(Cutline: Rams coach Sean McVay says, “Josh Allen is a great competitor. He’s got an incredible ability to extend plays. He’s got a bunch of physical tools. He’s a really mentally tough competitor. He’s smart, he’s seeing the field really well.” Ben Green/Buffalo Bills)
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Senior Sports Columnist
How much does motivation mean in pro football?
We’re about to find out on Sunday afternoon at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium when the Rams (6-6) host the Bills (10-2), winners of seven straight, (4:25, Fox-TV, Bills Radio Network).
When Buffalo dismembered the 49ers, 35-10, a week ago in the snow at Highmark Stadium, quarterback Josh Allen, who accounted for three touchdowns, offered an interesting observation after his team clinched its fifth straight AFC East title at the earliest date in 15 years.
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“This one feels a bit different because it’s still early in the season … we’ve still got five games left.” he pointed out. “The cool thing about it is we can just go out there and play pretty … there are no repercussions for what we’re doing but we’re still chasing the (No.) 1 seed (currently held by Kansas City, 11-1) and we’ve got to keep getting better every week.
“ It’s going to be fun to go out there and play free and play relaxed … that (combination) can be a dangerous team.”
IT’S AN interesting assessment that can be taken two ways.
Surely, teams playing fast and loose have been known to perform at an impressively high level. But teams that have clinched a playoff spot have also fallen victim to complacency especially because they’re on a winning streak.
Yeah, Buffalo is playing for the AFC’s top seed, but the Chiefs have to lose a game so that the Bills can tie them in the standings and take the No. 1 spot in the conference, thanks to a head-to-head win, and earn the playoff bye that goes with it.
That said, Kansas City keeps winning one-score game after one-score game and there are those who feel the Chiefs are set to explode into the offensive team most observers expect it to be.
There’s one other thing.
KC had beaten Buffalo twice in the playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium during coach Sean McDermott’s tenure. The mantra became “Wait until we get them at Orchard Park?”
Well, the Chiefs went there last season and, in a divisional-round postseason game with a 14-degree windchill, prevailed 27-24 as Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass missed the potential game-tying 44-yard field goal with 1:44 to play.
The point is, the Bills are 5-1 against KC in the regular season under McDermott but 0-3 in the postseason against his mentor, Andy Reid.
Is that knowledge enough to temper Buffalo’s inspiration in bidding for the top seed or is it even more motivation?
THEN THERE’S the Rams desperately trying to earn a playoff berth in the decidedly-average NFC West. Seattle leads at 7-5, the Cardinals and Rams are tied at 6-6, and San Francisco sits at 5-7 with five games to play.
Los Angeles, after a dismal 1-4 start, has gone 5-2, mostly because quarterback Matthew Stafford has gotten his two elite receivers — Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp — back from injury joining veteran Demarcus Robinson. In addition, the Rams have two high-quality running backs in Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, the rookie from Michigan.
In the 15 games Nacua and Kupp have played this year, they’ve combined to catch 100 balls for seven touchdowns and totally infused the offense.
“Josh Allen is a great competitor,” said Rams coach Sean McVay, who touts the Bills’ seventh-year quarterback for MVP honors. “He’s got an incredible ability to extend plays. He’s got a bunch of physical tools. He’s a really mentally tough competitor. He’s smart, he’s seeing the field really well. They’re doing a great job of allowing him to play quarterback, and settle in for a handful of concepts. There’s a rapport and comfort with the skill players around him.”
He added, “Aaron Kromer (Buffalo’s offensive line coach) and their staff have done a great job of establishing a legitimate run game. (Allen) can beat you with his arm, his legs, and his brain. He’s playing at a really high clip and I think he’s only gotten better since we saw him in the opening game in 2022 (Buffalo beat the defending Super Bowl champs 31-10 in LA). That’s why we know it’s going to be a damn good challenge for us and we better be ready to be at our best if we want to have a chance to compete.”
THE BILLS injury report is pretty much unchanged although nobody is listed as out. Tight end Dalton Kincaid, out for two games — Chiefs and 49ers — since injuring a knee against Indianapolis, is listed as questionable. Also with that designation are tight end Quintin Morris (shoulder) and safety Taylor Rapp (shoulder) while wide receivers Keon Coleman (wrist) and Curtis Samuel (foot) will both play. Two other players in the open window for injured reserve — defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (wrist) and offensive lineman Tylan Grable (groin) — are both questionable.
Los Angeles’ injury report is similarly benign. Two players, offensive lineman Alaric Jackson (foot) and outside linebacker Jared Verse (ankle) are listed as questionable, but both will play. However, tight end Tyler Higbee (knee)and cornerback Emmanual Forbes Jr. will not play.
Oddsmakers have Buffalo listed as a 3½ -point favorite.
POLLOCK’S PICK: Bills 27, Rams 20
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
