Even with a tied game going into halftime, the NFL’s season opener always felt like it was Buffalo’s to lose. The Bills hadn’t been forced to punt once, and the only thing that was stopping them was their own turnovers. The Rams, on the other hand, had evened up the game with a long field goal at the end of the half after scoring their only touchdown on a 60 yard drive that needed a fourth down conversion to keep moving.
In the second half, we saw the Bills start with a touchdown just as they had in the first. In this half, however, things would be different. The Bills’ defence put the clamps on the Rams’ high powered offence, grabbing two interceptions and allowing no points against. Meanwhile, on offence, Josh Allen led a 94 yard touchdown drive to go up two scores before hitting Stefon Diggs for a 53 yard touchdown to put the nail in the coffin for Buffalo. Allen was tremendous all game, throwing just five incompletions on 31 attempts and running for 56 yards on 10 carries as well.
Although it was just one game in September, the big takeaway from this game was how good Buffalo looked. To dominate the defending Super Bowl champions on both sides of the ball in their home stadium is truly remarkable. What’s more, all-pro corner Tre’Davious White still hasn’t returned from injury! The offence did turn the ball over four times and ball security will most likely be a focus for the Bills next week, but what an opener it was for the Super Bowl favorites.
As for the Rams, this is the first time in Sean McVay’s tenure that the team has a losing record. With that kind of track record of success, I expect Stafford and the rest of the team to bounce back strong next weekend against Atlanta. It certainly isn’t time to ring the alarm for the Rams, and hopefully the loss can be a learning experience for a team looking to make another deep run in the NFC.
If you didn’t catch the game, check out the highlights below!
