Week 14 Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams

The Bills are riding a seven-game winning streak across the country, looking to push the Rams back below .500. If Buffalo wants to keep pace with the Chiefs for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, they’ll need a win this week. I think they’re primed to get it, and probably cover too.

As one of the sharpest minds in football, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay knows a lot.

As for how to stop Josh Allen? To be fair, nobody really knows how to do that.

“If I had the answer, it would be a lot easier,” McVay said. “Everybody tries to figure that out week-in and week-out.”

Allen will try to maintain his dominance when the Buffalo Bills (10-2) visit the Rams (6-6) on Sunday afternoon.

The Bills have won seven games in a row, including 35-10 at home against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend. Buffalo already has clinched the AFC East title and is one game behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the No. 1 seed in the conference.

Meanwhile, the Rams have alternated wins and losses in the past five weeks. They are coming off a 21-14 road win against the New Orleans Saints.

McVay and the rest of the Rams’ coaching staff will have their hands full as they look to slow Allen, who is making a case for his first NFL Most Valuable Player award.

Allen has passed for 20 touchdowns with only five interceptions this season while posting a 100.3 passer rating. He also has rushed for 334 yards and six scores.

Last week against the 49ers, Allen got credit for two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. He threw only four incomplete passes.

“We’re having fun doing what we do,” Allen said. “At the same time, we’re very intentional about what we’re doing. …

“We understand we’re going all the way across the country to a team that’s very hungry. They’ve been playing really good football as of late. Their defensive line is one of the better units you’ll see. They’ve got a lot of dogs up front. I know they’re young up there, but (they have) some really, really good players, some studs over there on the defensive side of the ball.

“And then you’ve got one of the best quarterbacks, in my opinion, to play the game of football in Matt (Stafford). So we’ve got to be ready to go and ready for whatever they can throw at us.”

Stafford has passed for 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season for the Rams. He has relied on teammates such as Kyren Williams, who has 926 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, and Cooper Kupp, who has 565 yards and five touchdowns through the air in eight games.

For the Bills, James Cook leads the way with 703 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Allen’s top target in the passing game is Khalil Shakir, who has 60 catches for 629 yards and two touchdowns.

The Rams added to their defense this week when they claimed defensive back Emmanuel Forbes Jr. off waivers from the Washington Commanders. Forbes was the No. 16 overall pick in 2023 by Washington and started seven games overall but has started only one in 2024.

Forbes said he was excited to join his new teammates in Los Angeles.

“Be yourself and play with confidence — that’s one thing they said,” Forbes said. “They saw I wasn’t playing with confidence, and that’s one thing I’m looking forward to, just going out and playing ball.”

Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (knee) and offensive lineman KT Leveston (ankle), both of whom are designated to return from injured reserve, will not be back in action this week. Los Angeles offensive tackle Alaric Jackson (foot) and linebacker Jared Verse (ankle) are questionable for Sunday.

The Bills listed five players as questionable on the Friday injury report: defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist), wide receiver Keon Coleman (wrist), tackle Tylan Grable (groin) and tight ends Dalton Kincaid (knee) and Quintin Morris (shoulder/groin).

The Bills and Rams last met on Sept. 8, 2022, when Buffalo cruised to a 31-10 win. Allen completed 26 of 31 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, and Stafford went 29-for-41 for 240 yards with one TD and three picks.

Buffalo @ Los Angeles Trends

The Buffalo Bills have hit the 2Q Game Total Over in 15 of their last 19 games (+11.60 Units / 52% ROI)

The Los Angeles Rams have covered the 1H Spread in 6 of their last 9 games at home (+2.55 Units / 25% ROI)

The Buffalo Bills have hit the Moneyline in 17 of their last 22 games (+11.55 Units / 20% ROI)

The Los Angeles Rams have hit the 3Q Game Total Over in 13 of their last 17 games (+8.40 Units / 40% ROI)

Buffalo Betting Info

• Buffalo has played 12 games, posting eight wins against the spread.
• The Bills are 4-2 ATS this season when playing as at least 4-point favorites.
• Buffalo has combined with its opponent to eclipse the over/under in 58.3% of its contests this year (seven times in 12 games with a set point total).
• The Bills have won each of the nine games they were the moneyline favorite this season.
• The implied probability for this matchup, considering the moneyline, gives the Bills a 64.9% chance to win

Los Angeles Betting Info

• Los Angeles is 5-7-0 against the spread this season.
• This season, the Rams have one against-the-spread win in two games as an underdog of 4 points or more.
• Games involving Los Angeles have hit the over on six occasions this season.
• This season, the Rams have won two out of the six games in which they’ve been the underdog.
• The moneyline for this contest implies a 39.4% chance of a victory for the Rams.

ATBForum Pick: Bufflao (-4.5)