Buffalo Bills vs Los Angeles Rams Match Player Stats (Dec 8, 2024)

The Rams beat the Bills 44 to 42 at SoFi Stadium on December 8, 2024, in front of 73,493 fans. Josh Allen threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, becoming the first player in NFL regular season history to hit those marks in a single game. Buffalo still lost.

Game Leaders

Team Totals

Buffalo came in riding a seven game winning streak after clinching the AFC East title against San Francisco the week before. That streak ended because the Rams held the ball for 17 more minutes and ran 18 more plays.

Score By Quarter

Team Statistics

This game made history as the first in the NFL where both teams scored 40 or more points without committing a single turnover. Neither quarterback got sacked. Both offenses executed cleanly, making the outcome depend on possession and third down efficiency.

Josh Allen Quarterback Performance

Allen finished 22 of 37 passing for 342 yards with three touchdowns through the air. He carried the ball 10 times for 82 yards and three more scores on the ground. No interceptions. A 117.2 passer rating.

Josh Allen Statistics

Allen was responsible for 424 of Buffalo’s 445 total yards. That’s 95.3% of his team’s offense. He scored on 1 yard runs in the first, fourth, and fourth quarters again. He connected with Ty Johnson for 41 yards, Khalil Shakir for 51 yards, and Mack Hollins for 21 yards on touchdown passes.

The only other player in NFL history with three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in one game was Otto Graham in the 1954 NFL Championship. Allen now owns the regular season record alone. This was also his fifth career game with at least two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns, breaking the tie with Steve Young for most such games ever.

Allen reached 60 career rushing touchdowns, joining Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks to hit that number. He also passed Cam Newton for most games with two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in NFL history with 23.

“I have to make one more play than they do,” Allen said after the game. “It was a total team loss in three phases. We didn’t play up to our standards.”

Matthew Stafford Quarterback Performance

Stafford completed 23 of 30 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. No interceptions. His 132.6 passer rating came from a 76.7% completion percentage and 10.7 yards per attempt.

Matthew Stafford Statistics

Stafford found Cooper Kupp for 17 yards with 18 seconds left in the third quarter to push the lead to 38 to 21. His biggest throw came with 1:54 remaining in the fourth, a 19 yard touchdown to Puka Nacua on a pick play that gave the Rams the lead for good. Before that score, he converted a fourth and five with an 11 yard pass to Tutu Atwell that kept the drive alive.

“Josh Allen is an alien,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “Some of the stuff that he can do and the things that he can create, we knew he was capable of that. He’s shown that. That’s why he’s as well respected and well regarded in this league as he is. But our guys made just enough plays to be able to come out on top.”

Buffalo Bills Receiving Performance

Receiving Statistics

Shakir caught five passes for 106 yards, leading the team in receiving. His 51 yard touchdown in the third quarter cut a 31 to 14 deficit down to 31 to 21 and kept Buffalo within striking distance. Cooper caught six for 95 yards as a reliable intermediate target. Hollins grabbed the 21 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that pulled the Bills within three at 38 to 35.

Johnson’s 41 yard touchdown came off a screen pass in the second quarter where he waited for his blockers to set up and ran behind a wall into the end zone.

Los Angeles Rams Receiving Performance

Receiving Statistics

Nacua led all receivers with 12 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown. He caught the game winner with 1:54 left, a 19 yard grab on a pick play. His performance also included five rushing attempts for 16 yards and a touchdown, giving him 178 total yards from scrimmage and two scores.

Nacua joined Jerry Rice and Lance Alworth as the only wide receivers in NFL history with at least 160 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown, and one rushing touchdown in a single game.

Kupp caught five passes for 92 yards and a touchdown. His 17 yard score with 18 seconds left in the third quarter extended the Rams’ lead back to 38 to 21 right when Buffalo was trying to build momentum.

“Obviously, offensively, what those guys have been doing is very impressive,” Kupp said after the game. “Seeing it firsthand, they’re a really good football team, so we needed everything we had as a team today.”

Atwell’s three catches for 45 yards don’t show up huge in the box score, but his 11 yard reception on fourth and five with less than four minutes left kept the game winning drive moving.

Buffalo Bills Rushing Performance

Rushing Statistics

Allen led the team in rushing with 82 yards on 10 carries. His 30 yard scramble in the fourth quarter picked up a first down and drew a 15 yard horse collar penalty on Jared Verse, moving Buffalo to the Rams 35. Cook managed just 20 yards on six carries, giving Buffalo no complementary ground game to take pressure off their quarterback.

Los Angeles Rams Rushing Performance

Rushing Statistics

Williams set a career high with 29 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns. That 3.0 yards per carry average doesn’t look impressive until you realize those 29 touches controlled the clock and converted third downs. The Rams went 11 for 15 on third down conversions, and Williams’ volume was the reason why.

He scored from three yards out in the first quarter to cap the opening drive. His second touchdown came from seven yards in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 31 to 14. Williams’ workload increased significantly from the Los Angeles Rams vs Detroit Lions match player stats in Week 1, where he managed just 2.8 yards per carry on 18 attempts in an overtime loss. The Rams committed to feeding him the ball regardless of efficiency to control possession.

