The Los Angeles Rams host the Bills in Week 5 on Monday Night Football. A preview from TheRams.com, dated Oct. 10, lists kickoff at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, for 5:15 p.m. PT on ESPN and ABC. According to the team site, this is the Rams' fourth primetime game in five weeks.
The first priority in the TheRams.com preview is Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen and his knack for making plays after the original design breaks down. Allen can leave the pocket and either throw on the move or run for big chunks of yardage.
Outside linebacker Byron Young spoke about that threat on Monday, according to TheRams.com: "even if he just gets time to think about running, that's when you got problems." The preview argues that pressure combined with containment could take away a major part of the Bills' attack. Buffalo still has Allen's passing from the pocket and running back James Cook to account for.
The second focus is the critical downs. In the Rams' win over the Eagles, the defense held Philadelphia to 0-for-12 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth down. TheRams.com reports that defenders wanted to give quarterback Matthew Stafford as many chances as possible, and Stafford came through on the final two drives to close out the win.
Buffalo will be a tougher test on those downs. According to the preview, the Bills rank second in the NFL in third-down conversion percentage at 53.3% and are tied for third in yards per play at 6.5. TheRams.com notes that much of the Rams' success against Philadelphia came from keeping the Eagles behind the sticks on first and second down, and the defense will need that same early-down work against Buffalo.