In some ways, the Rams had their best offensive performance since Kurt Warner’s GSOT
The L.A. Rams offense may have just had its best game of the Sean McVay era in their 44-42 win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Taken a step further, the Rams just had one of their best games on offense since the Greatest Show on Turf era.
That’s how historic 28 first downs and 11-of-15 on third down was for McVay’s L.A.:
- The Rams third down conversion rate (73.3%) was the highest of the McVay era
- It is the highest rate in franchise history on more than 10 attempts
- It is only the second time that the Rams achieved 28 first downs since 2020
- The Rams went 1-of-1 on fourth down, so they even converted one of their only four third down failures
The Rams haven’t converted over 74% of their third down attempts since they went 6-of-8 (75%) in a 42-20 win over the 49ers on October 10, 1999.
The only three other times that the Rams had a better day on third down:
- 11/10/1996: 8-of-10 (59-16 win over Falcons)
- 12/30/2001: 8-of-10 (42-17 win over Colts)
- 9/4/2000: 6-of-7 (41-36 win over Broncos)
It is almost always a bad sign when a team has to attempt 15 or more third downs, but the Rams made it a weapon. The Rams are now 61-0 when they score at least 42 points.
The Rams went 11-of-15 on third down
73.3% is the best mark of the Sean McVay era
It is also the 5th-best mark in franchise history and the best-ever with over 10 third down tries
— TurfShowTimes (@TurfShowTimes) December 9, 2024
The Rams are also 130-2 when they score at least 36 points, but points haven’t been easy to come by in McVay’s eighth season as the head coach.
L.A.’s previous 2024 season-best was 30 points, which they did in their win over the Vikings on Thursday Night Football in Week 8. Aside from that, the Rams rank 16th in scoring, 15th in yards, 25th in rushing yards, and 27th in yards per carry. Their win over the Bills this week serves as 2024’s season-best for:
- 44 points
- 28 first downs
- 457 total yards
- 320 net passing yards
- 50.2 yards per drive, 6 scoring drives, 5 TD drives
- +29.74 EPA
- 38:30 time of possession
5 of the Rams’ 20 longest (yards) drives this entire season came against the Bills this week.
The only thing that prevented perfection, aside from defense, was nine penalties for 99 yards. But the Rams held nearly a 2:1 time of possession advantage against Josh Allen.
How do the Rams bottle this and scorch into the playoffs on a hot streak? That will be the question starting in three days against the 49ers. Keep it going and this won’t be the last time we compare this offense to the best of them in franchise history.