- Backup running backs dominate the passing game: Two of the Buffalo Bills‘ top three players in receiving yards were running backs Ty Johnson and Ray Davis, while Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum more than tripled his previous single-game career high in receiving yards.
- An unfair fight between wide receiver groups: Puka Nacua and Davante Adams combined for three touchdowns, while Buffalo were without DJ Moore and Josh Palmer and had to adjust.
- Colby Parkinson returns for the Rams: With three healthy veteran tight ends, Los Angeles returned to using 13 personnel as its base offensive formation.
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Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Rams
The Bills adjust down two of their top four receivers: DJ Moore (shoulder) and Josh Palmer (shoulder) were both inactive for Buffalo.
Buffalo started the season with Moore at one outside receiver spot, Keon Coleman and Palmer rotating at the other, and Khalil Shakir playing in the slot in 11 personnel. Shakir has also rotated into 12 personnel, playing roughly one-third of those snaps. All four receivers have played in 13 personnel, and Buffalo's frequent use of that grouping means no receiver typically plays more than 70% of the offensive snaps. Moore has missed significant time in two of the first four games, with Coleman and Palmer simply taking on larger roles in those contests.
The only other receiver to play an offensive snap this season has been returner Greg Dortch, who has logged 11 snaps. Fourth-round rookie Skyler Bell was a healthy inactive for each of the first four weeks. With Moore and Palmer sidelined, Bell was active for the first time, while Trent Sherfield was elevated from the practice squad.
Shakir's role remained completely unchanged in this game. He played every snap in 11 personnel but only a fraction of the snaps in other personnel groupings. Coleman took over Moore's role, lining up at X more frequently than usual and rarely leaving the field in 11 or 12 personnel. Bell led a rotation with Sherfield at the other outside receiver spot. Despite the injuries at wide receiver, Buffalo didn't increase its use of multiple-tight end sets compared to previous weeks, even with all four tight ends healthy.
Buffalo lost the time-of-possession battle and spent much of the game running the ball. When the Bills did pass, dump-offs to third-down running back Ty Johnson proved effective. Coleman scored a touchdown late in the third quarter, and Shakir had a 57-yard reception in overtime, but the receivers combined for just two other catches. This was a tough matchup for Buffalo's receivers, and the remaining schedule offers little relief. Moore remains the only Bills wide receiver worth considering.
The Rams keep changing their WR3: Tutu Atwell was the latest Rams receiver to join Puka Nacua and Davante Adams in 11 personnel.
Los Angeles entered the season with the same group of wide receivers as last year, with Nacua and Adams firmly established as the top two options. They were followed by Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith and Atwell, with all four backups running between 150 and 250 routes on the season.
Whittington opened the season as the third receiver in Week 1, but he and Nacua subsequently missed time due to injury. Mumpfield moved into a starting role, while Smith took over as the third receiver in Weeks 2 and 3. Whittington returned to that role in Week 4, while Smith was released. Through four weeks, Mumpfield had played 145 snaps, compared to 88 for Whittington and 30 for Atwell.
This week, Atwell got the start and played more than half of the snaps in 11 personnel. It's highly unlikely that any of these receivers will offer much value in redraft leagues, but whoever holds the third receiver spot should make some big plays this season, making that player a potential DFS option.
Colby Parkinson returns to the Rams: One of Los Angeles' top tight ends returned after missing last week's game with knee and shoulder injuries.
The Rams opened the season with Parkinson as their early-down tight end in 11 personnel and Terrance Ferguson as their third-down tight end. Both played 100% of the snaps in 12 personnel in Week 1, while Davis Allen joined them in 13 personnel. Tyler Higbee was a clear fourth on the depth chart.
Since then, Ferguson has landed on injured reserve, and Parkinson missed last week's game. That prompted Los Angeles to abandon 13 personnel. Higbee and Allen split the early-down snaps in 11 personnel, while Higbee handled third-down duties.
This week, Higbee led a two-man rotation with Parkinson in 11 personnel on both early and late downs. In 12 personnel, Los Angeles paired Parkinson with Allen nearly every time. The Rams also brought back 13 personnel, with all three tight ends on the field together.
Higbee had a solid game, catching five passes for 83 yards. Typically, a tight end who doesn't play in 12 personnel is difficult to trust in fantasy, but the Rams' frequent use of 13 personnel makes Higbee safer than most rotational tight ends. Los Angeles faces the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders over the next two weeks, and both rank among the six most favorable matchups for opposing fantasy tight ends this season. Higbee's fantasy value will likely disappear once Ferguson returns, but until then, he is a solid waiver wire target.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Rams rookies Ty Simpson, CJ Daniels and Max Klare were healthy inactives, as they have been for most of the season.
- Los Angeles maintained its usual running back rotation, starting Kyren Williams, rotating Blake Corum in by drive and using Williams during two-minute drills. Corum scored his first rushing touchdown of the season and enjoyed by far the best receiving game of his NFL career, catching three passes for 53 yards. Once the Rams' schedule eases, Corum could also become a viable fantasy option.
- Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid saw slightly less playing time than usual, largely because Buffalo frequently ran out of 12 personnel with Dawson Knox and Jackson Hawes serving as blockers. His route participation was higher than in most weeks, but his targets per route run have continued to decline.
Table Notes
- Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, such as offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats exclude these plays.
- Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
- Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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