BUFFALO, N.Y. — Here are my five keys for the Buffalo Bills in Thursday night’s season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium:
1. Josh Allen must look like the MVP a whole lot of us expect him to be this season.
It’s that simple … or difficult.
The Bills’ Super Bowl dreams are firmly attached to his right arm. He needs to take charge and deliver the explosive plays that have been a staple of his game, especially for the past two seasons, and allow Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis and the rest of his receivers to begin their reign of terror on opposing secondaries. He needs to do his part to put to rest any lingering doubts about how the Bills’ offense will function with new play-caller Ken Dorsey.
Allen also needs to separate himself from all the postseason-like hype and noise that this game has generated since the moment the schedule was announced, stay calm and let his immense talent lead the way.
2. Don’t allow Aaron Donald to be his game-wrecking self.
This figures to be much easier said than done. Donald’s reputation as the NFL’s most dominant defensive player is well earned. Opponents rarely succeed when leaning on their offensive line to try to contain him. There must be some strategy behind it. For the Bills, that means making a strong early commitment to the run in an effort to keep Donald and the rest of the Rams’ defensive front guessing as to how they’ll be attacked.
Of course, the Bills’ strength is their passing game and that will be the thrust of their offensive approach. But, at least early on, it would make sense to give the Rams a heavy dose of Devin Singletary and the rest of the Bills’ backfield. The Rams can make that extremely difficult, given that they held the opposition to under 100 rushing yards in 13 games on the way to winning the Super Bowl last season.
3. The Bills’ secondary can’t afford to look like it is missing its best player.
This, too, figures to be much easier said than done. The Rams have a vaunted passing game of their own. Matthew Stafford threw for nearly 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns in his first season with Los Angeles last year. He has the league’s best slot receiver in Cooper Kupp. The addition of Allen Robinson gives the Rams a game-breaking threat that will put additional pressure on opposing defenses.
All of which raises the question of just how ready the Bills’ secondary will be to handle these challenges without Tre’Davious White, who will miss at least the first quarter of the season while recovering from the knee injury he suffered on Thanksgiving night. It will be up to rookies Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford to prove they can hold their own opposite Dane Jackson, who will have his own share of proving to do.
4. Von Miller must remind the Rams of what they’re missing now that he’s wearing an opponent’s uniform.
There’s little doubt that the prime-time setting will bring the best out of this big-time player. At 33, he still has the juice to do plenty of damage rushing off the edge. His familiarity with the Rams’ offense should work to his benefit.
Then, again, the Rams know a thing or two about Miller as well.
5. The rest of the Bills’ defensive line must come to play.
Sure, the Bills need Miller to tear things up, but he’d better get plenty of help from Gregg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips, Boogie Basham and everyone else who is part of the extensive D-line rotation that Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier favor.
Otherwise, it will be a long night for the back end of Buffalo’s defense.