Of all the wild moments in the Bills' 37-34 win over the Rams, the one that set up Buffalo's win -- and maybe the worst decision of the night -- was Sean McVay deciding to run the ball on a third-and-5 at the Bills' 30-yard line in overtime and settle for a 48-yard field goal attempt. The attempt got blocked, the Bills scored on their ensuing possession, and the game was over. The preseason Super Bowl favorites -- the dream team that has already had three nightmare losses -- are 2-3.
Now ask yourself, would you rather trust the right arm of 2025 MVP Matthew Stafford, who ran red-hot all of the second half and overtime, to gain 5 yards or the right leg of Harrison Mevis to make a kick from 48 yards? This was a coaching failure on McVay's part. The Rams have Stafford, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
Stafford was 24-for-31 for 284 yards and two touchdowns in the second half plus overtime. And you basically give up on offense to bring on your special teams unit? McVay is an excellent coach, but even excellent coaches make mistakes, and this one was truly gross.
"I wish I would've had a better play call and gone for it, gotten it a lot tighter," McVay said. "I'm sick right now with myself. ... I'll be regretting kicking that and not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down and go to fourth or whatever it was, and that's on me." He's right, but those words carry little meaning now.
All that matters is that he and the Rams learn a lesson they've been apprehensive to learn (to put it nicely) or damningly ignorant of (to put it harshly): Special teams can and will cost them their Super Bowl dreams ... again. "It's got to get better,'' McVay added. "We're gonna be able to figure out how to be able to fix this, but it can't continue like this with regards to our kicking operation ...
Ultimately, it's my responsibility." Last year, the Rams finished 31st in special teams expected points added. In a crucial Week 16 matchup against the Seahawks, they gave up a punt return touchdown, and Mevis missed a field goal. In the NFC Championship game, also against the Seahawks, Xavier Smith muffed a punt, leading to a Seattle touchdown one play later.
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