Rams make a statement by scoring 44 points to beat AFC powerhouse Bills

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times on Dec 8, 2024

Published in Football

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LOS ANGELES — 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 their record to 7-6.

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.

Nacua caught 12 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown as the Rams moved 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 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 ran with authority. The Rams converted 11 of 15 third downs.

The notoriously slow-starting Rams built their halftime lead on touchdown runs by Williams and Nacua and tight end Hunter Long’s touchdown return of a blocked punt.

Midway through the third quarter, Stafford’s long pass to Kupp set up Williams’ second touchdown run but the Bills pulled within 31-21 on Khalil Shakir’s 51-yard catch and run for a touchdown.

The Ram answered with Stafford’s touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, but Allen combined with Shakir for a long completion that set up Allen’s short touchdown run.

The Rams went three-and-out, and Allen led a 91-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Mack Hollins, cutting the Rams lead to 38-35.

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.

Allen’s sneak for a touchdown with a minute left cut the lead to 44-42 but the Rams recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Allen passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 82 yards and three touchdowns.

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