Footballs back! Not the Premier League, but the NFL, as America rejoices on Thursday night, alongside those of us who are mad enough to stay up in the middle of the night, to watch the game we love.
Many people’s favourites to win the Super Bowl this season, the Buffalo Bills, kick us off on Thursday night, as they visit the LA Rams, winners of the Super Bowl last season.
Bills -2.5 handicap
Total Points Under 52.5
Gabriel Davis Anytime TD
Devin Singletary 60+ Rushing Yards
Bills -2.5 Handicap
The LA Rams come here as defending champions, but despite being at home, they are underdogs to win this one. That’s a testament to how much people love the Bills this year, and I’m with them. Falling just short last season, in a dramatic playoff run, the Bills look bigger and better defensively this time around, giving them elite options on both sides of the football.
The Rams were not vintage Super Bowl winners last season, and have weaknesses to worry about, including how much Matthew Stafford will turn the ball over, if this Bills defensive group can get to him.
I see Stafford getting out-quaterbacked by Josh Allen, and ultimately, Allen can drive his team to the win. With just a small -2.5 spread here, I’m kicking off with the Bills to cover that and win on the handicap.
Total Points Under 52.5
This should be end to end and thrilling to watch, with plenty of points. However, given its the first week of the season, the line for this game looks too high for me. There will be rust, a few errors and that all points to both teams scoring a little less than what you would normally expect from them.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see 40 points in the game, but when we’re talking over 50, I am inclined to think the total will be lower than that, as these two adjust to the start of the season and find their groove.
With that in mind, the second leg of my bet builder is under 52.5 total points.
Gabriel Davis Anytime TD
Stefon Diggs is the main man in Buffalo, but he’s going to have Jalen Ramsey on him all night, so it may be wiser to look elsewhere.
Gabriel Davis was a big red zone target at the end of last season, and given the likely coverage we are going to see here, it seems logical that he will get the better chances when Allen can throw the ball into the end zone.
He may not have the quality that Diggs possesses, but Davis also won’t have Jalen Ramsey following him around, and for that reason, I’m going with Davis to grab a touchdown.
Devin Singletary 60+ Rushing Yards
On the road against the reigning champions, Buffalo aren’t going to do anything silly here. I expect them to get a lead and manage the game well, taking time off the clock, limiting risks and running the ball plenty. That all points to a strong game from Devin Singletary. He may not get a touchdown, but can churn out big yards with a lot of carries in the game.
Expect to see him have 15-20 touches of the ball, he’s not really been used in the air, so they should all be rushing yards, and a man of his quality is more than capable of turning those efforts into more than 60 yards on the ground, doing a job for his team by pushing them forward and using the clock up on the road.
Singletary to hit 60+ rushing yards rounds off the 16/1 bet builder for Thursday night’s season opener.
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