Buffalo Bills Vs. Los Angeles Rams Betting Guide (9/8/22): Predictions, Odds, Props

NFL football is back with a showdown between the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and the current Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills. For many bettors across the country, especially those in states that launched over the last year, this may be your first opportunity to have something down on week 1 of the NFL season. Before things kick off, let’s take a look at how to approach this game from a betting perspective, starting with a look at the spread and moneyline and then diving into player props and injury information.

Bills Vs. Rams Moneyline Analysis

Right now the Buffalo Bills are favored on the moneyline, sitting at . The Rams, meanwhile, are slight home underdogs that sit at on the moneyline.

The fact that the Bills open as a clear favorite on the road against the defending Super Bowl champs is confirmation that many believe they were the best team in the NFL last year, and certainly the best team heading into this season. They have one of the top WR/QB connections in the league between Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and a secondary that’s lethal when fully healthy.

Heading into this game, however, they will be without star corner Tre’Davious White who is recovering from an ACL injury in week 12 of last season. The Rams, meanwhile, lose some notable players like Von Miller, Sebastian Joseph-Day, and Andrew Whitworth from their 2021 campaign, though they have restocked with difference-makers such as Bobby Wagner at LB and Allen Robinson at WR.

RB Cam Akers is also set to start Week 1 for the Rams. If LA can get the run established early, I like this game to remain a low-scoring affair and for the Rams to stay in the striking distance late.

All reports indicate that Matt Stafford’s elbow is healthy and ready to go. While ultimately, I think the best bet in this game is the under, the value for the money line is on an underdog Rams team here against a Buffalo offense that is overvalued based on what we saw at the end of last year.

Moneyline Best Bet: Rams

Bills Vs. Rams Spread Analysis

With just one day until kickoff, the Bills remain a road favorite in this one — a position they’ve held for the last couple of weeks.

Originally, however, the Rams opened as a 1-point favorite. The combination of a consistent stream of public money and concerns over Matt Stafford’s elbow pushed this number over to the Bills, and it has only continued to grow.

The Bills enter this game with clearly defined strengths in the secondary and at quarterback, while the Rams are a bit more diversified with solid players at most every position.

If the Bills play at the level offensively they were playing at the end of last season, I would say it’s fair to assume that the Bills are the safest bet here. Coming off a long offseason that saw them make some changes at the WR position, including swapping Isiah McKenzie for Cole Beasly, and on the offensive line, acquiring veteran Roger Saffold, I think it’s going to take their offense a couple of weeks to find their stride. It’s easy to get caught up in the memory of this team as a juggernaut, and they may likely return to that, but in Week 1, I’d take the Rams as a home underdog.

Bills Vs. Rams Over/Under Analysis

The under may very well be the best bet of the game.

From a matchup perspective, both of these teams are going to want to run the ball more than they did at any point down the stretch last season. With Sebastian Joseph-Day gone at tackle for the Rams, they may depart from their strategy of playing 3 down linemen, opting to control the middle of the field instead. This could very well open up more opportunities for Devin Singletary and lead to more time-consuming drives on behalf of the Bills.

With Cam Akers returning as the starting RB for the Rams this season alongside Darrell Henderson, the Rams will have a healthier running back room than they did at nearly any point last season. Though McVay has said that he’s comfortable with Stafford dropping back 50 times, I doubt he wants to risk anything in week 1 when he doesn’t have to.

Over/Under Prediction: Under

Bills Vs. Rams Player Props

As of right now, two of the best value props heading into this game are 1) Devin Singletary Over 11.5 rushing attempts and 2) Cooper Kupp Under 92.5 Receiving Yards — both of which work in tandem with the under.

Devin Singletary Over 11.5 Rushing Attempts

I like the Bills to come out and establish the run early in this game. While Josh Allen is more than capable of playing in a shootout, Sean McDermott is not going to want to force things in Week 1 that he doesn’t have to.

Moreover, Singletary has established himself as a solid RB1 over James Cook, and we can expect him to get the lion’s share of the carries. No more Joseph-Day for the Rams means the gaps should be bigger upfront, so you can even parlay this with a yards prop at over 42.5 if you’d like, though the right side of this Bills line is still a bit unproven in run blocking.

Cooper Kupp Under 92.5 Receiving Yards

Similar to the Bills, I also believe the Rams are going to want to establish the run in this one. Not that Kupp won’t get any targets, but when you combine this with how good the Bills secondary is and 92.5 seems like a large number for a week one game in primetime. Undoubtedly this defensive staff will be paying extra attention to a known entity like Kupp.

Bills vs Rams Injuries

Bills: CB Tre’Davious white (ACL) O, TE Quintin Morris (Hamstring) Q, WR Marquez Stevenson (Foot) O, OT Tommy Doyle (Foot) Q, G Ike Boetteger (Achilles) O, LB Andre Smith (Suspension) O

Rams: WR Van Jefferson (Knee) Q, Logan Bruss (ACL) O, ILB Travin Howard, S Quentin Lake (undisclosed) O, DT Bobby Brown III (suspended) O

How To Bet Bills Vs. Rams

If you’re a new bettor in a legal state, there are a number of ways to take advantage of new user promos from a number of different major sportsbooks. Such promos include:

Sportsbook
Bonus
Start Betting
Editor's FavoriteDraftKings Sportsbook
$1,050 Bonus
$1,000 Deposit Match + $50 Bonus
betmgmlogo 1
$1,000 Bet Insurance
$1,000 Bet Insurance
Caesars Sportsbook Logo PNG Dark Text small
$1,250 Bonus
Up To $1,250 Bet On Caesars
betrivers 1
100% up to $250
Match Bet Up to $250
FanDel Sportsbook
$1,000 No Sweat Bet
No Sweat First Bet up to $1,000
Unibet Logo white300
Up To $500 Bonus
Up To $500 Bet Insurance
pointsbetlogo
$2,000 in Bet Insurance
Two Bet Insurance Chances
Post
Patrick started covering the sports betting scene in March of 2021 as a member of the Loyola Phoenix. Since then, his industry analysis has been featured on websites such as Lineups.com and Daily Fantasy Cafe, where he has focused primarily on the NFL and individual state launches. As the current Assistant Site Runner of Lineups.com, Patrick aims to give more people access to information that may offer some insight into why teams build the way they do and what that means for any given matchup.

Hot Betting Odds Stories