So supposedly loaded were the Super Bowl-favorite Rams, they earned four prime-time appearances in their first five games.
And from a purely entertainment standpoint, the Rams were not living up to their billing.
Monday night’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills provided the latest showcase.
The Rams delivered some thrills — but not a victory.
Tyler Bass kicked a 45-yard field goal with 1:55 left in overtime, sending the Rams to a 37-34 loss before 73,882 at SoFi Stadium.
Special teams miscues and penalties once again hampered the Rams in a game that featured three touchdown passes by Matthew Stafford and a career-best 17 catches by Puka Nacua.
Just as they did two years ago, when the Rams outlasted the Bills for a 44-42 victory, the teams put on a show.
But the Rams’ record dropped to 2-3, the fourth time in the last five seasons the Rams are 2-3 or worse after five games.
In 2022, when the Bills blew out the Rams in the opener at SoFi Stadium, the Rams were 2-3 en route to a 5-12 finish, the worst Super Bowl Hangover in NFL history.
In 2023, the Rams were 2-3 before rallying to finish 10-7. The Detroit Lions eliminated the Rams in the NFC wild-card round. The next season, the Rams started 1-4, finished 10-7 again and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.
Monday’s game was a matchup between the two previous NFL most valuable players, Bills quarterback Josh Allen in 2024 and Stafford in 2025. It was the first game between consecutive MVPs who play in separate conferences since 2015 when Peyton Manning went against Aaron Rodgers.
Stafford completed 40 of 54 passes for 383 yards, including two touchdown passes to Davante Adams and another to Nacua, who had 138 receiving yards.
Allen, who accounted for six touchdowns in a 44-42 loss to the Rams two years ago, completed 12 of 19 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown, and he rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown as the Bills improved to 4-1.
This was supposed to be a special season for the Rams.
But it has turned into a special teams nightmare.
Harrison Mevis missed two field-goal attempts, including a winning kick in overtime that was blocked by Buffalo linebacker Greg Rousseau. The Rams also gave up a 70-yard return on the opening kickoff.
The Rams continued their penalty-filled foibles: They were flagged 11 times for 84 yards, many of the pre-snap variety that drives coach Sean McVay crazy.
Special teams miscues and penalties hampered the Rams in the first half, and they trailed 13-7 at halftime.
The Rams took the lead early in the second half when Stafford engineered a 60-yard drive that ended with Blake Corum’s one-yard touchdown run.
But late in the third quarter, the Bills took the lead on Allen’s touchdown pass to receiver Keon Coleman. The Bills missed the extra-point attempt, leaving them with a 19-14 lead.
The Rams immediately answered, Stafford connecting with tight end Tyler Higbee for 28 yards before Corum caught a pass and turned it into a 34-yard gain. That set up Stafford’s two-yard touchdown pass to Nacua early in the fourth quarter, but Stafford was sacked on a two-point conversion attempt, leaving the Rams with a 20-19 lead.
Allen then directed an 80-yard drive that he capped with a one-yard sneak, and his two-point conversion pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid gave the Bills a 27-20 lead with 11:28 left.
But the Rams tied the score on the next possession off a five-yard touchdown reception by Adams.
Allen, however, got the ball with just over seven minutes left, and had 15- and 21-yard scrambles during a drive that ended with Cook scoring on a five-yard run for a 34-27 lead with 1:39 left.
On the ensuing possession, Stafford completed a 14-yard pass to Adams and, one play later, found Nacua for 16 yards and then Adams for 15. A one-handed catch for nine yards by Kyren Williams moved the ball to the one-yard line, and Williams scored on the next play with five seconds left in regulation. Mevis’ extra-point tied the score.
The Bills got the ball first in overtime, and appeared on their way to a field goal or touchdown when Khalil Shakir gained 57 yards on a catch-and-run to the Rams’ 22. Rams safety Kamren Kinchens prevented Shakir from scoring when he just barely managed to trip up the Buffalo receiver.
But on the next play, linebacker Nate Landman punched the ball from Cook’s grasp and Aaron Donald recovered the fumble with 7:54 left.
Stafford drove the Rams to the Bills’ 30, but the Bills blocked Mevis’ attempt, setting the stage for the Bills’ winning drive.
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