Bills vs Rams Expert Picks & Predictions for Week 1 Thursday Night Football

Bills vs Rams Expert Picks & Predictions for Week 1 Thursday Night Football

Updated:

The 2022 NFL season is finally here, and it kicks off with a doozy. The Los Angeles Rams may be the defending Super Bowl champions, but they're home underdogs against this year's Super Bowl favorite Buffalo Bills.

Josh Allen and company project to be one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, but the betting markets project this to be a close duel between Allen and Matthew Staford, with Allen's 274.5-yard passing over/under just barely edging out Stafford's 270.5.

This game is also projected to be a shootout, with a 51.5-point total set.

Are the betting markets right? Should the defending champs really be underdogs in their own home in Week 1?

Here's what projection models and experts across the industry have to say about the Bills vs Rams Week 1 Thursday Night Football matchup.

Bills vs Rams Projections

ESPN FPI: Rams (55.7%)
numberFire: Bills (55.1%)
FiveThirtyEight: Rams (53%)
Betting Favorite: Bills (-2.5)

Projected Winner: Bills (2), Rams (2)

Bills vs Rams Expert Picks

ESPN Experts: Bills (5), Rams (3)
Sports Illustrated Experts: Bills (3), Rams (2)
CBS Sports Experts: Bills (5), Rams (3)

Expert Totals: Bills (13), Rams (7)

There's an interesting split here. The injury experts are largely buying the Buffalo hype, with two thirds predicting a Bills win. This lines up with what the betting markets are saying.

The projection models aren't quite as high on Buffalo, however, with both ESPN FPI and FiveThirtyEight calling for an upset.

With so little consensus around what's going to happen, fans can be even more excited about the season kickoff tonight.

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.