The Rams pushed Buffalo to overtime in a game that swung on special teams, quarterback legs, and a run defense that couldn’t quite hold up when it mattered most.
Los Angeles had chances. Matthew Stafford delivered one when the game was slipping away, stringing together a 63-yard drive in 1:34 to force overtime after the Bills took a 13-7 lead into halftime. But the Rams never fully got past the problems that dogged them from the opening kickoff, and those issues ended up being the difference in the loss.
It started with a nightmare on special teams. Bills returner Ray Davis took the opening kickoff 70 yards to the Los Angeles 26, instantly putting the Rams in a hole.
Then came the kicking problems. Harrison Mevis missed from 50 yards in the first half, and his overtime attempt was blocked.
He finished 0-for-2, and the day left little confidence that he’ll stick around in Los Angeles much longer.
The ground game was just as punishing. Buffalo made it clear early that James Cook would be a problem, feeding him six times to open the game and still getting 32 yards out of that stretch, including a 15-yard burst up the middle that helped get the Bills into field-goal range.
Cook kept breaking through for chunk gains all night and finished with 25 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a fumble problem of his own, and his second one of the game handed the Rams a real opening in overtime.
Josh Allen added another layer the Rams couldn’t solve. Buffalo knew he was coming as a runner, and it didn’t matter much.
Allen carried 10 times for 121 yards and a rushing touchdown, repeatedly escaping pressure and turning broken plays into big gains. LA did manage one sack on him, courtesy of edge rusher Josaiah Stewart, and Aaron Donald nearly picked up his first sack of the season before a Trent McDuffie penalty wiped it away.
Even so, Allen avoided plenty of other takedowns.
The one area where the Rams did hang in was against the pass. Allen was quiet through the air for much of the night, going 4-of-7 for 60 yards by halftime. He finished 12-of-19 for 201 yards, a touchdown and an interception after late production in the second half and overtime.
But Buffalo didn’t need a huge passing night. The Bills piled up 234 rushing yards at 6.3 yards per carry and scored three times on the ground. The Rams’ defense fought, but the combination of poor special teams and a leaky run defense was too much to overcome in a 2-3 start to the season.
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