The Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams played a tough, back-and-forth game this evening, and ultimately, it was the Bills who prevailed, winning 37-34 in an instant-classic overtime battle.
Before the season began, there were plenty of folks who had this one circled as a potential preview for Super Bowl LXI. Well, if this were a Super Bowl preview, then at least we can assume that we’ll have an entertaining game come February. Hopefully, though, if there is a rematch between these clubs, the game doesn’t
do this much to my heart rate.
After Buffalo led 13-7 at the half, the teams traded the lead multiple times throughout the night. There were seven lead changes in regulation alone to go with two ties. Buffalo took a 34-27 lead with 99 seconds to go, and that proved to be too much time for their defense to stop the Rams’ offense, who needed just 94 of those seconds to march down the field to tie the game.
In overtime, there were more twists and turns, but in the end, it’s the Bills winning an overtime game for the first time in Josh Allen’s career, ending one of the weirder statistics to follow Buffalo’s QB1 throughout his career.
There are plenty of accolades—and plenty of jeers—to go around tonight, and sometimes, those belong to the same person. Here are our horns up and horns down from tonight’s wild Buffalo win.
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Horns Up: James Cook III
Cook came out on fire, and while Buffalo’s passing game didn’t do much in the first half, the running game carried the load for the offense. Cook, in particular, was excellent in the early going. He carried nine times for 55 yards and a score in the first half, adding one catch for seven yards receiving, as well. He picked up tough yards between the tackles and was able to shake some defenders on the edges, running hard throughout the game. On a night where quarterback Josh Allen and the passing game weren’t effective or efficient, Cook was a welcome boon to the offense. He’s an elite-level talent, but I will add one caveat: He needs to protect the football. Despite his big runs, I find myself holding my breath with each Cook carry, and he fumbled again tonight in the third quarter. The recovery was initially given to the Rams, but eventually overturned to a Buffalo recovery. Cook is too good a player for us to need to worry about ball security, but he continues to put the ball on the turf. The reason Buffalo needs to keep feeding him the ball, though, is just how dynamic he is. Cook’s second touchdown of the night gave the Bills a 34-27 lead with just 99 seconds left in the game. Cook totaled 111 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. He caught just that one pass for seven yards.
Horns Down: James Cook III
Just an absolute killer fumble in overtime to bring what most likely would have been a scoring drive to an end. After a long gain from Khalil Shakir, who narrowly missed scoring a touchdown and was just tripped up by a shoelace on the play prior, Cook just needed to gain some yardage and set up second down. Instead, he fumbled for the second time, Aaron Donald recovered, and the Rams were in business. All’s well that ends well, perhaps, but Cook needs to work on ball security, and that’s an understatement.
Horns Up: Tyler Bass
Once again, Buffalo’s kicker was effective. He nailed both first-half field goals, hitting from 49 yards on Buffalo’s first drive and from 23 yards on the Bills’ second possession. He also hit an extra point following James Cook’s 17-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Bass also was effective on kickoffs, hitting each one high and deep within the landing zone, which allowed for Buffalo’s top-notch coverage unit to do what it does. Of course, after initially writing about how well Bass performed in the first half, his first PAT in the second half was wide right after a false start penalty knocked him back five yards. Bass continues to be excellent on field goals and iffy on extra-points, but he did drill an extra point after Cook’s touchdown to give the Bills a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. Then, at the two-minute warning in overtime, Bass delivered a victory for the Bills with a 45-yard field goal to win it.
Horns Up: Greg Rousseau
Groot made the play of the game for the Bills, and it wasn’t on defense. Faced with a game-winning field goal attempt in overtime, Harrison Mevis lined up for a makeable 47-yard try. Rousseau knifed through the left side of the line, put those big limbs up, and blocked the kick. It was the second miss for the Thicker Kicker, and it gave Buffalo life. Rousseau had just one tackle and one QB hit on the night, but his big blocked kick was the play of the game.
Horns Up: DeWayne Carter
The third-year player notched his first career sack in the first half, continuing a strong streak of play this season. Carter isn’t the only defensive lineman to take a step forward under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, but he might be the one who has taken the most surprising leap. In the first half, Carter had two tackles and the aforementioned sack. He added one more tackle in the second half, but he was disruptive in the backfield, knifing his way past blockers and eating space at the point of attack. He’s been a welcome addition to the front-seven rotation after missing last season with an Achilles tear.
Horns Down: Cole Bishop
The third-year safety was a step slow too often today, as he just found himself close to making plays, but not close enough to actually make the plays. On the Rams’ first drive of the second half, for example, he was a step slow coming out of his break to take away tight end Tyler Higbee on a fourth down, allowing the big tight end enough space to make a catch to extend the drive. Later in that same drive, Bishop was in man coverage against Higbee, and he was burned so badly that he essentially tackled Higbee while the ball was in flight to avoid giving up a touchdown. That pass interference penalty only delayed the inevitable, as Blake Corum plunged forward for a one-yard score and a 14-13 Rams lead. Bishop is a tremendous athlete, but he struggled to pick up the nuances of former head coach Sean McDermott’s defense as a rookie, and after settling in and looking very good last season, we’ve seen some of those hesitant, rookie-year moments this season as he learns a new scheme with Jim Leonhard.
