Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Up until Sunday, an NFL team that scored six touchdowns and had zero turnovers in the same game had never lost. They were 317-0 when recording those numbers.
Then the Buffalo Bills played the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Southern California.
The Bills have been in existence since 1960. Never in their history had they scored as many as 42 points in a game and lost.
That changed on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen became the first NFL quarterback in 70 years to have as many as three touchdown passes and three rushing touchdowns in the same game.
Yet, the Bills still lost.
The Bills made the wrong kind of history, as their seven-game winning streak was snapped in a 44-42 loss to the Rams.
They lost because a defense that has been playing above expectations all season had an awful day. They lost because their special teams gave the home team a touchdown. They also lost because their head coach made a bad decision at a critical moment.
Allen had the kind of game that would convince any doubters that he was deserving of the NFL's Most Valuable Player award this season. He threw for a season-high 342 yards, had three touchdowns, zero turnovers, and was never sacked. He also showed off his running ability once again, turning scrambles into 82 yards rushing, and he found the end zone three more times on the ground.
That would add up to 424 total yards of offense and six touchdowns for the Bills quarterback.
Allen made some ridiculous throws too. There were pinpoint passes in tight windows, there were throws that were absolutely dropped in a bucket. He confounded the Rams defense all day long, while leading the Bills offense to six touchdowns in their nine possessions.
The Bills offense averaged 8.2 yards a play. 46% of their plays resulted in a first down. They converted 55% on third down, and were a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone.
Yet, it still wasn't enough.
This is where we get to the defensive part of the story. The unit stunk, plain and simple.
The Bills defense stopped the Rams just one time in Los Angeles' nine possessions. At the end of the first half and at the end of the game, they were just running out the clock.
On the seven drives where the Rams were actually trying to score, they managed five touchdowns and one field goal. The only stop the Bills defense got was a three-and-out on the Rams' first drive of the fourth quarter.
The Bills have been called a "bend, but don't break" defense this season. On Sunday, they bent and then broke.
Here is the rundown on the Rams' six scoring drives:
- 12 plays, 70 yards, touchdown
- 10 plays, 65 yards, field goal
- 12 plays, 76 yards, touchdown
- 11 plays, 76 yards, touchdown
- 7 plays, 70 yards, touchdown
- 11 plays, 71 yards, touchdown
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The Bills couldn't get any pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Buffalo had no sacks, and according to the NFL stats, they had just three quarterback hits. Stafford was able to sit back and dissect the Bills' zone defense all game long.
Los Angeles was nearly unstoppable on third down. A Rams team that came into the game with the third-worst third-down conversion rate in the NFL went 11-of-15 on that critical down.
Stafford was 9-of-10 for 119 yards and a touchdown on third down.
Puka Nacua, who torched the Bills for 12 catches, 162 yards and a touchdown, had six touches on third down plays. All six went for a first down.
The Bills' secondary, with no help from the pass rush, had their worst game of the season. Nacua and fellow wide receiver Cooper Kupp combined for 17 catches for 254 yards and a pair of scores.
The Rams came into the game with a 53% touchdown rate in the red zone, but they were 5-for-6 (83%) in this game.
It was one of the worst defensive performances in the Sean McDermott era. It was the most points given up by the Bills since 2018, McDermott's second season with the Bills, when Baltimore put 48 on the board in Week 1.
As bad as the Bills defense was, they still had a chance to redeem themselves, but instead, gave up a nail in the coffin touchdown drive.
The Bills trailed 38-21 with 18 seconds left in the third quarter. But Allen and company would get them back in the game.
An Allen touchdown pass to Mack Hollins pulled the Bills to within three points at 38-35 with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter. Plenty of time for the Bills to register one of their best comebacks ever.
They just needed the defense to get a stop. Well...
The Rams put together an 11-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock and resulted in a touchdown that put them up by nine with 1:54 to go.
On that drive, a pass interference penalty on Ja'Marcus Ingram wiped out an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-9. Later on this drive, facing a 4th-and-5 at the Bills' 35-yard line, the Rams went for it and Stafford completed an 11-yard pass.
Sadly, the officials missed a false start on the Rams on that play, but the way the day was going, they probably would have converted on 4th-and-10.
Now we get to the head coach.
The Bills still had a shot. They quickly went down the field and had a 1st-and-goal at the Rams' one-yard line with 1:06 remaining, and still had all three timeouts left.
After a called quarterback keeper and push play, which almost always works, although it should be pointed out it didn't work in the same scenario earlier in the game, it took the Bills a second-straight Allen push to get into the end zone on that drive.
When Allen was stopped short the first time, McDermott decided to use the first of his three timeouts with 1:02 remaining on the clock. That essentially sealed the Bills' fate.
It meant, should they score a touchdown, they would not be able to kick the ball deep and have the ability to stop the clock after first-, second- and third-down plays. It forced the Bills to do an onside kick, which works less than 5% of the time.
By the way, special teams hurt the Bills too. A Sam Martin punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown in the first half.
The good news is the Bills are still the second seed in the AFC standings. However, with Kansas City getting another lucky last-second victory on Sunday night, the 10-3 Bills are now two games back of the 11-1 Chiefs in the race for home field advantage through the conference playoffs.
On to Detroit, where the Bills will next face the NFC-best Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.