No last-second magic to save the day
The Buffalo Bills’ 2024 season has been written. So let’s add some “illustrations!” If you’re new to Plays That Defined, this isn’t a highlight recap, but rather a cathartic retelling of the past season, chapter by chapter.
Don’t vote for your favorite play necessarily, vote for the one that best represents that game’s narrative. I’ll recap the game to refresh your memory, but don’t feel locked in by my narrative.
Chapter 14: Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams
After thoroughly decimating the San Francisco 49ers at home, the Buffalo Bills traveled West to take on the Los Angeles Rams. The final score shows a two-point loss and, yes, the game was close in many respects. However, it should be noted that at no point did the Bills hold a lead in this game.
Cutting the deficit to three in the fourth quarter, the Rams responded right away to keep it a two-score game. The Bills put the final score on the books to bring it as close as they did, but needed the elusively rare onside kick to have a chance at a victory.
Punt return TD (Q2; 12:38)
One point that should be abundantly clear based on the 42-44 score is that the Bills’ offense had a very good day. To lose then, you need some pretty big failures elsewhere. This is a good example of that. Even a “bad” punt play is typically just “not a very far kick.” Blocked punts for a returned touchdown are a pretty special kind of bad.
Bills’ 51-yard TD (Q3; 4:04)
As noted, Buffalo’s offense had a fantastic day. This 51-yard touchdown to Khalil Shakir was chosen as the representative for that story line — but a 21-yarder to Mack Hollins or the 41-yarder to Ty Johnson were also both worthy. I could have also gone with Josh Allen’s one-yard rushing touchdown, except I’d have to narrow that down as he had three of them. Ultimately, I went with the most explosive of the six to highlight the insane offensive output.
Final Rams TD (Q4; 2:00)
When it came to the Rams’ touchdown to select for this, I wanted to go with the worst failure (in my opinion) from the defense. That was tough to decide on so I went with the killing blow. The final touchdown to Puka Nakua saw the Rams facing third down, something the Bills forced FIFTEEN time (that’s a lot of forced third downs). Sadly, they allowed eleven of those to be converted (that’s really bad).
Onside kick (Q4; 1:00)
In the waning moments of the game, Buffalo needed a score and an onside kick for a shot to take the game. They got the score, but as the GIF shows they didn’t get the onside kick. This play is a great highlight for coming up short.