The 2022 NFL season is finally here. There will be a total of 272 games played this season before we get to the playoffs, and the first of those games sees the defending champion Los Angeles Rams begin their Super Bowl title defense by welcoming one of this season’s favorites — the Buffalo Bills — to SoFi Stadium on Thursday evening.
In what projects to be a thrilling debut contest, we will see stars all over the field. From Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs to Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey to Von Miller and Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, the gridiron will be overflowing with some of the league’s best players. There could hardly be a better way to open this campaign.
Before we get to breaking down the matchup, here’s how you can watch the game on Thursday night.
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Sept. 8 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
TV: NBC | Stream: fuboTV (click here)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Bills -2.5, O/U 52
When the Bills have the ball
Before we get into discussing the various stars around which the matchups on this side of the ball will orbit, it’s important to talk about structure.
No defense in the league played more early-down (first and second) snaps with six or fewer defenders in the box last season than did the Rams, according to Tru Media. Buffalo’s offense, meanwhile, saw opponents play with light boxes on early downs more often than all but two other NFL teams. So, the Bills are used to seeing this defensive posture — and finding success against it, as they finished the season ranked eighth in EPA per play on those snaps.
Beginning under Brandon Staley and now under Raheem Morris, Los Angeles first and foremost wants to take away the deep pass, and structuring the defense this way allows them to do so while — for the last two seasons, at least — not giving up too much in the run game. Without players like Sebastian Joseph-Day up front, it will be interesting to see if Morris can still play things the same way, or if he has to change to more traditional four-man defensive lines and maybe even drop a safety down into the box more often than he would like to. Either way, the Rams would surely prefer that the Bills put the ball in the hands of Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, or James Cook than those of Josh Allen.
The Bills, though, have an interesting counter available…
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