The 2022 season opener didn’t quite go as expected, with the reigning Super Bowl champions crashing back down to earth with a poor performance against the Bills. There were a number of issues at play. Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions, whilst their usually reliable running game never materialised. There was however, one problem that was bigger and more extensive than the others – pass protection.
The Bills’ defensive front caused havoc for Matthew Stafford, pressuring him on 38% of his dropbacks. A staggering 36.8% of those pressures turned into sacks, with Stafford being brought down seven times. This would have been the highest rate in the NFL last season.
So, what went wrong? And how did a Rams offensive line that were excellent in pass protection last season get things so wrong in the opener? Let’s dig into the film to get some answers. I’m going to cover all seven of the Bills’ sacks, what they did well and what the Rams did wrong.
1st quarter (6:21) – 2nd and 6
The game’s first sack came midway through the first quarter courtesy of Von Miller (#40). It was clear throughout the game that Miller was the jewel in the crown of this defensive front, and he shows as much here. On this play the Rams have called a slide protection, meaning that part of the offensive line will slide to one side. In this case it is a “slide right” call. The number of players making the slide is generally determined by whether the center is covered (has an opponent across from him).
If the center is uncovered, the slide starts with them. This makes it a three-man slide. If they are covered, the next lineman along (in this case the left guard), will start the slide. This makes it a four-man slide. That leaves the left tackle on an island to hold off the edge rusher. That is easier said than done when the edge rusher in question is Von Miller. On this play, Miller overwhelms Joseph Noteboom (#70) with his power and gets the sack Stafford.
2nd quarter (6:12) – 2nd and 4
With the arrival of Matthew Stafford last season, the Rams pivoted their offense. One of the biggest changes was the incorporation of empty formations. They led the NFL in 2021 with 17% of their plays out of empty sets. The league average was way down at 9%. The reason most teams avoid empty formations is because you need a very good offensive line to hold up. You also need a cerebral quarterback who can quickly diagnose blitzes and get the ball out.
With the departure of Andrew Whitworth and Austin Corbett, the Rams might not have the former anymore. On this play the Rams are using a half line slide to the right. This will help them to pick up linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (#49) in the event he blitzes. Once again, this slide to the right allows Buffalo to exploit the weakness on the left side of the line. With left guard David Edwards having to get out of his stance and block a 5-tech, he ends up oversetting, allowing an inside counter and a free path to the quarterback.
2nd quarter (0:34) – 1st and 10
Perhaps the biggest worry for the Rams is that at times it didn’t just look like there were a few weak points on their offensive line. On plays like this, the entire line looked to be a problem. The left side is swiftly demolished once again, this time by a stunt. AJ Epenesa (#57) attacks the inside shoulder of the left tackle, which also occupies the left guard. That leaves defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (#97) free to loop around with a free path to the quarterback.
The right side didn’t fare much better. Von Miller beats the right tackle with a speed to power move, forcing the right guard to help in the form of a double team. This leaves the center one-on-one. He also fails to handle the bull rush and cedes ground to the defensive tackle. The Bills defenders end up meeting at the quarterback and get the sack.
3rd quarter (13:46) – 3rd and 4
One thing you can expect to hear an awful lot about in 2022 is simulated pressures. There’s a lot to explain, but in the simplest terms it involves the defense showing a blitz, before bringing a non-traditional pass rusher and dropping a traditional pass rusher into coverage. There are a tonne of benefits to simulated pressures, but the main one is that is causes problems for pass protection. This play here is the perfect example of that.
With the two linebackers “mugged up” at the line of scrimmage, Stafford accounts for this by moving the running back up behind the offensive line. That will theoretically allow the Rams to block all six potential rushers. In fact, the Bills are only rushing three, with Tremaine Edmunds, Von Miller, and Jordan Phillips dropping into coverage. The chaos of the situation leads to an errant snap and a fumble, allowing Gregory Rousseau (#50) to beat his man and get the sack.
3rd quarter (7:59) – 1st and 10
I’ve included this sack for the sake of completeness, though it isn’t really a proper sack. The Rams have called “Sail”, which is a three-man route concept, consisting of a go route with two crossing routes underneath. The Bills play it perfectly, forcing Stafford to tuck and run. Second-year edge Carlos Basham makes the play this time, pushing Stafford out of bounds for a sack.
3rd quarter (5:52) – 3rd and 18
Some plays are the result of outstanding scheme and play design. Others you can chalk up to the sheer brilliance of the players involved. For this sack, it was the latter and the player in question was Von Miller. At this point in the game, the Rams had recognised their issues with empty formations. As a result, they had started to use backs and tight ends to ‘chip’ opponents before getting out into their routes. You can see that here with both Darrell Henderson (#27) and Tyler Higbee (#89).
That might have been a smart decision, but it wasn’t enough to stop Miller. After using a ghost move to duck under the tight end and neutralise the chip block, Miller is left one-on-one with left tackle Joseph Noteboom. He proceeds to employ a quick stutter step to keep Noteboom guessing, before another ghost move to win around the edge and get to Stafford.
4th quarter (2:00) – 1st and 20
The seventh and final sack pretty much summed up the Rams’ night. Once again they are in an empty formation. Once again the Bills generate pressure when only rushing four. Left guard David Andrews is the weak link, immediately losing his battle with Jordan Phillips. On the other side of the offensive line, right tackle Rob Havenstein is bull rushed back into his quarterback by Carlos Basham.
This presents Stafford with a murky pocket. He also has nowhere to go and lacks the time necessary to get through his progressions. You can see he almost pulls the trigger on his third read to Ben Skworonek over the middle, but with the pocket collapsing he doesn’t have time to make the play.
So what does this all mean for the Rams?
It is always difficult to take too much away from the opening game of the season. Lest we forget that the Steelers made light work of the Bills in last season’s opener. The Seahawks also demolished the Colts. Nevertheless, it is difficult to watch this game and not get the sense that things feel different with the Rams. Their usually reliable running game was absent. Their ability to carve up defenses out of empty formations was also missing.
This might just be a quirk of playing against a talented Buffalo defense. Don’t forget that the Bills led the NFL in defensive DVOA last season. Since then, they have added Von Miller and spent a first-round pick on a rookie cornerback. Only time will tell if this weekend’s performance was a sign of things to come, but the alarm bells have certainly started ringing.
