Our NFL experts predict, pick and preview the Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams Thursday night game, with kickoff time, TV channel and spread.
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Thursday Night Football: Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams
It just takes a minute to make or break your NFL season. As they approach the 2022 kickoff of "Thursday Night Football," both the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams have been dreaming of those 60 seconds for an entire offseason.
For the Bills, it's been a torturous reminder of one of the best finishes in NFL playoff history. Josh Allen drove the team down the field in just 49 seconds, going 75 yards in six plays to take the lead against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. It seemed like the perfect ending to what appeared to be a Super Bowl run — until everyone realized 13 seconds were left on the clock.
Lesson learned for the Bills: 13 seconds were still a few too many for Patrick Mahomes. Minutes later after forcing overtime, the Chiefs won the coin toss and scored on the first possession, leaving this year's trendy Super Bowl favorite wondering what might have been.
"It was tough to be in that moment," Allen said then. "Holding on to that feeling and making sure that we don't feel like this again."
Step one to redemption is beating the Rams, still reminiscing about a final minute all their own. It was their defense stopping Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow when it mattered most, preserving a 23-20 victory in Super Bowl LVI that followed a career-defining drive led by the team's dynamic quarterback-wide receiver duo: Matthew Stafford and MVP Cooper Kupp.
"This is just a long time coming for a lot of guys," Stafford said after that win. "This is Andrew Whitworth, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, so many great players, Robert Woods, on our team, Cooper, so many guys that I could name that just deserve this for the way they go to work every single day. The way they care about each other as teammates and people, just so happy to get it done for those guys."
Yet for the Rams, they begin the tricky part of their Super Bowl defense the same way most teams do: missing some of the pieces that got them the trophy. Of the names Stafford mentioned, Woods and Whitworth are gone. So is wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a key offensive boost added midseason who remains an unsigned free agent.
On defense, the team remains confident, hoping the addition of six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner completes a terrorizing defensive trio with Donald and Ramsey. But the NFL's active sack leader, Von Miller, has moved to the enemy, making his debut for the Bills on Thursday night.
"I can never hate L.A.," Miller told the AP earlier this week, explaining the tough decision to leave, but... "I'm excited to go. I'm ready to go win a Super Bowl for the Buffalo Bills."
Has the loss of all these key players, plus an elbow injury for Stafford, put the Rams in too deep a hole against the Bills? Or will the reigning Super Bowl champs make a statement against one of the AFC's best teams?
Thursday Night Football: Buffalo at Los Angeles
Kickoff: Thursday, Sept. 8 at 8:20 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Spread: Bills -2.5
Three Things to Watch
1. Josh Allen vs. Rams Defense
Allen heads into 2022 eager to build on his postseason performance. The numbers were simply incredible in two games against the Patriots and Chiefs: 637 passing yards, a 77.4 completion percentage, nine touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 149.0 passer rating.
It wasn't enough to get them over the hump. But it'll sure be a challenge for the Rams defense, which ended last season just 22nd against the pass.
"Those scramble plays [are what's most dangerous]," claimed Rams coach Sean McVay about Allen. "Where he's able to create what's typically a three or a four-second play into sometimes an eight or nine-second [play]. That ends up being a really great challenge."
Will the Rams' front line, without Miller, be able to stop Allen's dual-threat attack? Allen totaled 134 rushing yards in those two postseason games and has become a more prolific ground threat since the last time he visited the Rams in 2020.
Back then, Allen threw for 311 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception, pulling out the win after the Bills nearly blew a 25-point lead. The Rams' defense will be hard-pressed to slow him down with favorite targets, tight end Dawson Knox and wide receiver Stefon Diggs, fully healthy.
2. How effective will Matthew Stafford be?
Fully healthy is not exactly how you'd describe the Rams' starting quarterback. Stafford has been dealing with an injury described as elbow tendonitis, curtailing his throwing schedule during the offseason and flaring up during training camp.
McVay has been adamant there are "no limitations" on his quarterback entering the season. Stafford added last month that "I felt like I could make any throw I wanted to" on the practice field.
Words, however, need to be backed up by actions. Sitting out the preseason, Stafford's first snap Thursday night will be his first serious in-game work since the Super Bowl. He'll also be missing a primary target: wide receiver Van Jefferson is not expected to play after undergoing minor knee surgery in August.
Stafford's chemistry with Kupp won't be hard to pick back up and, chances are, Kupp will have a big night. The Rams will benefit there from the Bills losing cornerback Tre'Davious White for Thursday night (still recovering from a torn ACL).
With that said … the Bills had the top-ranked defense last season overall and against the pass, only allowing a league-best 163 yards per game in the air. Since then? They've added Miller to a pass rush that'll make things that much more difficult for Stafford.
It's a tough first test for a signal caller who had his most pass attempts in a single season (601) since 2014. With a Rams rushing attack ranked just 25th last season and a backfield that's still unsettled (Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr. are expected to split time), can Stafford be counted on to put the game on his shoulders?
I don't think we'll know until the fourth quarter Thursday night.
3. Can the Bills run the football … and how much?
Here's a stat that might surprise you: these Bills had a better ranking last year with their rushing offense (fifth) than Allen's passing attack (ninth). Everyone is curious to see how new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey (replacing Brian Daboll, now the Giants head coach) is able to mix and match between the two.
Devin Singletary is a big reason the Bills have a more balanced attack. The fourth-year back came alive during the last four weeks of 2021, posting five of his seven rushing touchdowns on the year and a career-high 110 yards rushing against the Falcons in Week 17.
Add in Zack Moss, Allen, plus second-round draft pick James Cook of Georgia and you get one of the NFL's underrated rushing attacks. The Bills have been tight-lipped on just how much Cook will factor in but if the preseason was any indication? A 19-yard rush against the Broncos (where he and Singletary combined for 77 yards) showcased the Bills have a new weapon — and they're not afraid to use it.
Final Analysis
Thursday night is step one of the Rams' second-toughest schedule in the NFL, the price of winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Even though they're starting at home, all the buzz surrounding this game makes them feel like an underdog to start their title defense. (Vegas agrees.)
The Bills, coming in hungry, are about to show them just how tough it is to earn back-to-back championships in this league.
Prediction: Buffalo 38, Los Angeles 20
