The NFL is back, and with quite the marquee matchup on tap to open things up.
The defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams will host the Buffalo Bills in a nationally televised showdown.
The Bills are the preseason Super Bowl favorite and a slight favorite to win this game. The oddsmakers expect some fireworks, with a scoring total set at 52 as of Thursday morning.
There are a bunch of available prop bets to consider, and here are my three favorites:
Matthew Stafford under 270.5 pass yards (-110)
The Bills have questions at cornerback after Tre’Davious White was placed on PUP to begin the season while recovering from a torn ACL. That generally spells trouble for a defense, but Buffalo has such talented pieces elsewhere that it should make up for it.
The pass-rush could be dominant in 2022, as Von Miller joins a group that already included Ed Oliver and Gregory Rousseau, and it will face off with a Rams offensive line that is now without the retired Andrew Whitworth.
The safety duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer is excellent, which should mitigate much chance at Stafford raining down deep passes throughout the contest. Buffalo’s pass defense was the best in the NFL a season ago, and slot corner Taron Johnson should do an adequate job on Cooper Kupp.
The Rams are a slight underdog, but I expect this game to be close late, which will keep Stafford from needing to air it out.
Bills QB Josh Allen over 1.5 touchdown passes (-174)
The Bills should have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL this season. Allen wasn’t dominant overall in 2021, but he still threw for two or more touchdowns in 13 of the 17 outings.
With Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Dawson Knox and others at his disposal, Allen should be reach a pair rather easily, which makes this a fine play even though it’s the heavy favorite.
The Rams have Jalen Ramsey in their secondary, but Buffalo has enough depth and talent among its pass-catchers to score through the air no matter if he shadows Stefon Diggs or has a different role on defense.
Rams RB Cam Akers over 41.5 rushing yards (-110)
Akers made an unbelievably quick return from a torn Achilles last year, but lacked his usual burst on the field. He averaged only 2.6 yards per carry during the playoff run, which has led to some overall pessimism heading into 2022.
However, Akers was solid as a rookie, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and 48.1 rushing yards per game. He seems to be the clear No. 1 back for the opener and should have some juice now that he’s had several months of additional recovery time.
The Buffalo defense is elite against the pass, as mentioned, but was middling against the run last season. With Stafford, Kupp, Allen Robinson and others threatening the Bills downfield, they will likely be happy to give up some rushing yards to Akers.
As long as Darrell Henderson doesn’t vulture too many of the carries, I like Akers to surpass this number.
