After any NFL loss, there is always plenty of blame to go around. After the defending Super Bowl champs give up 21 unanswered points in the second half to get blown out at home, there are even more fingers to point. That’s what happened Thursday night when the Buffalo Bills came into SoFi Stadium and bullied the Los Angeles Rams in a 31-10 Rams loss. While the failure was a team effort, there are three prominent players to single out for their performances. Here’s why cornerback Jalen Ramsey, quarterback Matthew Stafford, and left tackle Joe Noteboom are the three players most responsible for the Rams Week 1 loss to the Bills.

3. Jalen Ramsey

When a team’s No. 1 WR goes off in a game, you have to look at the losing team’s No. 1 CB. Stefon Diggs had eight catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in the Thursday night affair.

And while Jalen Ramsey wasn’t guarding Diggs 1-on-1 for every one of those catches, the corner was on him most of the time. This includes on the 53-yard touchdown pass where Diggs ran right past Ramsey to get wide open.

In addition to Diggs dominating Ramsey on the field, there is another reason you can point to as to why Jalen Ramsey is at fault for this loss.

Shortly after the Bills drafted Josh Allen in 2018, Ramsey gave an interview to GQ Magazine where he said about the QB, “I think [Josh] Allen is trash. I don’t care what nobody say. He’s trash. And it’s gonna show too. That’s a stupid draft pick to me.”

After Diggs’ burned Ramsey for that touchdown, the receiver turned and talked trash to the All-Pro cornerback. And it looked like Allen may have said something to Ramsey as well as he ran by.

You have to think Josh Allen and his teammates haven’t forgotten Jalen Ramsey’s old comments.

2. Matthew Stafford

In almost any NFL loss, the buck stops with the quarterback. In this case, it isn’t that hard to point the finger at Matthew Stafford for the Rams Week 1 loss to the Bills.

Stafford wasn’t great for most of the game, save for a 60-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. His final stat line was a pedestrian 29-of-41 for 240 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Related NewsArticle continues below
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay talks to quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at SoFi Stadium.
Los Angeles Rams 3 best trade targets to round out 2025 roster
Clayton Kershaw and Matthew Stafford with one of these pictures between them
Rams’ Matthew Stafford supports Clayton Kershaw in first Dodgers start of 2025
Brenda Song, who the Los Angeles Rams had host a 2025 schedule reveal video, with SoFi Stadium background.
Rams enlist Brenda Song for hilarious 2025 schedule reveal

One pick was on an incredible deflection by Bills defensive lineman Boogie Basham, but the other two were Stafford’s fault. The first was on a throw well behind Tyler Higbee and the second was on a tipped ball that was well over Cooper Kupp’s head.

It wasn’t a great performance by Matthew Stafford, but there is a reason that the QB played poorly, and that brings us to the player most responsible for the Rams Week 1 loss.

1. Joe Noteboom

To fully blame left tackle Joe Noteboom for the Rams Week 1 loss to the Bills is a bit unfair. The Bills front four completely dominated the Rams offensive line to the tune of seven sacks of Matthew Stafford (without running a single blitz). The entire unit should share the blame for the loss.

However, Joe Noteboom is the poster boy for this performance as his former teammate, Von Miller, twice made him look silly on his way to sacking Stafford.

In the first quarter, Miller beat Noteboom with a classic bull rush. In the third, the future Hall of Fame pass-rusher ran right around a chip and gave Noteboom a ghost move on his way to taking down the QB.

The left tackle was also blocking A.J. Epenesa when he got one of his 1.5 sacks.

It wasn’t just Jeff Noteboom who was a turnstile, though, on the Rams O-line. Gregory Rousseau and Boogie Basham both got sacks from the other side of the line, and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips ended up with 1.5 sacks up the middle.

All in all, it was a poor showing from Jeff Noteboom and the Rams offensive line, which is the biggest reason the Bills won the game.