets.
As for the Rams' offense, they'll be preparing for a much younger secondary with Hyde, Poyer and White all gone, though 29-year-old Rasul Douglas is still in the fold.
