The Los Angeles Rams had history on their side on Thursday as they opened the NFL season against the Buffalo Bills. Heading into the game, the defending Super Bowl champions were 38-16-1 in Week 1 of their title defense. But the Rams did not add to that good history, losing 31-10.
How bad did things go for Los Angeles? Let’s put it this way, NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth said that a Matthew Stafford tackle following an interception was “probably the highlight of the night” for the quarterback.
Matthew Stafford's third interception thrown on the night is to a defensive lineman.
"So, I hate to say it, but probably the highlight of the night for Matthew Stafford is this tackle."- Cris Collinsworth 🏈😬 pic.twitter.com/q921s9JBoB
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 9, 2022
And he wasn’t wrong. Stafford was 29-for-41 for 240 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. And those poor numbers were not all Stafford’s fault. He was sacked seven times and pressured all night.
Von Miller and his interesting haircut spent a lot of time in the Los Angeles backfield.
Von Miller is already making an impact.
Here's his first sack with the Bills, and vs his former team. 🏈💪 pic.twitter.com/T1TspP29LK
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 9, 2022
Von Miller with his second sack of the night! 🏈💪 pic.twitter.com/yVbwHkocoH
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 9, 2022
Making matters worse was the lack of a ground game. Darrell Henderson Jr. led the Rams with 47 tards rushing. The next highest total was Brandon Powell, who had one carry for three yards. And while it’s easy to look at the final score and assume that the Rams were forced into passing early, that wasn’t really the case. The game was tied at halftime and Buffalo led 17-10 after three quarters. Los Angeles just couldn’t get anything going.
It was just an ugly game for the Rams. And while there were several parts of the team that underperfomed (and the Bills played fantastic), the offensive line came under heavy criticism from the NFL world.
Rams fans watching Stafford drop back.. pic.twitter.com/IfRvdUdbVQ
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) September 9, 2022
I think the Rams miss Whitworth.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 9, 2022
@AndrewWhitworth is def going to receive a call from the Rams
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 9, 2022
The Rams just gave up 7 sacks to a team that didn’t blitz a single time
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) September 9, 2022
The biggest issue for the Rams: the poor offensive line play.
Mustered up just 52 yards of rushing; 0 yards on 3 carries for Cam Akers.
Matthew Stafford was sacked 7 times, 2 of which were by Von Miller.
As I said before, Andrew Whitworth was the glue. His presence is missed.
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) September 9, 2022
The reason why I'm not going to overreact and write off the Rams? Because they've proven to be aggressive and will flip picks for ballers.
However, their offensive line stinks, and I don't think they'll be able to fix that.
— Bonta Hill (@BontaHill) September 9, 2022
If there’s any good news for the Rams, it’s that Sean McVay and company have a long time to see if they can figure something out up front. But judging by Thursday’s performance, there’s a lot of work to do.