Corum provided quality relief with eight carries for 34 yards, averaging 4.3 per attempt and giving Williams necessary breathers. Nacua’s five designed carries on jet sweeps and end arounds added a horizontal element that stressed Buffalo’s defense and opened up running lanes between the tackles.

Buffalo Bills Defensive Performance

Top Defenders

Rapp led the team with 13 tackles. Hamlin finished with 12. When your safeties lead the team in tackles, running backs and receivers are consistently getting to the second level. Buffalo’s defensive line couldn’t generate pressure on Stafford, recording zero sacks and allowing the Rams to convert 5 of 6 red zone trips into touchdowns.

Bills coach Sean McDermott was direct after the game: “They did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Defensively and special teams, neither were good enough to help us win this game.”

Los Angeles Rams Defensive Performance

Top Defenders

Rozeboom led the Rams with eight tackles. The defense allowed three touchdowns on three Buffalo red zone trips, showing zero ability to get stops when it mattered. The one critical play came from Speights, who stuffed Allen on first and goal from the one yard line with 1:06 remaining. That stop forced Buffalo to burn their first timeout, which became costly after Allen scored on the next play. The Bills had only two timeouts left for the final onside kick scenario.

Special Teams Breakdown

The blocked punt changed everything. At 12:29 in the second quarter, Jacob Hummel broke through Buffalo’s protection and blocked Sam Martin’s punt. Hunter Long scooped up the ball and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 17 to 7 lead.

The Rams hadn’t blocked a punt since 2018, a six year gap. Buffalo hadn’t allowed a blocked punt touchdown since the 2021 season opener against Pittsburgh. The play created a 14 point swing, giving Los Angeles seven points without an offensive drive while taking away a Buffalo possession.

Joshua Karty made a 22 yard field goal in the second quarter and converted five of six extra points. His only miss came after Nacua’s go ahead touchdown, leaving the score at 44 to 35 instead of 45 to 35. That kept it a one possession game. Tyler Bass went six for six on extra points for Buffalo.

Kicking Stats

Scoring Breakdown

Fourth Quarter Comeback

Allen scored three times in the fourth quarter. His 1 yard run at 14:27 cut the deficit to 38 to 28. After a defensive stop, he found Hollins for 21 yards at 8:49 to make it 38 to 35.

On the final drive, Buffalo faced fourth and 15 from midfield with 1:24 remaining. Quentin Lake committed a 34 yard pass interference penalty that moved Buffalo to the Rams 16 yard line. Without that penalty, the game ends on a turnover on downs.

The Bills reached the one yard line with 1:06 left. Speights stuffed Allen on first and goal, forcing Buffalo to use their first timeout. Allen scored on the next play to make it 44 to 42 with exactly 1:00 remaining.

Buffalo attempted an onside kick that Ronnie Rivers recovered cleanly for Los Angeles. The Rams kneeled out the clock and ran off Buffalo’s final two timeouts to seal their first victory over the Bills since 2012 and first home win against Buffalo since 1983.

Historical Context and Records

This game produced the 2024 NFL season’s highest point total at 86 combined points. Buffalo’s 42 points represented the most ever scored by the Bills in a franchise loss. They became the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose after scoring at least six touchdowns without committing a turnover, a feat that had previously resulted in a 245 and 0 record for teams reaching those benchmarks.

The 902 combined yards of offense without a turnover or quarterback sack happened without either team making a critical mistake. Both teams combined for zero sacks allowed across 86 total points.

Allen’s performance joined exclusive company. His sixth consecutive season with 3,000 passing yards made him the first Bills quarterback to achieve that streak, surpassing Jim Kelly’s five consecutive seasons. He also set the Bills franchise record with his 27th career 300 yard passing game, breaking Jim Kelly’s mark of 26.

With 4,000 career rushing yards, Allen became the fifth quarterback in NFL history with 25,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards, joining Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Randall Cunningham, and Steve Young.

Why the Rams Won

The 17 minute time of possession advantage decided this game. Los Angeles ran 72 plays to Buffalo’s 54, a difference of 18 offensive snaps. The Rams’ 73.3% third down conversion rate (11 of 15) kept drives alive and kept Allen on the sideline.

Buffalo averaged 8.2 yards per play, which normally wins games. But when you only get 54 plays compared to 72, efficiency can’t overcome volume. The Rams built their game plan around ball control, and they executed it perfectly.

The blocked punt created a 14 point swing that Buffalo never fully recovered from. Special teams decided the margin in a game where both offenses were historically good and both defenses were historically bad.

Next Games

Buffalo traveled to Detroit for a Sunday matchup on December 15, 2024 at 4:25 pm ET. The loss dropped them to 10 and 3 but kept them in strong playoff position. Los Angeles improved to 7 and 6, moving above .500 for the first time all season. The Rams headed to San Francisco on short rest for Thursday Night Football, riding momentum from their biggest win of the season.

You can check the official box score on Fox Sports, read the complete game recap from the Rams, view the Bills’ official recap, or see NFL.com’s statistical breakdown for more details on Allen’s historic performance.

Los Angeles won 44 to 42 at SoFi Stadium on December 8, 2024, with their 38 minutes and 30 seconds of possession time proving decisive against Buffalo’s 21 minutes and 30 seconds despite Josh Allen’s six total touchdowns.