Stu Jackson
Throughout the offseason, theRams.com will be looking ahead to select games and opponents on the team's 2026 schedule.
This year's series continues with an advanced look at the Buffalo Bills, who the Rams will host on Monday Night Football at SoFi Stadium in Week 5 (5:15 p.m. PT, ESPN).
The driving force behind this game will be the NFL's last two MVPs squaring off in the Rams' Matthew Stafford and the Bills' Josh Allen, but this will also be a big early-season test for Los Angeles' defense going against the league's leading rusher in 2025 in Buffalo running back James Cook.
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2025 recap
Most viewers who watched the Bills prior to the 2025 season were accustomed to Allen being the do-it-all engine for Buffalo's offense not surprising given that dual-threat skillset powered an MVP-winning 2024 season. Allen still logged close to his average in terms of rushing attempts (112; career is 116 per season), but Cook's league-high 1,621 rushing yards played also played a big role in the success of the Bills' offense last season, a unit that led the league in rushing yards per game (159.6) and finished second in yards per carry (5.6).
Buffalo was also aided by the NFL's No. 1 pass defense en route to finishing 12-5 and reaching the postseason for the eighth time in nine years under head coach Sean McDermott. However, its season ended with a 13-6 overtime loss to Denver in the divisional round.
Key changes
Joe Brady was promoted from within as McDermott's replacement, elevated from offensive coordinator. Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich departed to join the Packers' coaching staff and was replaced by Jim Leonhard, who had been working with the Broncos since 2024.
The Bills also acquired wide receiver DJ Moore in a trade with the Bears.
Head coach
Brady is entering his first season as the Bills' head coach, and as an NFL head coach overall. He had previously served as Buffalo's offensive coordinator since 2022.
What to watch for
New Bills defense led by Leonhard
The high-scoring history see the 2024 game with a combined 86 combined points and nearly 1,000 total yards of offense will make a big draw for this game. Just as intriguing as these two offenses led by their respective quarterbacks, though, is what the Bills' defense will look like under Leonhard.
Under McDermott, that unit was a 4-3 base defense four down linemen, three linebackers. Leonard has said his base defense will be a 3-4 alignment three down linemen, four linebackers (two inside linebackers and two outside linebackers). Having spent two years working under veteran defensive coordinator Vince Joseph in Denver, Leonhard also plans to bring that aggressive identity over. Since 2023, Joseph consistently sent five or more rushers at the quarterback the fourth-highest blitz rate in the NFL in that span. Meanwhile, Buffalo ranked 29th in that same span, so this will be a different Bills defense philosophically than the one the Rams saw back in 2024.
Stafford has excelled against the blitz, especially last season. it will make for an interesting chess match in Week 5 for him and the Rams' offense.
