INGLEWOOD, CA– It was simply a thrilling edition of “Monday Night Football”, a spectacular matchup at quarterback-the Bills’ Josh Allen going toe-to-toe against Rams gun slinger Matthew Stafford. In this wild, seesaw battle, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Overtime, 37-34, at SoFi Stadium on Monday, October 12th.
It had the pace of the heavyweight boxing title. Both teams feeling each other out before going into hyperdrive, in the second half. No wonder fans, and frankly the NFL, are dying to see these teams meet in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi.
In OT, the Rams forced a turnover as Rams Linebacker Nate Landman punched the ball out from James Cook as Aaron Donald dove on the ball. Stafford and Rams Wide Receiver Puka led the Rams down the field. Unfortunately, Rams Kicker Harrison Mevis missed a potential game-winning 48-yard field goal as Biĺspass rusher Greg Rousseau got a hand in the football.
We went into overtime after a frantic fourth quarter in which these two teams combined for 35 points. That came after a rather sluggish opening two quarters, but the game jumped into overdrive after that, with Buffalo narrowly edging out the win to move to (4-1) on the season. Meanwhile, this loss brings L.A. back under .500 on the year at (2-3).
There were thousands of Bills fans in the crowd, which was an annoying subplot.
Special Teams errors from the Rams were a catalyst for this devastating loss. Earlier, Mevis, who missed a 50-yard Field goal attempt. He is 5 for 9 on field goals this season.
Coming into this game, Josh Allen was 0-7 in his career (including playoffs) in overtime, so he’s finally gotten into the win column in this regard. On top of some clutch play by the special teams to block Mevis’ attempt, the Bills quarterback was once again the straw that stirred the drink of the offense.
It is unfair to put all of the blame on Mevis. Why did the Rams offense become so complacent and conservative upon reaching the Bills 35-yard line?
The Rams offense continued to roll down the field for a touchdown, than just stalled.
McVay played it a bit too conservatively with a short pass to Kyren Williams, inching them up just five yards before Mevis went out for the 48-yard attempt.
In that spot, McVay should’ve kept his foot on the gas, especially knowing that Mevis isn’t a lock to make the kick from where they were at. For his career, Mevis is just 42.8% on kicks from 43 yards out and longer, but is 100% from 42 and in. Had they played for a few extra yards, maybe this game would have had a different result.
Let’s pontificate on Pukas briĺiance. It was a busy night for Nacua, who was targeted 24 times by Matthew Stafford. He caught 17 of those targets for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Of course, those targets are a new career high for Nacua, surpassing the 20 targets he saw in Week 2 of the 2023 season. His 17 receptions were also a career high and were the most receptions in a single game in “Monday Night Football” history.
Next week, the Los Angeles Rams will host division foe, the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi. Kickoff is slated for Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 1:05 PM.
