Josh Allen Makes NFL History, but Bills Lose to Rams 44-42
After the Los Angeles Rams’ punt on the final play of the game soared through the air, bouncing on the turf just as the clock hit :00, Josh Allen walked stoically to midfield for the customary postgame handshakes, a look of clear disappointment on his face.
Allen had just played what may have been the best game of his illustrious career, throwing for 342 yards and three passing touchdowns with no interceptions, and tacking on 82 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns. He made NFL history, becoming the only player in league history to rush for and throw for three touchdowns each in a single game. It was all for naught, however, as the Bills fell to the Rams 44-42.
In his postgame press conference, Allen was the selfless leader his teammates and fans know and love, saying “I’ve got to be better for our guys.” The fact that even after playing a near-perfect game and having his defense let him down, Allen didn’t point fingers and blame others, but shouldered the blame himself. This is something a true captain and team leader does, and it why Allen is so popular both within and outside of the Bills organization.
On the game itself, the Bills were left playing catch-up from early in the second quarter on, when the Rams kicked a field goal to go up three and then blocked a Bills punt that they returned for a touchdown on the next possession to go up 17-7. From there, the teams traded haymakers, with both offenses going back and forth the rest of the way.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford playing brilliantly, throwing for 320 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Star receiver Puka Nacua was Stafford’s top target, totaling 12 receptions, 162 yards receiving, and a touchdown. Receiver Cooper Kupp added 5 receptions, 92 yards, and a touchdown, while running back Kyren Williams rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns.
On the Bills side, Allen showed why he is the clear choice for NFL MVP. Besides 20 rushing yards from James Cook and one rushing yard from Curtis Samuel, Allen accounted all the other yards of Bills total offense, 424 to be exact. He put the team on his back and almost carried them to victory in a game where the defense was horrendous.
Sean McDermott coached well for the Bills, except for one play late in the fourth quarter. With the Bills down by nine points and on the Rams one yard line for first and goal, there was around a minute left in the game and the Bills had all three timeouts.
The smart choice would be to call strictly passing plays, as you want to keep your timeouts to stop the clock when the Rams get the ball. However, they ran a quarterback sneak for Allen which failed, so they had to use a valuable timeout. Even though they scored on the next play, which was another quarterback sneak, with only two timeouts they had to try an onside kick, which is a low percentage play. The onside kick failed, and the Rams were able to run out the clock.
While this loss is disappointing, the Bills are still 10-3 and have clinched their division, so this loss isn’t a huge deal. Next week they’ll travel to Detroit to play the 12-1 Lions, which is one of the marquee games of the season thus far.