PlayAction column: Bills CBs prepare for tight formations from Rams' physical WRs
The Buffalo Bills face one of the better wide receiver duos in the NFL on Sunday when they try to contain Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Buffalo Bills face one of the better wide receiver duos in the NFL on Sunday when they try to contain Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bills’ defenders are preparing to see them deployed out of a lot of condensed formations. Lots of teams do it, including the Bills, but Rams coach Sean McVay has incorporated tight wide receiver splits into his offense as much or more than anybody over the past four or five seasons.
Taron Johnson, left, and Micah Hyde wrap up Rams receiver Cooper Kupp during a Bills win at Los Angeles in the 2022 season opener. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Condensed formations put the wideouts within 5 yards of the offensive tackles, often in bunch formations.
Both Kupp and Nacua are big receivers, and it allows them to take advantage of their size in blocking cornerbacks and safeties on the edges in the run game.
“They’re both good blockers,” Bills cornerback Taron Johnson said. “It depends on the team how much it’s used. A lot of people from the Kyle Shanahan system usually do the tight splits, and McVay worked for Shanahan. The 49ers did the same thing last week.”
Kupp is 6-foot-2, 208 pounds. Nacua is 6-2, 212.
The Rams like to stack their receivers in bunch formations to help them get free releases from the line of scrimmage, and it gives them more space to maneuver on out-breaking routes.
“It helps them at times because they’re trying to give us that same run look, and they can pass out of it, that makes it a little more challenging,” Johnson said.
The Bills’ cornerbacks know they’re in for a physical game against the run.
“That’s one of their things: Every receiver blocks for them,” Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “It ain’t just one guy. ... All of them block, and they do a good job at it.”
Douglas, Johnson and Chrisitan Benford have had a good season tackling on the perimeter.
“We’re always in the run fit; we’re always getting tackles,” Douglas said. “It seems like that’s just the new era of football. ... That’s the thing here: You can’t play here if you can’t tackle. That’s what the coach says when you first walk in: ‘Corners, you can’t tackle, you can’t play.’ ”
Kupp is averaging 10 targets per game, third-most in the NFL. He has 35 catches for 367 yards the last five games. Nacua – who set NFL rookie records last season with 105 catches and 1,486 yards – has 30 catches for 394 yards the past four games.
“They’re going to feed them the ball,” Johnson said.
One scramble
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford always has been a pure pocket passer. But at age 36 he’s locked in the pocket more than ever. He has just one scramble all season – two weeks ago against the Eagles.“I mean, he’s never been a scrambler, but he’s made up for it in between his ears,” said Von Miller, who helped Stafford and the Rams win the Super Bowl in the 2021 season. “He’s a super-smart quarterback, and he can’t run a 4.3, but he can throw a no-look pass 50 yards and look off the safety. So for the speed or scrambling ability, he makes up for it with his arm talent and his intelligence. He’s got two good receivers over there, great running backs, offensive line is solid. Coach McVay dials up one of the best offensive schemes in the National Football League. So it’ll be a challenge for us.”
The Rams rank 27th in sack percentage allowed. Stafford ranks sixth in the NFL in advanced metrics when he has no pressure. But he’s 33rd when he faces pressure.
Stafford does not like to get hit at this point in his career, and he will unload the ball quickly. The Bills need to force him into a lot of checkdowns.
Unfamiliar foe
The Bills have not played the Rams since the 2022 season opener, and the Rams’ starting defensive line is all new since then. Do Bills’ offensive linemen have to spend more time studying film this week than for a game against an AFC East foe? Maybe a little, but digital technology allows players to break down and study video clips of the opposition more efficiently than ever.Spencer Brown was asked about studying for Rams rookie first-round draft pick Jared Verse.
“It’s definitely different being late in the season,” Brown said. “If it was the first game of the year, you don’t know much. Obviously, for those rookies it’s their first game, and there’s not a lot of tape out there. But now it’s Week 13, and they have good tape out there. You know what they like to do, their strengths and weaknesses, their rotations and stuff like that. The coaching staff does a good job. We’re not going to overhype it. We’ll come in, listen to what they have to say and play on Sunday.”
Asked about the breakdown of video clips on his tablet, Brown said. “In the O-line hot folder, there’s ‘Pass Rush’ and there’s ‘Pass Rush Pressures,’ which those turn into sacks. But you can look at whatever you want. I mainly just look at ‘Pass Rush,’ because I don’t want to sit there and watch tackles lose the whole time. I feel like that’s just bad juju. They break it down really well upstairs.”
Verse, the 19th overall pick from Florida State, is a 6-foot-4, 255-pounder who has 4½ sacks. He’s having a strong season, with 55 pressures, tied for third among NFL edge rushers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Verse started his career at SUNY Albany and is a workout warrior. He’s a power player. Strength is his game. He will run right through you. This season, he has played two-thirds of his snaps over left tackle and one-third over right tackle, which means Dion Dawkins probably will see more of him on Sunday.
But Byron Young is no picnic on the other side. He’s the only player to force at least five turnovers via pressure this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
The 30,000-foot view
The Rams mortgaged the future to win the Super Bowl in 2021. They went 5-12 in 2022 and 10-7 last season, losing in the wild-card round. They had no first-round draft picks from 2017-23. They had no second-rounders in 2018 and 2023. They did, however, stock up on picks the past two years, making 14 picks in 2023 and 10 in 2024.As a result, they opened the season with the second-youngest roster in the NFL, behind only Green Bay. They are in good salary cap shape and well set up for the future – aside from the fact their star quarterback will be 37 in February.
