Inglewood, California — After their defense gave up scores on six of the Los Angeles Rams’ first seven possessions on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills had no business being in the running for victory.
However, Josh Allen, a superstar for the Bills (10-3) team, was in the middle of breaking yet another NFL record. Allen became the first player in history to rush for three touchdowns and throw three touchdowns in one game when he rushed into the end zone with less than a minute remaining.
Allen scored six touchdowns, but the Bills lost a thrilling game against the Rams 44–42 because of a huge error that occurred just before his last touchdown.
With 1:06 remaining in the game, Bills receiver Amari Cooper set up first and goal at the 1-yard line after the Rams were given an offensive pass interference penalty. Buffalo was nine points behind, 44-35, and they would have used all three of their timeouts if they scored.
To try to bring the Bills into the end zone, offensive coordinator Joe Brady called up a quarterback sneak with the ball only a yard away. There was only one issue: the clock would lose valuable seconds and the Bills would be put in a difficult situation if Allen failed to reach the end zone. Allen could spike the ball, McDermott could let the clock run and run a quick play, or he could stop it with a time out.
When NFL great Tom Brady was on Fox, he criticized the Bills’ decision to run the ball right away.
Brady stated, “In my opinion, throw it three times and don’t use a timeout.”
Allen was stopped just shy of the goal line as the Bills ran it. The seconds began to pass while Allen was trapped beneath the pile. McDermott burned the time out at that point. Brady was aware that the game was essentially finished, as everyone else was.
“What’s the big deal, even if they score?” Brady stated. They will need to attempt an onside kick. That doesn’t appeal to me at all. They might have lost the game right there.
With seven seconds remaining, the Bills recovered the ball on a Rams punt, but the punt was a touchback as time ran out.
Buffalo’s latest scoring drive, which lasted just 54 seconds, had eight plays. During the first six plays, McDermott was careful not to utilize any of his timeouts. After the game, he stated that time was running out with Allen under the pile, which is why he decided to burn one after the quarterback ran on first down from the one-yard line.
McDermott remarked, “You’re in a pile, number one.” He’s in the pile, and it will take some time to unload it and get back on the line. Therefore, it takes longer than you would like in that scenario to get up from the pile and finish everything, regardless of whether you’re going to clock it at that moment.
If the Bills stopped the Rams, they would still have three timeouts, so even if they scored a touchdown on the next play, they would have the ball back even if it took them 20 or 30 seconds after the run.
If the Rams’ defensive stop on the play puts the Bills in a position where they must first decide whether to call the timeout, then why run the ball?
Brady said that the Bills ought to have simply passed the ball. McDermott claimed to have given it some thought.
McDermott remarked, “You feel pretty good about Josh getting that one yard.” He has been very excellent at it, but we have also been very good at it. It was what it was; we tried our hardest to convert, as we always do in that circumstance, but we simply failed.
With at least six touchdowns and no turnovers, Allen’s 424 yards of total offense made the Bills the first team to lose a game. In the past, teams were 245-0 there.
David Edwards, the left guard for the Bills, said that he didn’t perform his duties effectively enough to allow Allen to score on the first run.
“I felt it was my fault for not getting us to the end zone there, and we trust Sean and the coaches to put us in great positions,” Edwards remarked. “I thought their defensive play of sort of laying on us and the urgency to get up in that scenario was excellent. Being at the bottom of the pile and having less influence over it makes it difficult.
Allen claimed he had to make the play and find a way into the end zone on the first try, even though his six touchdowns set an NFL scoring record. Theoretically, it would have been preferable to conserve the timeout, he added.
Allen remarked, “But I have to figure out how to get into the end zone because it’s in the heat of the battle.” “We had to fight. We put up a strong defensive front there. Once more, I simply need to discover additional completions and improve things for our guys.
