INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Rams (7-6) got Josh Allen and the Bills' best shot and managed to withstand that rally, holding on for a 44-42 win over Buffalo (10-3) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Los Angeles led 38-21 late in the third quarter before Buffalo put up 14 unanswered to trim its lead to 3. Quarterback Matthew Stafford's 18-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Puka Nacua gave the Rams that 9-point cushion with 1:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Bills still managed to reach midfield on the ensuing drive.
Forced to go for it on 4th and 15 from midfield, the Bills kept that drive alive drawing a defensive pass interference against the Rams on that fourth down, putting the ball at the Rams 16. Buffalo eventually scored on a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Josh Allen to cut L.A.'s lead to 44-42 with one minute to play.
The Bills attempted an onside kick after the touchdown, but it was unsuccessful, recovered by Rams running back Ronnie Rivers. Buffalo having only two timeouts left on that ensuing drive allowed the Rams to drain the clock down to just seven seconds remaining, and although forced to punt, punter Ethan Evans' ensuing kick covered the time left to allow Los Angeles to hang on for the victory.
Stafford completed 23 of 30 pass attempts for 320 yards and two touchdowns, one each to wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Nacua recorded 12 catches for 162 yards in addition to that touchdown, plus five carries for 16 yards and one touchdown; Kupp five catches for 92 yards.
Running back Kyren Williams posted 29 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Here is the complete game recap, presented by Hyundai:
The Rams authored a strong opening drive to take an early 7-0 via a 3-yard touchdown run by Williams. Los Angeles was 3-for-3 on third down on that first series.
L.A. was positioned to potentially force Buffalo to punt on the next series, but a roughing the passer penalty against outside linebacker Byron Young on a Josh Allen scramble on 3rd and 9 kept the drive alive. The Bills took advantage and tied the game 7-7 on a touchdown off a quarterback sneak by Allen with 3:22 to play in the first quarter.
The Rams got down to the Bills 3-yard line on the next series, but were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Joshua Karty to regain the lead 10-7 early in the second quarter.
That lead grew to 17-7 Rams after a blocked punt by linebacker Jacob Hummel that tight end Hunter Long collected and returned 22 yards for a touchdown.
However, the Bills answered quickly on the next possession via a 41-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Allen to running back Ty Johnson, cutting the Rams' lead to 3.
Helped by an impressive toe-tap grab on the sideline by Nacua, the Rams responded with a 4-yard touchdown run by Nacua to take a 24-14 lead with 2:36 left in the first half. Los Angeles took that lead into halftime.
A potential scoring opportunity on the second half-opening drive by the Rams offense was wiped away on offsetting offensive and defensive pass interference penalties that nullified a 56-yard completion from Stafford to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson. Still, the Rams rebounded from it with a 7-yard touchdown run by Williams to extend their lead to 31-14 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.
A false start and a face mask penalty on the ensuing drive made it 1st and 30 for Buffalo. Allen made up some of that ground with a 17-yard scramble on 2nd and 25, then hit wide receiver Khalil Shakir over the middle on 3rd and 8 for a 51-yard touchdown pass to cut Los Angeles' lead to 31-21 with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
Again, the Rams had an answer, this time via an 18-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Kupp for a 38-21 lead lead late in the third quarter.
The back-and-forth swings continued as Allen completed a 34-yard pass to Shakir to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Allen, cutting the Rams' lead to 10 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
After forcing the Rams to punt, the Bills took advantage with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Allen to wide receiver Mack Hollins, trimming the Rams' lead to just 38-35 with 8:49 to play.
Helped by a 4th and 5 conversion on a completion from Stafford to wide receiver Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles chewed a significant portion of the remaining clock on the ensuing drive and got that touchdown pass from Stafford to Nacua, but the Bills still had life.
Allen's 1-yard touchdown run with 1 minute remaining cut the Rams' lead to 44-42. However, the ensuing onside kick by Buffalo was unsuccessful.
The Rams couldn't keep the ensuing drive alive, but with the Bills down to their final two timeouts, they managed to get the Bills to burn both and drain the clock all the way down to 7 seconds. Punter Ethan Evans' ensuing punt erased the remaining clock, and the Rams hung on for the win.
The Los Angeles Rams take on the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium in Week 14 of the 2024 season. Take a look at photos from the matchup!