The Buffalo Bills are a 2.5 point favorite per Caesars Sportsbook in Thursday's NFL season opening game against the defending Super Bowl champions the Los Angeles Rams.
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Here are a list of game predictions from NFL analysts around the country.
The home team coming off the Super Bowl has been a good play in these games, going 10-5-1. But I am going to buck that trend and take the Bills to cover and win this game. Buffalo will be explosive on offense all year and it starts here. But the biggest difference is they have Von Miller and the Rams don't. That will mean sack-fumble-game-over late for the Bills to win it.
Pick: Bills 30, Rams 24
The defending Super Bowl champion is 14-3 S/U in the NFL Kickoff Game. The Bills are "all-in" on a Super Bowl run, but the Rams are still more than talented enough to make a run at a repeat. The Rams are at home, and Matthew Stafford shakes off any doubts about a hangover season with a game-winning TD drive, complete with a TD pass to Cooper Kupp. Take the home underdog.
Pick: Rams 28, Bills 24
The Rams, the defending Super Bowl champs, start their season against the team favored to win it all this year. The visiting Bills are 2.5-point favorites as they come into Inglewood, Calif. For the Rams, there have been lingering questions about quarterback Matthew Stafford's right elbow pain, which nagged him throughout the off-season. Rams Coach Sean McVay has downplayed it, but the betting markets aren't as convinced. The money is heavy on the Bills, who opened as 1-point favorites and are now laying 2.5.
Buffalo's secondary led the league against the pass last season, and nabbed the Rams' veteran linebacker Von Miller in free agency to beef up an already outstanding defensive unit. This should be a close one.
Pick: Rams +2.5
I like this Bills team a ton, but they are certainly being overvalued heading into the season. And while Buffalo is a certain Super Bowl contender, L.A.'s defensive line is capable of bringing pressure on the edges and up the middle, just the things that can make Josh Allen uncomfortable.
Lorenzo Reyes: Rams 29, Bills 26
Winning the Super Bowl is one thing. The grind to repeat is another. I think Josh Allen and the Bills are poised to climb that mountain like the Rams did last season, and they put the league on notice in the season opener.
Safid Deen: Bills 31, Rams 24
Admit it or not, a cloud of contentment hovers over the defending champion. Conversely, if any team feels the fire of a title run it's the Bills, following that Chiefs' loss.
*Lance Pugmire: Bills 28, Rams 24 *
Key stat: The Rams are 5-0 in season openers under coach Sean McVay.
Prediction:Even though the Bills are slightly favored, the Rams are the healthier team and should be properly motivated to defend their home turf. They will kick off the NFL season by celebrating their Super Bowl title on the field where they won it in February.
Rams 31, Bills 27
... These are two legit Super Bowl contenders, but the Bills go into the season without cornerback Tre'Davious White, and they'll be leaning on either rookie Kaiir Elam or rookie Christian Benford (or both).I’ve got Buffalo as my Super Bowl champ, but in a toss-up game like this, I'm taking the points.
The pick: Rams (+2.5)
