Seth Udinski, FISM News
The 2022 NFL season kicks off in prime time tonight, as the defending world champion Los Angeles Rams play host to the two-time defending AFC East champion Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. The game airs nationally on NBC, with kickoff scheduled for 8:20 EST.
Been waiting all offseason for this 🔥
📺: #Kickoff2022 — Tonight 8:20pm ET on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/fK7vaWiHIa pic.twitter.com/gI3X9lykXS— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2022
The Rams, led by veteran star QB Matthew Stafford and a high-powered offense, look to defend their title and become the first NFL team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots did it in 2003 and 2004.
Outspoken Christian Cooper Kupp is looking to follow up his dominant 2021 campaign with a similar offensive output. The NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2021 logged over 1,900 yards receiving, 143 receptions, and 16 touchdowns, all league-leading numbers last season.
Buffalo, reborn under head coach Sean McDermott and a talented Josh Allen at quarterback, has become one of the dominant teams in the AFC after nearly two decades of irrelevance. The team is looking to avenge a heart-wrenching playoff loss in last year’s divisional round in Kansas City, where Allen and the offense never saw the field as Chief’s signal-caller Patrick Mahomes led the game-ending scoring march in overtime to win 42-36.
The Bills are slated as a slight 2.5 point-favorite despite playing in a hostile environment.
Many fans believe this opening night tilt could serve as a prologue to Super Bowl LVI, as the Bills and Rams are both contenders to represent their conference in the big game.