Keys to the game and prediction for Buffalo Bills vs L. A. Rams on Thursday Night Football

Six years ago to the night on Thursday - Sept. 8, 2016 - Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott and their employer at the time, the Carolina Panthers, were selected to be the “other team” in the NFL’s traditional coronation of the previous season’s Super Bowl champion.

That’s always a tough assignment for the visiting team with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding that. But what made it worse than normal for the Panthers is that they had to play the league’s season opener in Denver against the same Broncos who had defeated them 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 seven months earlier.

“Yeah, that was a weird one because that was a rematch of the last game, Denver vs. Carolina,” Beane said last week. “Except it wasn’t a neutral site. It was at their place. Yeah, it was very, very electric. It stunk because you had to sit there and watch John Elway and Peyton Manning come out there and get the crowd going and you’re basically reliving that (Super Bowl) all over.”

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Thursday night, Beane and McDermott - now GM and coach of the Buffalo Bills - are once again the “other team” and they’ll have to sit back and take in the Los Angeles Rams’ celebration of their Super Bowl 56 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Being presented this very tough Week 1 task might actually be a good thing for the Bills because it should provide even more motivation for a team that is considered the favorite to win it all in 2022.

Having to take in the Rams’ sure-to-be over the top pre-game ceremony should hammer home the point that this is exactly what the Bills want to be doing at this time in 2023.

How to watch:Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams Thursday night game on TV, live stream

“I played an opening night game before when I was in Green Bay going to Seattle (2014) and it was just wild," safety Micah Hyde said.

“ I think we understand there’s not a Super Bowl trophy for whoever wins this game but it’s gonna be a nice opportunity for us to go on national TV in the opening game and see what we got.”

Denver beat Beane and McDermott’s Panthers in 2016, Seattle beat Hyde’s Packers in 2014. Based on history, the Bills are bucking the odds Thursday, but for those who care about the odds, Buffalo is actually favored in the game.

Here are my keys to the game, followed by my prediction:

1. The Buffalo Bills offensive line needs to pass a massive early test

We’re going to find out right away about the impact offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has had on the big boys in front of Josh Allen. Rodger Saffold and Ryan Bates are the new guard tandem flanking center Mitch Morse, with holdover tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown still in place.

Welcome to the season, here’s Aaron Donald. Allen described the Rams future Hall of Fame defensive tackle as “scary to watch” on film which makes sense because he is literally a monster. There’s really no other way to describe him, and all you have to do is ask any offensive lineman that he’s overwhelmed over the years.

He has the ability to wreck an offense all by himself, but then you add players like Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson up front, edge rushing linebacker Leonard Floyd and newly-signed vet Bobby Wagner, and the Rams front seven is formidable.

It seems obvious that the Rams will try to attack the right side combo of Bates and Brown, and how the Bills counteract that will be one of the biggest keys to the game. They may need TE Dawson Knox to help, or certainly a back to get a chip block on the way into the pattern.

2. Josh Allen needs to complete passes in Jalen Ramsey’s direction

Ramsey has walked back his comments from 2018 when he essentially laughed at the Bills for drafting Allen so high and saying he was “trash.” Still, even though Allen says it’s long over and done with, don’t tell me he wouldn’t love to complete passes against the Rams talented CB.

When they last faced each other in 2020, Allen threw for 311 yards and four TDs in a 35-32 victory at empty Highmark Stadium, but Ramsey was largely responsible for holding Stefon Diggs to four catches for 49 yards, though one of those went for a touchdown.

Ramsey is still an upper echelon cover corner, but he can’t cover everybody so the Bills will look to take advantage of matchups for Knox, Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and maybe rookie RB James Cook.

3. Taron Johnson will need to win the battle against Cooper Kupp

The biggest matchup of the game could be this one - Johnson, one of the top slot corners in the NFL, against Kupp, the premier slot receiver who led the NFL last season in catches (145) and yards (1,947), one of the greatest individual seasons in league history.

Kupp is a dynamic player and what separates him from many slot receivers is his yards after catch; he had a league-high 861 last season. Compare that to Cole Beasley who had 315 and you get an idea of dangerous Kupp can be, so the Bills’ tackling will need to be outstanding. LBs Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano will also need to be ultra aware of Kupp because he does so much of his damage in the short zones.

WR Allen Robinson was signed away from the Bears and with 495 career catches, he’s not someone to ignore, so with the Bills’ young corners - Dane Jackson, Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford - that’s a possible concern. But Kupp is the player QB Matthew Stafford will look to in every key situation.

4. Is Von Miller primed for a big encore in LA?

Miller was brought to Buffalo to upgrade the pass rush, and he’ll have a chance to make some noise right away because the Rams’ offensive line is in a bit of a makeover.