Horns Down: First-Half Josh Allen
Antsy in the pocket. Not accurate on throws that went beyond the line of scrimmage. Holding the ball, patting it, and staring down receivers. It was an ugly day overall for QB1, whose first-half numbers were buoyed by a 40-yard gain on a screen pass to running back Ty Johnson. Otherwise, Allen threw a bad interception on what was essentially an arm punt (Johnson was open early in the route, but Allen didn’t see him as he was evading pressure), and he nearly threw another interception on a third-and-21 when he started down Skyler Bell before forcing it to the rookie in double-coverage. Allen was able to make some gains with his legs, especially in the first half, where he rushed three times for 21 yards. He completed just 4-of-7 passes for 60 yards and the aforementioned interception. Overall, though, it was an ugly first-half performance.
Horns Up: Second-Half Josh Allen
Well, good thing for the Bills (and my fantasy team) that the first-half wasn’t the whole game. Allen looked much better in the second half, hitting Keon Coleman on a seven-yard touchdown in the third quarter before plunging ahead for a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Allen even completed a pass on the two-point try, hitting tight end Dalton Kincaid in a jump-ball situation. It wasn’t pretty, but he was able to lead the Bills down field when it mattered. Allen finished regulation with just 152 passing yards, completing 10-of-17 passes for a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, as well, on ten carries. Overall, Allen was 12-of-19 for 210 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It was a gusty performance against a tough defense, and it proved that, once again, the Bills are always in it as long as No. 17 is upright.
Horns Up: Ty Johnson
A few weeks ago, I called for someone—anyone—other than James Cook to make an impact out of Buffalo’s offensive backfield. Tonight, Ty Johnson finally did, as he was the team’s leading receiver until a long Khalil Shakir catch-and-run dropped him to second on the squad. Given Buffalo’s injury issues at wide out combined with the Rams’ tough defensive secondary, it came to pass that Johnson was Josh Allen’s top target throughout the night. He caught a 40-yard pass on a screen, and he also converted the first third-down of the night on a long catch-and-run while Allen was scrambling to his left. Johnson had another catch negated via a Skyler Bell holding penalty in overtime, as he caught another screen and had the play wiped out due to the hold.
Horns Down: Jackson Hawes
A false start penalty pushed the Bills back in a short-yardage situation. An offensive pass interference penalty negated a Keon Coleman reception (the second time in the second half where a penalty wiped out a big catch for Coleman). When you’re a blocking tight end, it’s tough to come in and commit a handful of penalties. Hawes did a nice job in that blocking role, as per usual, but a couple of rough plays put a spotlight on the big mauler.
Horns Down: Two-Point Design, Take One
Joe Brady and his cute play design struck again in the third quarter, as the Bills were unable to convert what was an ill-advised two-point try (I understand wanting to go up seven, but it was too early, in my opinion, to go for two). That cute play call never came to pass, as the Bills committed a false start penalty, which knocked them back five yards. That led to a 38-yard extra point try, which Tyler Bass promptly missed just a hair to the right. Perhaps the play would have gone well had they run it, but again, it was another instance of Buffalo overthinking and failing to execute the two-point try.
Now, the second time Buffalo had a shot at a two-point play? They were able to convert, though I’m not sure it was due to play design so much as it was a combination of pass protection and Buffalo’s best offensive players, Allen, floating a jump ball to his best receiver, Dalton Kincaid. It worked, though, so the Bills were officially 1-for-1 on two-point tries.
Horns Down: Maxwell Hairston
After an abysmal week last week, Hairston did not start tonight, instead giving way to rookie Davison Igbinosun. When he was out there, he once again seemed unclear on his assignment more than once. Part of it looks to be that he doesn’t know, or trust, that the safeties will be there behind him for help. On one long completion to Puka Nacua, for example, Hairston ran with Tutu Atwell rather than play his assignment, which seemed to play the vacant zone where Nacua found space for a big gain. CJ Gardner-Johnson was there and in position to cover Atwell, but rather than trust Gardner-Johnson, Hairston ran with the clear-out, thereby leaving Nacua with nothing but green turf surrounding him. It’s been a rough start to his second season.
Horns Down: Discipline and Penalties…Again
Buffalo was called for 13 accepted penalties in the game. Entering play, the Bills had been flagged 30 times in four games. That’s just far too many infractions to overcome on a consistent basis. Whether it’s holding penalties, false start calls, defensive holding penalties—you name it, Buffalo is committing it.
Horns Undecided: You Make the Call
Alright folks, let’s hear it. Who deserves a shout-out…for better or worse?
