Josh Allen racks up 331 yards and
Bills outlast Rams with help from blocked FG for 37-34 win in OT
[October 13, 2026]
By GREG BEACHAM
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Josh Allen realized that his extraordinary
efforts throughout this frenetic game might all amount to nothing
Monday night when the Buffalo Bills fumbled deep in Rams territory
early in overtime.
The Bills' defense — and Greg Rousseau's outstretched hand — somehow
gave him one more chance, and Allen again did everything necessary
to get Tyler Bass in position to kick the field goal that ended a
memorable evening.
Allen accounted for 331 total yards and two touchdowns, Bass made a
45-yard field goal with 1:55 left in overtime shortly after Rousseau
blocked the Rams’ field goal attempt, and the Bills outlasted Los
Angeles for a 37-34 victory.
“That’s the beautiful thing about football: You get another drive,”
Allen said. “All you can do is keep moving forward. You’re hoping
someone on defense or special teams can make a play, and that’s what
happened. Greg Rousseau made a play.”
Allen passed for 210 yards and rushed for 121 more for the Bills
(4-1), who rallied to win a back-and-forth thriller befitting the
teams with the NFL’s last two MVPs at quarterback. Buffalo is off to
a 4-1 start for the sixth time in eight seasons, but the first under
rookie head coach Joe Brady.
The Bills appeared to be in trouble after James Cook fumbled early
in OT, but Rousseau gave Allen another chance — and the star
quarterback finally won an overtime game for the first time in his
career while besting Matthew Stafford, who passed for 383 yards and
three touchdowns.
“That overtime kind of showed the type of character of who our team
is,” Brady said. “You don’t want to fumble. That can’t happen. But
we just keep playing.”
Cook scored his second touchdown with 1:39 left in regulation for
Buffalo, but Kyren Williams scored on a 1-yard surge with 4 seconds
left to force overtime. The Bills began OT by driving again, but
Aaron Donald recovered Cook’s fumble after Nate Landman punched it
out.
Stafford drove the Rams to the Buffalo 30, but Sean McVay made a
curiously conservative play-call on third down before Harrison Mevis
missed his second field goal attempt of the night when Rousseau got
a piece of it.
“The kicking game, with our PAT, field goal (unit) — not even close
to good enough,” McVay said. “It cost us the game tonight. ... I'm
going to evaluate everything.”
Allen then made scrambles of 19 and 13 yards, moving the Bills into
range before Brady elected to try the field goal on second down with
nearly two minutes still on the clock. Bass blasted his kick and ran
away to celebrate before the officials signaled it good.
“The confidence I had in T-Bass was, ‘Hey, 45 yards, he’s going to
make this kick,'” Brady said of his decision process.
Puka Nacua had a career-high 17 receptions for 138 yards and a score
for the Rams (2-3), who are under .500 after five games for the
fourth time in five seasons.
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Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum, right, runs the ball as
Buffalo Bills defensive end Michael Hoecht, upper left, and safety
Cole Bishop try to tackle him during the second half of an NFL
football game, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP
Photo/Scott Strazzante)
Along with McVay's fury over the Rams' latest
special teams debacle, the coach rued his decision to get
conservative before going to Mevis, whose three missed field goals
this season are the most in the league.
“I wish I would have had a better play call and
gone for it, got it tighter,” McVay said. “I'm sick right now with
myself, and I'm so proud of that group. This is the tough part of
sports, but I'm proud of that team. I'm proud of the way we battled,
and I'm sick that we came up short.”
With superior special teams play and Allen's relentless effort,
Buffalo held on to win another offensive shootout between these
teams. The most recent time they met in December 2024, Los Angeles
and Buffalo combined for 902 yards in the Rams’ 44-42 win.
After Davante Adams’ second TD catch with 7:14 left for the Rams in
a game featuring six consecutive lead changes, Allen drove the Bills
71 yards with two scrambles through Los Angeles’ defense. After Cook
scored the tiebreaking touchdown, Stafford completed six of seven
throws down to the Buffalo 1, where the Rams eschewed a timeout so
Williams could punch it in.
Adams tied Larry Fitzgerald for the sixth-most scoring receptions in
NFL history (121). Blake Corum also rushed for a score, and tight
end Tyler Higbee had five catches for 83 yards.
Keon Coleman caught Allen's only TD pass for Buffalo.
Buffalo's running game
Cook rushed for 111 yards before his latest fumbling woes for the
Bills, while Allen got more than 100 of his yards rushing on
scrambles, repeatedly escaping the pocket and rendering useless the
Rams’ tenacious secondary coverage. Buffalo finished with 234 yards
rushing.
“When it’s there, it’s there,” Allen said. “I don’t want to make a
living on that, I understand that, but I do know how much of a
backbreaker that can be on a defense when you think you’re in pretty
good coverage. I felt like there was some room to maneuver there and
keep the chains moving.”
Injuries
Bills: RT Spencer Brown left in the second half with a back injury.
... Top WR DJ Moore sat out with a shoulder injury.
Up next
Bills: At Vegas on Sunday.
Rams: Host Arizona on Sunday.
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