Rams make a statement by scoring 44 points to beat AFC powerhouse Bills
So maybe this Rams team is better than average.
Perhaps coach Sean McVay finally has them on track to win the NFC West.
And, dare we posit it: A deep playoff run?
It’s all out there for the Rams, who went from marginal-all-season to mostly magnificent for a day with a 44-42 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in front of 73,493 at SoFi Stadium.
Running back Kyren Williams and receiver Puka Nacua each scored two touchdowns, Matthew Stafford passed for 320 yards, and special teams came up big as the Rams improved to 7-6.
“Players did the damn thing,” coach Sean McVay said proudly.
It is the first time this season that the Rams have been above .500, and they did it by holding on to defeat one of the best teams in the NFL.
Consider:
- The Bills went into the game with a 10-2 record and riding a seven-game winning streak.
- They had scored 30 points or more in six straight games.
- They were fresh off clinching a fifth consecutive AFC East title and in contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
But even with the vaunted “Bills Mafia” making up the majority of fans in the stadium — and Bills quarterback Josh Allen accounting for six touchdowns — the Rams registered their most impressive victory of the season.
“Beating a team like this is a huge confidence booster for us,” said Williams, who rushed for 87 yards in a career-high 29 carries. “But we knew we were going to come in and beat them, so we’ve got to continue to keep going like that.”
Facing the Bills, who scored 30 points or more in six straight games, the Rams showed how dangerous they can be when all their offensive stars are healthy.
The victory moved the Rams into second place in the NFC West behind the Seattle Seahawks (8-5), a 30-18 winner Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals (6-7).
The Rams do not have much time to savor the victory. On Thursday night in Santa Clara they play the San Francisco 49ers (6-7), who beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
“It’s going to feel like a playoff game,” linebacker Michael Hoecht said.
The Rams must once again play “fast and free,” McVay said.
“That’s going to be a key, critical factor for us to be able to have a chance to go do what we need to do on Thursday night,” he said.
On Sunday, no Ram played with more elan than Nacua, who McVay described as “an igniter.” The second-year pro caught 12 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for a touchdown.
“It’s fantastic being able to feel like, ‘Man this is what it feels like when the Rams are moving and connecting on all cylinders,’” Nacua said. “But also [there are] still moments where we know we can execute a little bit better to make this game a blowout.”
The Rams scored early. They scored often. They scored more points in a game than they had all season, eclipsing the 30 they posted in an Oct. 24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
The Rams led, 24-14, at halftime. It marked the most points the Rams had scored in the first half since a game in 2022.
That was the Rams’ lost season, the worst Super Bowl hangover in NFL history, that had begun with a 31-10 wipeout by the Bills and featured Stafford getting mauled seven times for sacks.
This time, the line kept Stafford clean. Williams and Blake Corum ran with authority. The Rams converted 11 of 15 third downs.
“Our guys did an amazing job up front,” said Stafford, who passed for two touchdowns, giving him 10 in the last four games. “It starts with those guys.”
While the offense hummed for most of the game, the defense struggled to neutralize Allen. The MVP candidate produced another otherworldly performance.
“Josh Allen is an alien,” McVay said.
The 6-foot-5, 237-pound Allen accounted for all six Bills touchdowns, becoming the first player with three rushing and three passing touchdowns in an NFL game. He passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 82 yards and three touchdowns.
“He was something to deal with,” rookie safety Kam Kinchens said, shaking his head.
The Rams offense was their best defense.
The notoriously slow-starting Rams built their 10-point halftime lead on touchdown runs by Williams and Nacua and tight end Hunter Long’s touchdown return of a blocked punt.
Stafford’s touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp near the end of the third quarter extended the Rams’ lead to 38-21.
But Allen’s short touchdown run and his scoring pass to Mack Hollins pulled the Bills within 38-35 with almost 9 minutes left.
Stafford’s fourth-down pass to Tutu Atwell with just under 4 minutes left kept alive a drive that Nacua capped with a 19-yard touchdown for a 44-35 lead.
Check out the game summary from the Rams’ win Sunday.
Allen’s sneak for a touchdown with a minute left cut the deficit, but the Rams recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
So now it’s on to play the 49ers, a team the Rams defeated in Week 3 at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams remain in search of a totally complete performance, one that includes a high-powered offense, suffocating defense and opportunistic special teams.
“You saw how good our offense was,” edge rusher Jared Verse said. “Imagine our defense playing at full capacity. ... If we put out offense and defense together, that’s a scary sight.
“That’s a Super Bowl-winning team.”
