Bills and Rams storylines to know going into NFL week 1

The NFL is returning on Thursday night, with the Buffalo Bills heading to SoFi Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Rams at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. Two teams with extremely high Super Bowl aspirations coming into the year with two of the top quarterbacks in the league square off on the NFL’s opening night, and all their stars will be out for the show.

The Rams are looking to defend their Super Bowl victory, and return a loaded roster that now includes free agent wide receiver acquisition Allen Robinson. Aaron Donald is still the best defensive player in the league, and Cooper Kupp is looking to repeat as offensive player of the year.

On the opposite side, the Bills are seemingly the Super Bowl favorites after losing to the Chiefs in the divisional round last year. Josh Allen is aiming to continue upon a supernova stretch in the playoffs where he broke Bill Belichick so much he hired his former defensive assistants to be offensive coaches, and went toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes in one of the greatest football games ever played. In the offseason, the Bills went and added to their already loaded roster, signing Von Miller and Jamison Crowder.

Here are some of the top storylines heading into the game.

Early in the 2021 season, the Bills were struggling offensively. As defenses begin to shift to more two-high shells, teams like the Chiefs and Bills were slowed down because at its core the shells limit explosive plays and force teams to be patient. The Bills decided to counter that by, in a way, stomping on teams in the run game. They inserted fullback Reggie Gilliam and used Josh Allen as a battering ram in the run game. This took their offense to a completely different level, rising to second in EPA per play from Week 12 through their postseason run.

This change from the Bills could be where the NFL goes as defenses get smaller and lighter, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Bills offense looks against a Rams defense that while good, will allow teams to have success in the run game.

So...is Matt Stafford healthy? This entire offseason for the Rams has been filled with reports of Stafford’s arm being less than 100 percent, whether that be his elbow or his shoulder. Stafford downplayed it, Rams coach Sean McVay downplayed it, but the entire NFL is going to see how healthy Matt Stafford is after the Super Bowl run.

Of course Stafford’s health is important because he’s the starting QB for the defending champs, but the way the Rams won last year placed a lot on Stafford’s shoulders. Where the Rams were at their best was when Stafford was in empty formations and could fire passes to the Rams receivers, but if he’s not healthy the Rams will have to lean on a run game that wasn’t overly exciting last year.

The Rams traded for Von Miller in the middle of last season in order to juice up their pass rush. Miller’s veteran presence helped guide the Rams to a Super Bowl victory, but he’s now hoping to do the same for a relatively young Bills pass rush unit. The group features rising star Gregory Rousseau, as well as Ed Oliver, Boogie Basham and AJ Epenesa. Miller’s return to SoFi Stadium is going to come with a lot of fanfare, but on the field it could be a problem for a Rams offensive line that saw Andrew Whitworth retire in the offseason.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 8

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Announcers: Mike Tirico will be on play by play, with Chris Collinsworth doing commentary and Melissa Stark on the sidelines.

Live Stream: NBC and Peacock or with the NBC Sports App