Los Angeles Rams star cornerback Jalen Ramsey offered the bluntest assessment of Thursday night's 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills to open the 2022 NFL campaign.
"We got our ass beat, straight-up," Ramsey said, via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen picked apart the Rams defense, finding holes and darting passes before coverage could converge.
"They were really attacking our little zones, like our soft spots in our zones," Ramsey said. "Obviously we've gotta watch the film, but I'm sure we all would've liked to play man a little bit more. I feel like we kind of had a mentality like, 'bend, don't break' a lot, because they were driving the ball but they weren't scoring, like, we were getting turnovers, interceptions, whatever it was."
Ramsey particularly struggled in the Rams' zone scheme Thursday, allowing six catches on seven targets as the nearest defender for 94 yards, a TD and a perfect 158.3 passer rating, per Next Gen Stats.
"We felt like they weren't going to be patient enough to do that the whole game, just take those five yards, three yards, four yards, right? But they were, for the most part," Ramsey said, "(and) then they had ... two or three explosives that ended up turning into touchdowns, and that was, like, the difference. They won by three touchdowns."
Ramsey's above quote underscores the evolution Allen has made as a signal-caller entering Year 5. Even two years ago, the Bills QB likely wouldn't have been patient enough to take what the Rams were giving up underneath for an extended stretch as he did Thursday.
Luckily for L.A., they won't face the Bills' MVP candidate every week. But after Thursday's struggles, there are sure to be some questions with defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and the coaching staff about playing more man-coverage in future contests.
