Bills most to blame for Week 14 loss to Rams

The Buffalo Bills lost to the Los Angeles Rams 44-42 in Week 14. It is just the third loss of the season for Buffalo but it greatly impacts their ability to clinch the one seed in the AFC. There were certainly bright spots, including a historic performance from Josh Allen, but there were negatives too. James Cook, Sam Martin, and the Bills' defensive line were the reasons for the loss.

This game featured 86 points, 902 total yards, 53 first downs, and no turnovers. The Bills were down 38-21 with 18 seconds to go in the third quarter. While their offense had been solid, the game seemed to be slipping away. Then, they scored in five plays, forced their first three-and-out of the game, and scored again to cut the lead to 38-35. Puka Nacua scored a touchdown to make it a nine-point game. Even another Josh Allen rushing touchdown couldn't secure the win for the Bills. LA ran out the time and won by two.

The crazy game had a few great performances but the Bills needed greatness from these players to secure the victory.

The Bills need a running game from James Cook

The Bills ran for 103 yards and three touchdowns in this game, which on the surface is pretty solid. But 82 of those yards and all three scores came from Josh Allen. James Cook took the ball six times and only managed 20 yards. He added two catches for nine yards through the air. Before Cook arrived, the Bills struggled late in the season because Allen took on too much of the load. They cannot meet the same feat this year.

Cook is in his third season in the NFL and has completely changed the Bills offense. The 2021 Bills were the last team without Cook and they did not have a 1000-yard rusher. While he did not reach that in his rookie year, he clipped 1000 last year and is on pace to do so this year. With cold weather rolling into Orchard Park, Cook will be key down the stretch.

The offense was more than great without much of an impact from James Cook. The Bills still managed to score 42 points but will need their running back to make a deep playoff run.

Sam Martin an unlikely scapegoat

It is easy for a Bills fan to look back on this game and think that if Sam Martin got every punt off, they would have won. Buffalo was set to punt for the first time in the game early in the second quarter. With the Rams already winning 10-7, the defense had an important possession coming up. But Jacob Hummel came flying through the line and changed the game.

Hummel blocked the kick and Hunter Long picked it up and scampered into the end zone. While the Bills' defense was not great and could have let up a touchdown anyway, special teams scores often win crazy games like this. Martin was not able to get this punt off and it lost them the game. Had he gotten the punt off, the Bills may have walked away with a victory.

The defensive line struggled in all facets

The Bills run through their quarterback, who dominated this game and played more than well enough to win. But every contender needs a solid defense and Buffalo did not have that on Sunday. It starts with the defensive line, who did not get a single sack on Matthew Stafford and were gashed by Kyren Williams. There are better offensive lines than the Rams' in the AFC so this is a problem that needs to be fixed.

Greg Rousseau dominated the game against the 49ers just last week but only had one tackle in this game. Von Miller, DaQuan Jones, and AJ Epenesa each had one tackle for loss but nothing beyond that. Quentin Jefferson and Ed Oliver were the only Bills to hit Stafford in the entire game. Each of those players needs to improve by next week's game against the Lions.