INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The Rams defense was able to generate four takeaways, but it wasn't enough to come away with a win as Los Angeles fell to the Buffalo Bills 31-10 Thursday night at SoFi Stadium.
Outside linebacker Terrell Lewis (one interception) and cornerback Troy Hill (one interception) accounted for two of those takeaways; linebacker Ernest Jones' forced fumble and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd's ensuing recovery represented the third. The fourth came via a forced fumble by safety Nick Scott and recovery by outside linebacker Justin Hollins.
Wide receiver Cooper Kupp posted 13 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown in the loss, while quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 29 of 41 passes for 240 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Here is the complete game recap, presented by Verizon:
The Bills struck first, concluding the game's opening drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Allen to wide receiver Gabriel Davis for an early 7-0.
The Rams were forced to punt on the ensuing possession. Just as it appeared the Bills were about to march downfield and add more points, Rams outside linebacker Terrell Lewis intercepted a short pass by Allen, giving Los Angeles the ball back at the Buffalo 24.
Like its first series, L.A. was forced to punt again, but it would get the ball back shortly thereafter after Floyd recovered a fumble forced by Jones.
However, two plays after that takeaway, the Rams would give the ball back to the Bills after Stafford was picked off by Bills cornerback Dane Jackson, which Jackson returned two yards to the Bills 32. Buffalo came away with a 41-yard field goal by kicker Tyler Bass off the takeaway to extend its lead to 10-0 with 8:48 left in the second quarter.
Los Angeles answered on the ensuing series with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Kupp to cut its deficit to three with 3 minutes left in the first half. A 57-yard field goal by Gay – his longest as a Ram – pulled the game to a 10-10 tie at halftime.
A 3-and-out to open the second half by the Rams led to the Bills regaining the lead 17-10 on the ensuing drive via a 7-yard touchdown pass from Allen to wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie with 7:59 remaining in the third quarter.
Buffalo extended its lead to 24-10 early in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Allen, which had been set up by a 47-yard completion from Allen to Davis.
With 11:10 remaining, Stafford fired a pass deep over the middle intended for Kupp, but it was intercepted by Bills safety Jordan Poyer. Three plays later, Allen found Diggs for a 53-yard touchdown pass to extend the Bills lead to 31-10 with 9:25 to go.
After Stafford threw his third pick, the Rams defense got the ball back with 5:27 left via another forced fumble (this time by Scott) and recovery (this time by Hollins). However, the possession ended with a turnover on downs at the Bills 16 with 41 seconds left. The Bills took a knee to run out the remaining clock.
