Honestly, if you missed the Week 14 clash between the LA Rams vs Buffalo Bills in late 2024, you basically missed the football equivalent of a high-speed chase where nobody ever runs out of gas. It was 44-42. No turnovers. Zero. Not a single sack.
NFL history is long. Like, really long. But before this game, we had never seen two teams both drop 40 points without coughing up the ball once. It was a statistical fever dream that felt like a video game played on "Rookie" mode, except these were two of the best rosters in the league.
The Josh Allen History Lesson (That Most People Missed)
Usually, when a quarterback accounts for six touchdowns, he's taking a victory lap. Not this time. Josh Allen became the first player in the history of the NFL to record three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a single regular-season game.
Think about that.
He was a human bulldozer and a precision sniper at the same time. He finished with 342 passing yards and another 82 on the ground. Usually, if you hold Allen to those kinds of numbers, you’re in trouble. But the Rams didn't just hold him; they outlasted him. It was the first time in the Super Bowl era that a team scored six touchdowns with zero turnovers and still lost.
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Matthew Stafford and the Art of Control
While Allen was out there leaping over people and making "how did he do that?" throws, Matthew Stafford was basically a surgeon. He went 23-of-30 for 320 yards. That's a 76.7% completion rate against a Bills defense that isn't exactly a pushover.
Sean McVay’s play-calling was aggressive, sure, but it was the efficiency that killed Buffalo. The Rams converted on 73.3% of their third downs. If you're a defensive coordinator, that number makes you want to retire on the spot. Stafford wasn't just throwing; he was manipulating coverages like he had the Bills' playbook in his back pocket.
Puka Nacua is Not Human
Let's talk about Puka Nacua for a second. The kid is a 5th-round pick who plays like a Hall of Famer. He caught 12 balls for 162 yards. Oh, and he had five carries and a rushing touchdown.
By doing that, he joined Jerry Rice and Lance Alworth as the only receivers to ever have 160+ receiving yards, a receiving TD, and a rushing TD in one game. He’s essentially a power back trapped in a wide receiver’s body. Every time the Rams needed a "get out of jail free" card on 3rd and long, Stafford just looked for number 17.
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The Sequence That Actually Decided It
Everyone remembers the final score, but the game turned on a weird coaching decision late in the fourth.
The Bills actually accepted a 10-yard holding penalty on the Rams, thinking it would push them out of field goal range. Most coaches would do the same. But it backfired. Instead of the Rams facing a 4th-and-6, the penalty reset things slightly and gave L.A. a 4th-and-5.
McVay didn't blink. He went for it.
Stafford hit Tutu Atwell, moved the chains, and eventually found Nacua for the score that made it 44-35. If Buffalo declines that penalty, maybe they get the stop. Maybe Allen gets the ball back with more time. It’s those tiny, 12-inch decisions that separate a win from a "historic loss."
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Rams vs Bills: By the Numbers
- Total Points: 86 (Highest of the 2024 season)
- Combined Yards: 902
- Turnovers: 0
- Sacks: 0
- Records Set: Josh Allen (1st player with 3/3 TD split), Puka Nacua (tied Randy Moss for most 150-yard games in first two seasons).
Why the Bills Defense Disappeared
It's easy to blame the secondary, but the real issue was the pass rush. Or the lack of it.
Stafford had all day to eat a sandwich, read the news, and then find Cooper Kupp. When you give a veteran like Stafford a clean pocket, your DBs are eventually going to lose their leverage. Terrel Bernard mentioned after the game that they tried switching from man to zone, but the Rams just kept "finding the soft spots."
The Bills were on a seven-game win streak heading into SoFi Stadium. They looked invincible. Then they ran into a team that refused to punt (the Rams only punted once, and it was with 6 seconds left in the game just to kill the clock).
The Takeaway for Your Fan Cave
If you’re looking at this matchup from a betting or scouting perspective, the lesson is clear: The Rams are a completely different animal when their offensive line is healthy. They ran the ball 42 times—the most since 2018. They controlled the tempo, which is the only way to keep Josh Allen from wrecking your life.
For the Bills, it was a reminder that even an MVP-level performance from your QB isn't enough if your defense can't get off the field on third down.
Next Steps for NFL Fans:
- Watch the All-22 film of the Rams' third-down conversions; McVay used empty sets to force Buffalo into predictable coverages.
- Monitor Puka Nacua’s health in your fantasy or scouting reports; his high-volume usage (17 touches) is unsustainable for most WRs, but he seems to thrive on it.
- Check the Bills' defensive adjustments in the following weeks; they struggled with "eye candy" motions that the Rams used to isolate their linebackers.