The season opener is always easy to get excited about, marking the return of regular-season football. But the NFL made it impossible not to be thrilled for the first game of the year by putting the Rams and Bills in prime time on Thursday night.
It’s a huge matchup that many feel could be a Super Bowl preview – which (almost) no one in Buffalo or Los Angeles would complain about. Here are eight stats and facts to know for this season-opening tilt at SoFi Stadium.
1
Rams are 5-0 in Week 1 under Sean McVay
Sean McVay has never started a season 0-1 as a head coach. He’s a perfect 5-0 in Week 1 with the Rams, also helping Los Angeles cover the spread in each of those five games. The Rams beat the Colts 46-9 in 2017, the Raiders 33-13 in 2018, the Panthers 30-27 in 2019, the Cowboys 20-17 in 2020 and the Bears 34-14 last year.
It’s a testament to the prep McVay and the Rams do leading into the season, finding ways to exploit their opponent’s weakness.
2
Bills are 3-2 in season openers since 2017, averaging 16.8 points per game
Sean McDermott was hired the same year McVay was, but he hasn’t had as much success in season openers. The Bills are still above .500 at 3-2 in Week 1, but they average only 16.8 points per game, so they’ve traditionally gotten off to slower starts than the Rams. Last season, they were stunned by the Steelers at home, losing 23-16.
3
Rams are 5-8 all-time against the Bills, losing the last 2
The Bills own the all-time series lead against the Rams, going 8-5 in their 13 meetings dating back to 1970. The Rams have lost the last two meetings, too, most recently in 2020 when they nearly completed a miraculous comeback but allowed a last-second touchdown to lose, 35-32.
The Rams have only faced the Bills twice since moving back to Los Angeles but they allowed at least 30 points in each of those two meetings.
4
First time either team is playing the NFL season opener
The Bills aren’t used to playing the season opener, seeing as they’ve never won a Super Bowl or been selected to face the defending champions. The Rams won the Super Bowl following the 1999 season, but the next year, they didn’t get to play the opener, instead playing on Monday night.
Neither the Rams nor the Bills have played the NFL season opener since the league started putting the first game on Thursday night.
5
Bills were 0-6 in games decided by 7 or fewer points last year
As good as the Bills were last year, they were terrible in close games. All of their wins were by at least eight points, losing each of their six games that were decided by seven or fewer points – including their postseason loss to the Chiefs.
Some might suggest that’s a reason to think the Bills will be even better this season, but if this is a close game, expect the Rams to prevail, as they did multiple times last year in close contests.
6
Cooper Kupp had nine catches, 107 yards and 1 TD last time vs. Bills
Kupp had plenty of success against the Bills in 2020 when they met, going over 100 yards with one touchdown. He matched up with slot corner Taron Johnson often, who should be Kupp’s primary challenger again this week.
Expect No. 10 to have another big game on Thursday night, picking up right where he left off last season.
7
Matthew Stafford is 0-2 with 2 TDs, 1 INT vs. Bills
Stafford hasn’t had the best results against the Bills in his career. He’s 0-2 against them with two touchdowns passes and one interception. Those games came in 2014 and 2018, with the scores being 17-14 and 14-13, respectively.
He was sacked six times in that 2014 loss, fumbling it twice in the game. In 2018, the Bills scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to take the one-point lead, which they never relinquished.
8
Both of Josh Allen’s Week 1 wins came vs. Jets
Josh Allen has started three season openers in his career, going 2-1 in those games. However, both of those wins were against the Jets: once in 2019 and again in 2020. Allen had three touchdown passes and two interceptions in those wins before losing last year’s opener to the Steelers.
In the last two years, Allen has three touchdown passes and no interceptions, though he has been sacked six times.
