Winners and losers: 5 takeaways for Bills in shootout loss to Rams in Week 14

Well, it wasn't your typical "trap game" kind of a loss, but it was a loss nonetheless as the Buffalo Bills saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end in a wild 44-42 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.

Not only did this matchup represent the highest-scoring game in the NFL this season, but it's also the first game in league history in which both teams scored 40 or more points and committed zero turnovers. Throw in the fact that there were also zero sacks in this game, and you've got a little more history.

And we certainly can't forget about yet another record-setting day from Josh Allen, which we'll break down in just a moment.

Down by as many as 17 on two separate occasions in this game, the Bills scratched and clawed their way back into the mix, pulling to within three in the fourth quarter. But they just didn't have quite enough to pull out the victory and dropped to 11-3 with the loss.

As such, Buffalo now sits two back in the overall standings to the Kansas City Chiefs, who took yet another close victory on Sunday night, improving to 13-1 with a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Here's a look at a few winners and losers from the Bills' Week 14 loss to the Rams.

Winner: Josh Allen

The NFL MVP race is essentially over at this point.

A week after becoming the first quarterback in NFL history with a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and a receiving touchdown in the same game, Josh Allen made more history against the Rams on Sunday as he became the first player ever with three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a single contest.

He also now has five career games with at least two passing TDs and two rushing scores, which is also an NFL record. Allen ultimately completed 22 of 37 passes for a season-high 342 yards and racked up a season-best 82 yards on the ground on just 10 carries.

Winner: Khalil Shakir

With both Keon Coleman (wrist) and Dalton Kincaid (knee) sidelined yet again, Khalil Shakir stepped up and had a big afternoon, catching five passes for 106 yards, the highlight being his 51-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.

Shakir continues to be Allen's most reliable target and his 65 receptions on the season are almost double the total of Kincaid, who sits in a distant second with 34.

Shakir also has a commanding lead when it comes to yardage and has already set a new career-high in that regard with 735 for the year. Coleman, who has now missed Buffalo's last four games, sits in second with 417 yards.

Winner: Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper also had a solid afternoon and had his best day yet in a Bills uniform, catching six passes for 95 yards. It should be noted, though, that the former Brown was targeted a team-high 14 times.

Since being traded from Cleveland to Buffalo, the five-time Pro Bowler has amassed 16 receptions for 231 yards but hasn't found the end zone since his first game with the team back in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans.

Loser: James Cook (and James Cook fantasy football managers)

As the Rams came into this contest allowing 144.2 rushing yards per game this season, the fifth-most in the NFL, James Cook seemed primed for his second consecutive 100-yard outing after running for 107 against the San Francisco 49ers last week.

Surprisingly, however, Sean McDermott abandoned the running game altogether and only called Cook's number a season-low six times, resulting in just 20 yards on the ground for the third-year back. He also caught a pair of passes but only gained nine yards.

So, if you started Cook on your fantasy team or had him on any sort of TD parlay, you're probably not a happy camper today. In every instance in which the Bills were on the goal line, it was Allen who got the call, as all three of his rushing scores came from one yard out.

Loser: The Bills' defense as a whole

As there are simply too many Buffalo players to call out on the defensive side of the football, we're just going to give the loser designation to Bobby Babich's entire unit, as the Bills could do absolutely nothing to stop the Rams' offense.

Coming into this matchup, Matthew Stafford had only had one 300-yard game all season, and that was all the way back in Week 1. But he moved the ball at will against Buffalo, completing a season-high 76.7% of his passes for a season-best 320 yards with a pair of touchdown passes, one to Puka Nacua, who had a dozen catches for 162 yards, and one to Cooper Kupp, who had five catches for 92 yards.

The Rams' running attack was also on point, as they racked up 137 yards on the ground, 87 of which came from Kyren Williams, who twice found the end zone.

The 457 total yards were the most allowed by Buffalo this season, and that's not what Bills Mafia wants to see, as this team now has to prepare to play the Detroit Lions, who've averaged the second-most offensive yards in the league this season with 394.8 per game.