Josh Allen and Bills Dominate Rams in Season Opener

In what many considered to be a potential Super Bowl preview, the Bills got the best of the Rams on the NFL's opening night.
© Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY
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The Los Angeles Rams began their Super Bowl LVI defense on Thursday night, welcoming the preseason AFC favorite Buffalo Bills and star quarterback Josh Allen to SoFi Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Rams, pass protection and shortcomings on offense were too much to overcome, with Buffalo pulling away in the second half on their way to a 31-10 win over Los Angeles.

And to simply say pass protection was an issue for the Rams would be an understatement, with the Bills sacking LA quarterback Matthew Stafford seven times and hitting him 15 times throughout the night. 

It was former Ram Von Miller who did arguably the most damage to Stafford, finishing the game with two sacks, three tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits of his own. 

As a team, the Rams amassed just 243 total yards of offense, including just 240 yards through the air and three interceptions from Stafford. 

The only true bright spot of the game offensively for the Los Angeles was wideout Cooper Kupp, who finished with 13 catches for 128 yards and a the lone Rams touchdown.

On the other end of the field, the Rams' defense did their best to keep their team in the game, forcing four turnovers

However, in the second half, the wheels came off, with the Bills outscoring the Rams 21-0 for the remainder of the game and racking up 413 yards of total offense.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who came into the game as a preseason MVP favorite, did not disappoint, picking up right where he left off in the 2021 AFC Championship game and completing 26 of 31 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns.

He also had nine carries for 57 yards and another touchdown.

Star wide receiver Stefon Diggs also had a monster game, hauling in eight receptions for 122 yards and a score. 

Following the loss, the Rams will have 10 days to turn the page to Week 2, where a matchup with the new-look Atlanta Falcons awaits, and star second-year tight end Kyle Pitts awaits at SoFi Stadium.

The Rams lead the all-time series vs. the Falcons 48-30-2, with the Falcons winning seven of the last nine matchups.


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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com