Plays that defined 2020: Week 3—Los Angeles Rams at Buffalo Bills

What if someone told you they had the audacity to miss a Buffalo Bills game? What if you could show them one play, and one play only, to recap the whole thing? What play would you choose? Welcome to Plays that defined 2020...

Week 3: Los Angeles Rams at Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills were hosting the Los Angeles Rams in a game that was expected to be a tight contest. The new-look Buffalo offense started off hot and it looked like a blowout was certain after the Bills went up 28-3. The Rams kept their cool though and fought back, taking a late lead and causing some concern about the vaunted Bills defense. With 4:30 left on the clock the Bills needed a hero. They had several waiting to go.

Lee Smith Touchdown (Q1, 1:41)

The Buffalo Bills started off nearly unstoppable. After a punt on their first drive they scored a touchdown on their second with this pitch-and-catch from Josh Allen to Lee Smith. The Bills would score on their next three drives as well—all touchdowns. The Bills had a bona fide offensive explosion.

Rams keep their cool (Q3, 8:05)

The Rams’ run game had been working pretty well even in the first half, despite only putting up three points. Once the Bills went up 28-3, I recall commenting in the Buffalo Rumblings’ Slack channel that hopefully the Rams would stop running the ball. They did not. They kept their cool and stuck to their game plan. The Buffalo defense didn’t have an answer, allowing four touchdown drives in a row of their own, creating a mirror from the earlier portion of the game.

Aaron Donald strip sack (Q4, 7:32)

The defense wasn’t alone in letting the Rams get back into the game. An interception in the third quarter gave Los Angeles the ball with a shortened field and this strip sack from Aaron Donald in the fourth quarter gave them another. These turnovers sandwiched Buffalo’s second punt of the game. The Buffalo offense, unstoppable just a short time ago, was now quite stoppable.

Cole Beasley first-down conversion (Q4, 3:20)

The Bills had 4:30 left to retake the lead. A quick strike to Cole Beasley for 18 was followed by a sack for a loss of 12, and an incomplete pass. While the Bills were in four-down territory, this wasn’t exactly an ideal situation. Josh Allen found Beasley again for most of the yardage. Beasley found the rest of it. Beasley caught six passes on seven targets. Three of those catches and 59 yards were all on the final drive.

Last-second TD (Q4, 0:21)

The Buffalo Bills ate up over four minutes of clock and put themselves in prime scoring position with four tries and 21 seconds. They only needed the one shot as Tyler Kroft extended to pluck the pass out of the air, but the methodical drive from Buffalo made sure the Rams were unlikely to respond.

It’s time to vote for the play that defined the game. Remember, it’s the play that best tells the overall story of this contest, not necessarily a favorite play or best highlight.

Note: To vote in the poll, you’ll need to go to a web browser if you’re reading this on your mobile device news service.