Josh Allen Didn't Have His Best Game, but the Bills Found a Way

Oct 12, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) looks on after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson revived the longstanding “Good, better, best!” chant as a postgame ritual last season.No comment on how many times he repeated after Sunday’s debacle in Green Bay.Monday in Inglewood, Calif., offered an entirely different setting for Buffalo Bills counterpart Joe Brady, who unwittingly put a new spin on the phrase after Josh Allen willed Buffalo to a wild 37-34 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams on “Monday Night Football.”“His good is damn good,” Brady said, “and it’s good enough.”That’s damn right.Allen passed for 210 yards and rushed for 121 while accounting for two touchdowns, helping the Bills prevail in a thriller that put them atop the AFC East at 4-1. The Rams, meanwhile, tumbled below .500 at 2-3. Super Bowl contenders have rallied from greater adversity, but this one finished as a gut punch for LA because Buffalo channeled its resolve better than its foe.A beleaguered defense that yielded 454 yards? So what? An offense that completed only four passes to wide receivers? What about it? Two turnovers, including a James Cook fumble early in OT? And your point?Buffalo simply hung around. Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau blocked Harrison Mevis’ 48-yard field-goal attempt to set up Tyler Bass for a 45-yard kick to end the game.“Guys kept chipping away,” Allen said. “Defense kept going out there, making plays. Special teams was big tonight. Don’t think we threw it very well, especially in the first half, but our team kept fighting, I mean, to the last second. Found a way to win. It’s the first OT (victory) that I’ve got, so this feels good, being on this side.”Allen snapped a personal seven-game losing streak in overtime games, including playoffs, to begin his career.With Cook (25 carries, 111 yards, two TDs) providing a constant in the ground game, Allen’s heroics down the stretch certainly added up. During the fourth quarter and overtime, he was 5-for-5 passing for 121 yards and a two-point conversion while rushing six times for 91 yards and a score."Just didn't feel like I was in a rhythm [early], wasn't taking some of the underneath stuff. Fighting mechanically some stuff right now that I'm working on," Allen said. "But I felt like in that second half I got into a rhythm. Guys made some plays. It's awesome stuff."Allen had a long run of 18 yards – better than anyone in the Rams’ running game – while completing passes of 40 and 57 yards to Ty Johnson and Khalil Shakir, respectively.With wideouts DJ Moore and Joshua Palmer inactive due to shoulder injuries, Allen capitalized on the opportunities he saw in the quarterback scramble game when a dump-off pass to a running back or tight end wasn’t there.Next is a visit to the Las Vegas Raiders, losers of two straight.“Got a lot of things to clean up,” Allen said. “We’ll take being 1-0 in this two-game West Coast trip so we’re going to enjoy this one.”They had better. Winning can be especially rewarding when not everyone is at their best.