Halftime Update: Defense Keeping it Close for Rams Against Josh Allen and Bills

The Rams and Bills are locked in a tight contest through the first half of play.

The Los Angeles Rams kicked off the 2022 regular season at home against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night at So-Fi Stadium, in what many considered to be a potential Super Bowl LVII preview. 

And through the first 30 minutes of play, it has been a deadlock, with the teams entering the locker room at halftime at a 10-10 tie.

From the first possession of the game, it has surprisingly been the offense that has been a major area of struggle for the defending champs, with the Rams amassing less than 100 yards of offense until the final three minutes of the second quarter. 

The offense was able to come alive after that, however, with quarterback Matthew Stafford hitting his go-to guy, Cooper Kupp, in the corner of the end zone for the Rams' first score of the game, to make the score 10-7. 

Matt Gay rounded out the scoring in the first half for the Rams, knocking through a 57-yard field goal as time expired.

Outside of his interception, Stafford was largely efficient, completing 13 of 17 passes for 95 yards and the touchdown, with one interception.

That said, offensive line play has been perhaps the biggest concern for Los Angeles, with Stafford being sacked three times and the team rushing for just 38 yards on 11 carries -- 18 of which came on one play. 

Defensively, the Rams were far from perfect in the first half but were able to force three turnovers. The first turnover was an interception of Bills quarterback Josh Allen that bounced off the hands of the receiver, while the second was a recovery of a James Cook fumble. 

The third was yet another interception of Allen, this time with Troy Hill jumping in front of the receiver to make the play.

As expected, Allen picked up right where he left off to end the 2021 season, completing 17 of 20 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown, with the two interceptions before heading to the locker room.  

Stefon Diggs has been a major reason for Allen's success, catching six passes for 62 yards so far.

The Rams will receive the football to open the second half of play.

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You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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