Six things we learned from NFL’s Rams-Bills opener

The Buffalo Bills are Super Bowl contenders – and the rest of the NFL has been put on notice. 

Thursday’s 31-10 season-opening win over the defending-champion Rams in Los Angeles crystalized the Bills’ potential on both sides of the football. Not only did quarterback Josh Allen overcome a pair of interceptions to finish with 297 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-31 passing, but offseason acquisition Von Miller sacked Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice in his debut for Buffalo. 

And the Bills’ dominance hardly ended there. 

Stafford was also picked off three times during an uncharacteristically poor performance, while the Bills defense held the Rams backfield to just 2.9 yards per carry on Thursday. 

Granted, Rams running back Cam Akers has been battling knee problems and had only three carries, but that hardly accounts for LA’s offensive struggles, which were compounded by a 6-of-13 conversion rate on third down. 

The Bills, meanwhile, converted 9 of 10 third-down opportunities, which helped them to overcome a pair of lost fumbles on top of Allen’s interceptions. 

Here are six things we learned from the NFL’s blockbuster opener on Thursday in LA:

Matthew Stafford’s elbow might be a problem after all

Despite Stafford’s insistence during training camp that he feels ‘great,’ Thursday’s performance did not calm concerns over his reported elbow problems.

Pain in the joint bothered him throughout the 2021 season, and things appeared to get worse in the offseason, as the 34-year-old opted against throwing in any team workouts, while participating sparingly in training camp and missing all three preseason games.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Stafford underwent an offseason procedure aimed at alleviating the pain he felt in his right elbow throughout last season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later revealed that procedure to be platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, which involves injecting a concentration of a patient’s own blood platelets in an effort to heal muscle and joint issues.

And Stafford appeared happy with his physical condition on Sunday before his PRP injection had been revealed.

‘I feel great,’ Stafford told reporters. ‘Ready to go play. Can always be better. Can always try to feel like I’m 21 again. I’ll keep trying. But no, I feel really good. Feel I can make every throw.

‘I don’t know what else you need to hear from me.’

A solid performance against the Bills would have quieted those questions, but that hope was quickly dashed on Thursday.

Two of Stafford’s three interceptions on the day were tipped, but that hardly excuses his overall performance: 29 of 41 passing for 240 yards and a touchdown. 

Worst of all, following the retirement of last year’s left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, Stafford was sacked seven times on Thursday – the most since he’s joined the Rams.  

‘Matthew Stafford was brutal tonight,’ tweeted NFL blogger Jacob Infante. ‘Would figure some of it has to do with the injured elbow, but his overall situational awareness was bad, too.

‘Tough outing from the Rams offense outside of Cooper Kupp. It’s one game, but they looked worse than they have in quite some time.’

Von Miller makes a (fashion) statement in his Bills debut

The 33-year-old pass-rushing specialist was back at SoFi Stadium, where he won a Super Bowl last September as a member of the Rams.

A lot of things have changed since then, most notably Miller has a new six- year, $120 million contract with the Bills, who are hoping he can find a way to improve a defense that ranked first in the NFL last year.

Two things that didn’t change: Miller’s production and his haircut.

The former Texas A&M star confused fans watching on NBC with a peculiar triangle-shaped hairdo adorning the back of his head, the rest of which was shaved. He previously sported the look at February’s Super Bowl.

‘The back of Von Miller’s hair is a triangle cut,’ wrote one fan on Twitter, accompanied by a laughing emoji.

‘Every sack Von Miller gets he earns a puzzle piece of his hair back,’ joked another fan.

But while fans had a chuckle at Miller’s expense, the Rams weren’t laughing. 

Miller finished his Bills debut with two sacks, four tackles, and an army of new fans in Western New York. 

He also showed off his versatility, bull rushing Rams left tackle Joe Noteboom for his first sack, and beating a pair of blockers for his second. 

Josh Allen looks good – even when he’s getting intercepted

Yes, Allen had a pair of interceptions in Thursday’s opener, but both were thrown nearly on target before Rams defenders Troy Hill and Terrell Lewis wrestled the football from Bills receivers. 

