Contender Series: Week 1 Bills Vs Rams

• The Buffalo Bills open the season against the defending champion Super Bowl Rams as -2.5 point favorites.
• Despite sportsbooks listing Buffalo as the favorite, it may be wise to wait until after the game to bet on Buffalo to win Super Bowl 57.
• Sportsbooks give the Bills +550 odds to win SB 57, but with many signs pointing to a Rams upset in Week One, it may be best to wait for longer Bills odds.

LOS ANGELES – The opening game of the 2022 NFL season features the reigning NFL Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams hosting the preseason Super Bowl 57 favorite Buffalo Bills.

Despite the reigning champion Rams hosting the Bills in Los Angeles, online sportsbooks have opened with Buffalo as the betting favorite.

Team	Spread	Moneyline	Total
Buffalo Bills	-2.5(-110)	-140	O 53(-110)
Los Angeles Rams	+2.5(-110)	120	U 53(-110)

Buffalo enters the 2022 season with +550 odds to win Super Bowl 57, while the Rams have +1200 odds to finish the season as the first repeat champions since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005.

To get the best Super Bowl betting odds on the Bills, it may be wise to wait until after Week One because many signs point to the Rams potentially winning the game. After an opening game loss, it would be expected that Bills bettors could get longer odds for the team than that +550 number that is presently available.

Betting on the Rams over the Bills in Week One

Buffalo is the Super Bowl 57 favorite for many reasons, with the season-long outlook of their roster the key to their status. The important part is that Buffalo has a strong “season-long outlook”.

Recent news that star cornerback Tre’Davious White will begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list means that he will be unavailable for the Bills’ first four games.

Couple that news with the fact that the Bills’ depth chart features four cornerbacks, one of which is White and two of which are rookies, and the team may struggle to defend the Los Angeles Rams’ offense.

Specifically, Cooper Kupp who achieved the triple crown for receivers last year when he led the entire NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving yards.

Betting on Sean McVay’s Week One history

Another specific factor in play for Week One is how successful betting on Sean McVay has been in Week One in each of his five previous season openers as the Head Coach.

Comparing McVay to his counterpart, Sean McDermott, shows the edge that NFL bettors may have when betting on the Rams. Both McVay and McDermott have been the Head Coach for five season openers.

• Sean McVay: 5-0 ATS, 5-0 Straight Up, and 3-2 O/U
• Sean McDermott: 3-2 ATS, 3-2 Straight Up, and 3-2 O/U

While both their records appear to be elite in Week One, Sean McDermott’s comes with two specific red flags:

• The three games that Sean McDermott has covered have all come against the New York Jets. Since 2017, McDermott’s first year as Head Coach, the Jets have the 3rd worst cover percentage in the league at 41.8%.
• Last season the Buffalo Bills started slowly when they played an awful Week One game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Buffalo was the home favorite and was -6.5 ats, but they would go on to lose the game outright 16-23.

How does this benefit Buffalo Bills bettors?

Going back to the season-long focus of the Bills +550 odds as Super Bowl favorites, all a Week One loss really may do is lengthen any payouts for Buffalo bettors.

Eventually, they will get Tre’Davious White back and their rookie cornerbacks will have more experience under their belt as a result of his absence.

The Bills have -600 odds to make the playoffs, so a single loss against the Rams will not ruin their season. It could actually prove to simply be beneficial for Buffalo Bills Super Bowl bets.