Three Areas Bills Must Exploit vs. Rams on Monday Night Football

Despite still leading in the AFC East standings and holding a 3-1 record, the Buffalo Bills are at a bit of a crossroads of their 2026 season under first-year head coach Joe Brady.

After falling short to the previously floundering New England Patriots and quarterback Drake Maye last Sunday at home at Highmark Stadium, Brady and Co. find themselves at a fairly similar juncture as the Bills did just one season ago following a close 23-20 loss to the Patriots at the old stadium across Abbott Road in Orchard Park last October in Week 5.

Following that debacle under former head coach Sean McDermott, Buffalo went on to finish the remainder of the regular season with an 8-4 mark to finish the year second in the AFC East at 12-5, while New England surged forward by winning 11 out of its remaining 12 games to finish the year first in the division with a 14-3 record.

Although fans, players, and coaches didn’t know it at the time, the loss contributed to a seismic shift in the landscape of the division last fall and winter.

Bills looking to avoid major letdown in L.A. like last year

And, despite having a chance to rewrite history this season under Brady in their first matchup with the Patriots, the same “smoke detectors” that have been going off all preseason and in the month of September finally sounded the alarm in Western New York this past weekend.

Now, the Bills must quickly right the ship in order to avoid letting one defeat turn into back-to-back losses, which is exactly what happened last fall when Buffalo dropped another game to the Atlanta Falcons on the road immediately after the Patriots’ loss on October 5, 2025.

The game against the Falcons was on ESPN’s Monday Night Football . . . just like Buffalo’s upcoming Week 5 road matchup in Inglewood, California, against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Will the results be different this time around?

For Bills Mafia’s sake—hopefully—but it won’t be easy. There are, however, some chinks in the armor for head coach Sean McVay’s squad, which is led by 2025 MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford.

And, with that in mind, here are three areas that the Bills must exploit in order to be successful in coming away victorious against the Rams across the country on Monday evening.

1. Bills must let their bell-cow RB ‘Cook’

In spite of all of the early publicity for quarterback Josh Allen and his impressive statistical start to the 2026 season, Bills’ veteran running back James Cook III—last year’s NFL rushing champion—is once again quietly near the top of the leader board for total rushing yards so far this fall.

Trailing only Kansas City’s Kenneth Walker (87 carries/537 yards) and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson (85 carries/494) at this point of October, Cook (70 carries/421 yards) could easily be atop the list if he would just be given more opportunity.

Twice this season—last week versus New England and in Week 1 against Houston—Cook has failed to top more than 13 carries despite averaging an impressive clip of 6.0 yards per attempt thus far through four games.

Simply put, there’s more to be gleaned from the former Georgia Bulldog, and it’d be prudent for Brady and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. to get Cook even more involved in the gameplanning moving forward.

And, although the Los Angeles Rams’ defense is quite stout, they’re seemingly more susceptible in the running game than through the air as Los Angeles currently ranks second in the NFL against the pass (145.5 YPG), but just 11th against the run (102 YPG).

Needless to say, Buffalo would be smart to test the waters in the running game first before Allen and Co. start to try and pick apart the sticky secondary on Monday night.

2. Buffalo needs red zone offense to dominate

Overall, the Rams’ defense ranks favorably in almost every statistical category. However, one area where they have struggled more than most is in the red zone.

Currently ranked just 14th in the league in red-zone defense after allowing a touchdown rate of 58.3% through four weeks, Los Angeles hasn’t been as strong once opposing teams are able to get inside the 20-yard line.

Luckily for Buffalo, that is an area where the team’s offense has been fairly steady to start this fall, as the Bills currently rank ninth in the NFL with a red-zone touchdown rate of 68.75%.

And, although Allen and the offense were just 2-for-4 on Sunday in the red zone against New England in the loss at Highmark Stadium, it’s still a portion of the field that Buffalo usually succeeds at.

So, if the Bills are going to come away with a win on the West Coast on Monday, then red-zone scoring efficiency will likely play a huge factor in determining the outcome one way or another.

3. Pressure Rams’ QB Matt Stafford, capitalize on miscues

Yes, Los Angeles’ quarterback Matthew Stafford won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award last season, but that doesn’t mean the 38-year-old, 18-year veteran gunslinger isn’t without his faults.

Despite throwing for 1,189 passing yards and six touchdowns so far, Stafford is also second in the league in interceptions with six. And, he’s also been taken to the ground for six sacks, as well.

Keeping that in mind, it’ll be important for players like outside linebacker Gregory Rousseau and Deone Walker to continue dominating up front on Monday in an attempt to speed things up for Stafford in the passing game.

If they’re successful in getting him off his spot and getting him to throw a bit more erratically, then it’ll be up to players at the second and third levels of the defense to capitalize on any balls that might be left up for grabs in the secondary.

The turnover battle, which Buffalo is struggling mightily with right now, will be critical under the primetime lights at SoFi Stadium.

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