Bills will face Rams to kick off NFL season

The NFL’s 103rd season will kick off at the same place its last season ended – SoFi Stadium – with the Los Angeles Rams beginning defense of their Super Bowl 56 crown against the Buffalo Bills in a nationally televised showcase on Sept. 8.

The Thursday game will be broadcast on NBC, with an 8: 20 p. m. ET kickoff.

Maybe it’s a preview of Super Bowl 57 as Buffalo, led by star quarterback Josh Allen, again looms as one of the heavyweight favorites in the AFC.

The Rams are still rather formidable in their own right, with star defensive tackle Aaron Donald and quarterback Matthew Stafford back as key cogs for a team that will seek to become the first repeat Super Bowl champ since the New England Patriots in 2005.

It’s fitting that Buffalo kicks off the new season as so many felt the Bills were robbed by NFL rule of the opportunity to extend their last game – an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in a 42- 36 thriller at Arrowhead Stadium. That Allen and the prolific Bills offense never had a possession in OT before losing on a Patrick Mahomes- led walk- off TD drive fueled such an outrage that the NFL tweaked its overtime rule for the playoffs to allow for both teams to have at least one possession.

LA, on the other hand, achieved its mission in February to become just the second team to win a Super Bowl in its home stadium.