Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams
vs. 
Buffalo Bills (0-0) vs. Los Angeles Rams (0-0)
Thursday September 8th
8:20pm
NBC / Amazon Prime
SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, CA
Buffalo Bills -2.5 (-110)
Over/Under 52.5 (-110)
All eyes will be on Sofi Stadium on Thursday as the NFL will kickoff its regular season with a star-studded matchup. Last year’s champions return home to where they won Super Bowl LVI, and host the Buffalo Bills, the team many believe has the inside track on this year’s title. The season-opening kickoff has grown each year, and this one is big not only for the festivities, but also because both teams believe they have the chance to bookend and play in the final game of the season. Buckle up football betting fans, September 8th begins a long marathon, with options galore to meet your wagering desires.
What We’re Watching
The last time the Buffalo Bills were favored to win the Super Bowl, they had just come off of Scott Norwood’s wide right field goal miss in Super Bowl XXV. It’s safe to say the drought era of the 2000’s and 2010’s are over in Buffalo, as quarterback Josh Allen enters the season as the top MVP candidate. Allen will lead the Bills into Los Angeles with a roster that is as deep as any in the league, against a feisty defense with multiple All-Pro players, headlined by Aaron Donald. Both teams will be ready for this matchup as each believe they could be playing bookend games, with a chance to meet in the final game of the season in Arizona.
The Bills are one of the most balanced teams in the league, and their offense and defense will both be tested right out of the gate. New offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey has stated he wants to be a more run-balanced team, without so much of Josh Allen being the featured runner. He’ll attempt work his running back trio of Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and rookie James Cook early in an effort to control the line of scrimmage. The Bills made some changes on their offensive line, and they believe they have their best unit they’ve had in the Sean McDermott era. They’ll need to be good as the Rams boasted one of the better run defenses in the league a year ago, that also added future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner at the middle linebacker spot. The always important matchup with Aaron Donald will help determine their success running the football. A healthy Dion Dawkins, newly acquired Roger Saffold and Mitch Morse will all need to be in tune if they’re going to hold Donald at bay. The other critical matchup is going to be with veteran Leonard Floyd on the edge against right tackle Spencer Brown. The mammoth lineman is physically gifted, but struggled a season ago against athletic and savvy pass rushers, which is exactly what Floyd is. As much as they’ll want to run the ball, in a passing league, the big plays Buffalo can make in the passing game is really what will make this game a win or a loss. Josh Allen has plenty of weapons, starting with Stefon Diggs and last year’s playoff stud Gabriel Davis, however the player to watch in this game could be slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie. The smallest player on the field is stepping in for departed and reliable Cole Beasley, and he has quietly gained the confidence of both the coaching staff and Allen. With Jalen Ramsey likely splitting single coverage between Diggs and Davis, McKenzie could have some favorable matchups against nickel corner David Long, Jr. or even the safeties and linebackers. In that same thought, tight end Dawson Knox could also benefit if Allen decides to look away from Ramsey and Troy Hill.
Everything fell into place for the Rams during their Super Bowl run, and their team could be even better as they head into this season. Let’s first state that it wasn’t luck of things falling into place that earned the Rams their Super Bowl victory. Head coach Sean McVay orchestrated things brilliantly, and the addition of Matthew Stafford and some timely veteran stars helped catapult them over the top. Despite a lack of draft picks, the Rams are poised to make another run in an NFC that is completely wide open. Stafford scared some in the organization with some questions around his elbow, which thankfully sounds like it was just a scare and nothing overly serious. The Rams also have a new offensive coordinator as their coaching staff was scalped after their Super Bowl win. Liam Coen will work closely with McVay to run an offense that looks really good on paper. Stafford wasn’t honestly amazing during the regular season in 2021, yet he provided the leadership and plays needed to get this team where it wanted to go. He’ll be licking his chops with number one wideout Cooper Kupp lining up against cornerbacks Dane Jackson and Kair Elam, due to the absence of Tre’Davious White in the Bills secondary. Add in a healthy Allen Robinson II across from Kupp and Stafford should find some space to throw. The Bills best chance to protect their young cornerbacks is by a relentless pursuit from their defensive line. Buffalo brought back Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson, and free agents Tim Settle and Daquan Jones, giving it one of the deepest lines in the entire league. Add in their own future Hall of Famer and former Ram Von Miller, and Stafford could be under a lot of pressure. The Rams offensive line played well down the stretch and Joe Noteboom is now the full-time starter at left tackle replacing retired Pro Bowler Andrew Whitworth. He’ll not only be a key in this game, he’ll also be worth watching the entire season. A season ago, the way to attack the Bills defense was with a strong running game, so don’t be shocked if Cam Akers gets some early totes. We’re expecting a tougher run defense for the bills front seven, which is one last key point for this game. The Bills have to be able to stop the run without bringing up safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. Both need to support the young corners against the talented wide receivers for the Rams.
Key Trends and Indicators
The Bills are 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games vs. the NFC
The Rams are 5-0 ATS in week one since 2017
Public money early in the week is sitting at approximately Bills 72% and Ramps 28%.
The Bills are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 meetings vs the Rams
BetCrushers Take:
When you have two teams coming into a season amped up, anything can certainly happen. Eventually, this game is going to come down to both the X’s and O’s, and the players on the field. This line moved quickly after opening months ago at Rams -2. With such a swing and Stafford’s elbow being cleared, the Rams seem like the play on paper. Something tells us that this Bills team is going to be focused and ready though, and they could pick up right where they left off in the playoffs a year ago. It’s also important to note that the crowd will likely be pretty evenly split as Bills Mafia is traveling hard and breaking tables in Los Angeles as you read this. We’re expecting an exciting opening game that likely ends up being as close as the spread would indicate. There’s really only one reason we won’t be laying the points with Buffalo, and it’s not the fact that it would be a square public bet. The Rams wide receivers against the Bills cornerbacks could be a nightmare waiting to happen if the Bills can’t get consistent pressure on Matthew Stafford.
There will be a ton of action on the sides and the total of this game as it’s essentially the beginning of the season Super Bowl. As always, we’ve searched for some more hidden opportunities and found something we love, even with it’s -125 price tag. The Bills point total is set at a meager 26.5, which is a number we expect them to eclipse in the national spotlight. Going back to their final 7 games of last season including the playoffs, the Bills topped that mark in each game. We’re feeling good about our first official wager of the 2022 season, best of luck to everyone this year!
Predicted Score: Buffalo Bills 30, Los Angeles Rams 27