Aside from that, Allen lived up to the preseason hype that has followed him since the Bills lost last season’s divisional-round playoff game in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

‘He’s, to me, the best quarterback in the game right now,’ former Cincinnati Bengals receiver and NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said before the game. ‘He’s got incredible talent, he’s a great leader, he works hard, he’s smart, and what he does on the football field, it’s hard to stop.

‘What puts him over the top, to me, he’s the second-best running quarterback in football behind Lamar Jackson…He’s a very special player, he’s a superstar, he can beat you with brains and brawn.’

And Allen showed off his fancy footwork on Thursday, scrambling for a game-high 56 yards on 10 carries with an impressive touchdown run, to boot. 

Odell Beckham Jr.’s future remains unclear

Injured NFL free agent Odell Beckham Jr. was on the Rams’ sidelines for the NFL Opener, but could very well be on the Bills’ depth chart in the coming months. 

The former All-Pro receiver signed a mid-season deal with the Rams last year after being released in Cleveland, and served as a nice complement to star wideout Cooper Kupp en route to the Super Bowl. 

Beckham even caught a touchdown in the game, but ultimately tore his ACL and remains sidelined until at least November with the knee injury. 

Whenever he does return, though, Beckham is expected to sign with a contender.  

The 29-year-old has teased a potential return to the Rams, but this week tweeted that he could sign with ‘whoever wins Thursday.’

Naturally, Beckham’s Twitter account took on added significance for fans as the Rams were getting bludgeoned by the Bills on Thursday. 

‘ Sheeesh…. Bills mafia ??????’ Beckham tweeted, referring to Buffalo’s fan base. 

But just when it looked like the former LSU star was ready to declare his intention to sign in Buffalo, he added another tweet.

‘Watch the bullshxt story lines and how they try to count the Rams out after one game!!!!’ Beckham tweeted, offering support to his former teammates. 

Suffice to say, Beckham’s future remains unclear.  

‘At this game overwhelmed wit (sic) emotion I don’t kno (sic) how to feel,’ he tweeted. ‘Part of me wants to be out there and the other part of me is enjoying watchin the benefits of the hard work these people put in!’

The Rams finally have a banner for Los Angeles

The club raised its second Super Bowl banner before Thursday’s game, but this one takes on added significance because it’s the franchise’s first in Los Angeles.

Previously the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in January of 2000 when they still played in St. Louis. The club was founded in Cleveland in 1937 before moving to LA in 1946, St. Louis in 1995, and back to LA in 2016.

‘You were with us the whole year to bring the Lombardi [Trophy] home,’ now-former Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth told the crowd at the banner’s unveiling. ‘Every touchdown, every sack, and every no-look pass, this Hollywood story had the picture-perfect ending.’

Highlights from the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win played on the scoreboard at SoFi Stadium, where LA beat the AFC-champion Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, on February 13.

Alongside Whitworth was Beckham, who was seen holding the Lombardi Trophy.

‘Rams house, this is for you,’ Whitworth exclaimed.

NBC’s Mike Tirico gets a geography lesson from Bills fans

NBC announcer Mike Tirico inadvertently angered Bills fans, not by criticizing their team, but by characterizing them as citizens of Upstate New York.

‘Upstate New York is feeling pretty good right now,’ Tirico said during the first half.

Buffalo, and the suburb of Orchard Park, where the Bills play their home games, are both located in the Western part of New York State.

Traditionally ‘Upstate New York’ is a subjective term, but is generally thought to encompass the Hudson Valley, Capital District, Mohawk Valley, and central part of the state, but not Western New York towns such as Buffalo or Niagara.

‘Buffalo may be the favorites to go to Super Bowl this season…but the city of Buffalo IS NOT IN UPSTATE NEW YORK,’ wrote one fan. ‘Not up for debate. Do not @ me. #Bills.’

‘Did that commentator just call Buffalo ‘Upstate New York?’ asked another fan. ‘Wanker.’

Tirico, who hails from Queens, attended Syracuse University, which is located in Upstate New York… depending on who you ask.