Bills Will Lose AFC East Lead with Loss to Rams on Monday

The Buffalo Bills' Monday night matchup with the Los Angeles Rams just became even more important.

The New England Patriots dominated the Las Vegas Raiders 45-17 on Sunday, improving to 3-2 and putting additional pressure on Buffalo ahead of its Week 5 game at SoFi Stadium. The Bills enter Monday at 3-1, but another loss would leave them tied with New England in the AFC East standings.

And the Patriots would have the advantage.

New England defeated Buffalo 29-26 last Sunday, handing the Bills their first loss of the season and securing the head-to-head tiebreaker for now. If Buffalo loses to Los Angeles, both teams would sit at 3-2, but the Patriots would move into first place in the division because of that win.

That's a significant change from where things stood just over a week ago.

The Bills opened the season with three consecutive victories, building a two-game lead over New England in the AFC East. But the Patriots' win in Buffalo changed the division picture, and Sunday's blowout victory over Las Vegas put them right back in the race.

Now, the Bills need to respond.

Monday’s game against the Rams was already a tough test for Buffalo. Los Angeles is a tough opponent on the road and the Bills will need to play a lot better after giving up 29 points in their loss to New England.

The stakes are higher ts have won again.

A victory would move Buffalo to 4-1, giving the Bills some breathing room in the division and preventing New England from catching them in the standings. A loss, however, would mean Buffalo finishes the week looking up at the Patriots for the first time this season.

The Bills would still have plenty of time to reclaim the division lead, with another meeting against New England coming in Week 13. But dropping consecutive games after opening 3-0 would be a disappointing turn for a team with aspirations of being the AFC's top seed for the first time with Josh Allen as quarterback. 

Buffalo also faces some injury concerns heading into Monday night. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver and wide receiver Joshua Palmer have been ruled out, while wide receiver DJ Moore is questionable with a shoulder injury. Those absences could make an already challenging road matchup even more difficult.

The Bills still control their own path to the top of the AFC East. But after New England's latest win, Monday night's game is no longer just about getting back on track.