1. Taking on the defending Super Bowl champs
Last year, the LA Rams took the approach of trading away draft capital in exchange for proven veterans in hopes of winning it all. It worked. But now, here’s the big question – can the reigning champs run it back for a second-straight year?
Regardless of if the Rams can do it again with no first-round picks for the second-straight season, this is about the best matchup there is to open the NFL season. And it’s not just fans who feel this way, the players are just as eager to go up against the guys who won it all last year.
“It’s just fun to be able to go against the champs,” left guard Rodger Saffold said. “You always get excited when you go against that, everybody knows that.”
“I feel like everybody on the team understands the challenge it’s going to be,” defensive end Greg Rousseau said of the matchup. “The Rams are a really good team, so we’re just ready to get out there and compete. We’ve been working hard all camp, so we’re super excited.”
The talent the Rams had last year led them to a Super Bowl, and a lot of that core group returned to the team for 2022. QB Matthew Stafford, DT Aaron Donald, CB Jalen Ramsey, WR Cooper Kupp are just some of the several stars that returned. The Bills believe this first game will be a good test before they face a gauntlet of tough teams in the first eight weeks of the season.
“There are so many great guys on the defense over there, and they’re gonna have some huge challenges for us,” Saffold said. “So, it’s going to be really good to see where we stand in the league.”
While their focus will be on the game, Bills players are also looking forward to playing in SoFi for the first time and taking in the sights, sounds and people that LA has to offer.
“I’ve never played in California, and I’ve never ever seen SoFi,” Rousseau shared. “So, I feel like it’s going to be pretty cool to see the stadium, obviously it’s a new stadium so it should be fun.”
“It’s always cool to look over and be like, ‘Oh, snap. There’s that person,'” left tackle Dion Dawkins said of the celebrities that will be in attendance. “But you keep pushing when it’s game time and none of that stuff matters to me. It’s definitely cool to see guys around, and guys that want to be a part of winning. Like everybody just wants a piece of a winning something, so it will be cool.”