In the catalog of Puka Nacua plays on the highlight reel from the Rams’ 44-42 win over the Bills on Sunday, one drive stood out. Midway through the second quarter, the young wideout made an indescribably difficult sideline catch in tight coverage. Several plays later, he leap-frogged into the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run.
“He was awesome,” said head coach Sean McVay, whose Rams (7-6) moved into sole ownership of second place in the NFC West . “He’s so physically and mentally tough. Love him. Ignitor is one of the biggest compliments I can give somebody. You elevate everybody around you, you bring energy to this football team and he certainly did that today.”
Nacua did more than ignite his teammates. Aside from scoring both rushing and receiving touchdowns, and posting 12 catches for 162 yards, Nacua sent clear smoke signals to the four teams remaining on the Rams’ schedule. Insider Peter Schrager said the once-left-for-dead Rams are a serious obstacle.
“It was that five-alarm fire for everyone around the league: ‘Oh no, not the Rams. The Rams?’ The Rams lost to the Bears this year. We watched them lose to the Dolphins at home on Monday night,” Schrager said Monday on Good Morning Football. “The Rams are for real and they have a coach who’s willing to lay it on the line.”
He sure did. Nursing a 38-35 lead and facing fourth-and-5 from the Bills’ 35-yard line with less than four minutes remaining, McVay eschewed a 53-yard field-goal attempt and went straight for the Buffalo jugular. And when everyone figured they’d go to Nacua or Cooper Kupp, instead Matthew Stafford hit Tutu Atwell over the middle for 11 yards. Three plays later, Nacua was in the end zone again and the Rams were up 44-34 at the two-minute warning.
Nacua and Kupp combined for 17 receptions, 254 yards and two touchdowns. Those opportunities surfaced because the offensive line didn’t allow a sack, helping Los Angeles to go 11-for-15 on third downs. Amazingly, the Rams posted 42 runs and only 30 passes. Stafford finished 23 of 30 for 320 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 132.6 passer rating.
Buffalo, meanwhile, became the first team in the Super Bowl era (1966-present) to score six touchdowns and commit zero turnovers in a loss. Entering the game, NFL teams were a combined 245-0 in that period when recording those marks. In a losing cause, Josh Allen was spectacular. He became the first player in NFL history to post three touchdown passes and three rushing touchdowns in a game. It marked the quarterback’s fifth career game with at least two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns, surpassing Hall of Famer Steve Young (four) for the most such games in league annals.
But the Rams obviously needed this one more than the Bills (10-3). Los Angeles kept pace with Seattle (8-5), which has won four straight to preserve its perch atop the NFC West. And there’s little time to ponder the stature of the Rams’ victory over the Bills. Los Angeles has a short week and a critical road trip to San Francisco (6-7) on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
Buffalo’s road doesn’t get any calmer. The Bills are in Detroit to face arguably the NFL’s best team, the Lions (12-1), on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).
For more information on the Rams and Bills, visit the L.A. Rams and Buffalo team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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