By Joe Buscaglia, Jourdan Rodrigue, Tim Graham and Jelani Scott
It came down to a tense onside kick, but the Los Angeles Rams, behind a season-high scoring effort, hung on to defeat the red-hot Buffalo Bills and snap their seven-game winning streak as stars from both teams shined in a 44-42 thriller in Inglewood on Sunday.
Despite a historic six-touchdown day from Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the Rams managed to ride monster games from Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Kyren Williams and Cooper Kupp to a much-needed victory, with Los Angeles accounting for 457 total yards to Buffalo’s 445 yards.
The Rams and Bills traded 70-yard touchdown drives to open the game and the back-and-forth affair ended with a thrilling finish, as the teams combined for seven TDs on 10 second-half drives. An early 17-7 lead following a field goal and blocked punt-turned-defensive TD gave the Rams an edge, though their 24-14 halftime lead — Buffalo’s most points allowed in a first half all season — wasn’t enough.
Allen, who became the first player with three passing and three rushing touchdowns in a regular season game, made multiple massive plays throughout to keep his team in it, notably on strikes to Khalil Shakir, Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins. Buffalo’s push fell short, however, as the Rams recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock after Allen punched in his third rushing score to make it a two-point game with a minute left in regulation.
As is the case with every playoff-eligible team, L.A. needed its stars to step up to keep pace in the playoff race against a Buffalo team fresh off clinching the AFC East and scoring 30-plus in six straight games. The Rams (7-6) are now one game behind the Seahawks (8-5) for first in the NFC West heading into Week 15.
Every TD from the 12-touchdown game between the Bills and Rams! pic.twitter.com/yuPdB7aOB2
— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
Nacua terrorizes stout Bills D with sensational game
Nacua was extraordinary for Stafford and the Rams, converting several key third downs and making several acrobatic, physical catches including a toe-tapping sideline grab in the first half that looked impossible. Nacua had 11 catches for 143 yards and one rushing touchdown by the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter and the Bills had no answer for the second-year star receiver.
Nacua added a receiving touchdown immediately on the other side of the two-minute warning to give the Rams a 44-35 lead, on a screen play that looked very similar to a touchdown play the Rams ran just one week ago in New Orleans. Nacua motioned into his split last week and cut the screen outside. This week, he aligned in the static split pre-snap and cut the screen inside. Dastardly adjustment on a play the Rams have messed around with a lot behind the scenes, and in a crucial moment.
The second-year star’s 143 yards led all receivers, and anchored an offense that also added 87 rushing yards and two TDs from Williams and five catches for 92 yards and a score from Kupp. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Los Angeles Rams senior writer
Allen otherwordly in latest MVP-caliber performance
Don’t blame Buffalo’s interstellar quarterback for this loss, as Allen solidified his MVP candidacy in defeat with a six-touchdown performance.
Against L.A., Buffalo lost because its defense didn’t show up to play at SoFi Stadium. Allen, meanwhile, did his usual Josh Allen things – and then some.
Early in the fourth quarter, he joined Kordell Stewart as the lone players in NFL history with at least three passing touchdowns and at least two rushing touchdowns in a game. Allen then added another rushing touchdown, becoming the only other player to achieve a “3-and-3” game besides Otto Graham in the 1954 championship game.
Allen in the third quarter also broke the record he shared with Cam Newton with his 23rd game of two passing TDs and one rushing TD (Allen also has two more in the postseason). Allen went 22 of 37 for a season-high 342 yards and three TDs and, with the Rams jamming top rusher James Cook, scrambled 10 times for 82 yards and three goal-line plunges.
Allen once again committed zero turnovers and wasn’t sacked for a fourth straight game. As for his receivers, Shakir was magnificent with five catches for 105 yards and a touchdown and drew a 34-yard pass interference on fourth-and-15 with 1:18 to play while Cooper had his most productive game as a Bill with six receptions for 96 yards. Hollins caught his third touchdown in the past five games. — Tim Graham, Bills senior writer
so, who went up against @JoshAllenQB in @NFLFantasy this week? pic.twitter.com/MWcQaodZVj
— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
Did questionable clock management cost Buffalo?
The Bills had new life even after Nacua’s receiving touchdown with under two minutes to play, marching the ball down to the one-yard line with all three timeouts remaining. What happened from that point forward were several errors.
The first, and most glaring, was in calling a timeout after a failed quarterback sneak from one yard out. That effectively took away any chance the Bills, who were trailing 44-35, had to get the ball back for a second possession. The play call likely should not have been so do or die, either.
Then, after the Bills scored to make it 44-42, and even after forcing the Rams to punt the ball with six seconds to go, the Bills did not try to go for an all-out block, and they did not try to return the punt from the goal line. Instead, they allowed the game to run out on a downed punt.
The Bills’ in-game management has been good for much of the year, but the timeout will breed a lot of questions about that decision and what they’ll do in future moments like this one. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Rams survive Allen’s best ‘hero ball’
Throughout the first half, the Rams’ defense (and Buffalo’s game plan) made Allen look mortal. But there was a clear flip of the switch in the third quarter, when Allen seemed to cut loose into “hero ball” mode that we’ve seen from him in the past.
Allen broke off a 17-yard run on second-and-25, then threw a 51-yard touchdown to Shakir on Buffalo’s second drive of the half. As the fourth quarter began, Allen picked up another 20-yard gain by running out of pressure, then got extra yards via horse collar penalty on Rams rookie Jared Verse; Allen ran in a touchdown to cap the drive.
On a possession in the fourth quarter, down 28-38, Allen’s 30-yard run to escape initial pressure set up another touchdown to bring the Bills within three points, 38-35, with 8:49 to play. — Rodrigue
L.A.’s struggling special teams unit delivers timely plays
Rams special teams came up clutch for the team in an inconsistent season. Jake Hummel’s blocked punt and Hunter Long’s scoop-and-score got the points rolling early on, and third-string running back Ronnie Rivers recovered the Bills’ late on-side kick down just two points. Rivers converted a fake punt earlier this season. — Rodrigue
Required reading
- NFL Week 14 scores and live updates: Playoff picture, standings, news, inactives, predictions, odds
- NFL playoff projections 2024: The Athletic’s model predicts the field
- Linebacker Matt Milano showing signs of returning to elite form for Bills
- A look inside QB Matthew Stafford’s pre-snap process, from protections to dummy calls
(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