LT Andrew Whitworth, who had the best pass block rating among OTs last year according to Pro Football Focus, retired, and his replacement, Joe Noteboom simply isn’t as accomplished. Neither is RT Rob Havenstein. RG Austin Corbett is also gone, replaced by Coleman Shelton.

Miller should be able to take advantage of his edge matchups, and when he draws the expected double team, Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa need to step up, and the same goes for Ed Oliver in the middle. Everyone seems to think Oliver is ready to become a superstar, and this would be a nice place to kick off that campaign, especially with a QB like Stafford who isn’t all that mobile.

More:If Von Miller couldn't play quarterback, he was going to be perfectly happy sacking them

Sal’s prediction: Buffalo Bills 33, Los Angeles Rams 24

There probably isn’t a more difficult opener the Bills could have been given by the NFL - playing the defending Super Bowl champs at their place in what will surely be a highly-charged atmosphere. But I feel like the Bills are up for this challenge.

The Rams are undoubtedly a fine team, but when you look at the rosters and the matchups, I think the Bills are the better team and as long as they don’t get caught up in the emotion of it all and weather a potential few early haymakers, I think Allen can make things happen against Los Angeles’ pass defense.

One thing I would watch is the Rams’ running game with Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson. If they get it going a little, that plays into Stafford’s hands, and it would also help keep Allen off the field. The Bills bulked up in the middle for this purpose with DT free agent signings DaQuan Jones, Jordan Phillips and Tim Settle, so let’s see it.

How to watch, listen to Buffalo Bills vs Los Angeles Rams game

When: 8:20 p.m. ThursdayWhere: SoFi StadiumTV: NBC (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark)Satellite radio: SiriusXM Bills 226, Rams 225Local radio: 96.5 FM/950 AMSeries: Bills lead 8-5.Tipico betting line: Bills -2.5

Regular season 2021 NFL rankings

• Bills Rams

• Total offense: 381.9 yards (5th); 373.2 (7th)

• Rush offense: 129.9 yards (6th); 95.7 (27th)

• Pass offense: 252.0 yards (9th); 277.5 (5th)

• Points scored: 28.4 (3rd); 27.0 (6th)

• Total defense: 272.8 yards (1st); 333.0 (13th)

• Rush defense: 109.8 yards (13th); 95.0 (5th)

• Pass defense: 163.0 yards (1st); 238.0 (21st)

• Points allowed: 17.0 (1st); 21.3 (9th)

Bills and Rams 2021 regular season individual leaders

Rushing

Bills: Devin Singletary 188 carries, 870 yards; Josh Allen 122-763; Zack Moss 96-345; Matt Breida 26-125; Isaiah McKenzie 9-47; Emmanuel Sanders 2-31; Mitchell Trubisky 13-24.

Rams: Sony Michel 208-845; Darrell Henderson 149-688; Robert Woods 8-46; Matthew Stafford 32-43; Van Jefferson 2-20.

Passing

Bills: Josh Allen 409 of 646, 4,407 yards, 36 TDs,15 interceptions.

Rams: Matthew Stafford 404 of 601, 4,886, 41 TDs, 17 interceptions.

Receiving

Bills: Stefon Diggs 103 catches, 1,225 yards; Cole Beasley 82-693; Dawson Knox 49-587; Emmanuel Sanders 42-626; Devin Singletary 40-228; Gabriel Davis 35-549; Zack Moss 23-197; Isaiah McKenzie 20-178; Tommy Sweeney 9-44; Matt Breida 7-72.

Rams: Cooper Kupp 145-1,947; Tyler Higbee 61-560; Van Jefferson 50-802; Robert Woods 45-556; Darrell Handerson 29-176; Odell Beckham Jr. 27-305; Sony Michel 21-128; Ben Skowronek 11-133. DeSean Jackson 8-221.

2022 Buffalo Bills schedule

Thur. 9/8 at Rams, 8:20 p.m.Mon. 9/19 vs. Titans, 7:15 p.m.Sun. 9/25 at Dolphins, 1 p.m.Sun. 10/2 at Ravens, 1 p.m.Sun. 10/9 vs. Steelers, 1 p.m.Sun. 10/16 at Chiefs, 4:25 p.m.Sun. 10/23 Bye weekSun. 10/30 vs. Packers, 8:20 p.m.Sun. 11/6 at Jets, 1 p.m.Sun. 11/13 vs. Vikings, 1 p.m.Sun. 11/20 vs. Browns, 1 p.m.Thur. 11/24 at Lions, 12:30 p.m.Thur. 12/1 vs. Patriots, 8:15 p.m.Sun. 12/11 at Jets, 1 p.m.Sun. 12/18, vs. Dolphins, TBDSat. 12/24 at Bears, 1 p.m.Mon. 1/2 at Bengals, 8:30 p.m.Sun. 1/8 vs. Patriots, TBD

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs. Rams predictions and keys to the game for Thursday night game