The Buffalo Bills wasted a historic performance from Josh Allen in Sunday’s 44-42 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, losing after a series of mishaps on defense and special teams including a blunder on the final play that could put the heat on one assistant coach.
The Bills were able to rally from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns in the final quarter and cutting the lead to three points with close to a minute remaining. But the Rams were able to run off enough time to end the game on a punt into the endzone — a play that has since drawn some controversy.
Bills Squander Chance to Comeback
The Bills had pressure on the Rams after a pass interference penalty put them on the one-yard line with less than a minute left and trailing by 10 points. With the Bills holding all three timeouts, they had a chance to score and try to stop the Rams, potentially getting the ball back with enough time to drive for a field goal.
But Allen failed to score on a sneak on first down, forcing the Bills to call a timeout. Though Allen scored on the next play, the Bills were only able to stop the clock twice after failing to recover an onside kick.
That allowed the Rams to punt the ball into the endzone as time expired, though a coaching miscue may have helped. As Syracuse.com reporter Ryan Talbot noted, the Bills have trouble substituting on the punt and only had nine players on the field.
Talbot predicted that special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley could be in danger of losing his job after the blunder.