The Los Angeles Rams began the defense of their Super Bowl LVI title on Thursday, in which they beat the Cincinnati Bengals in February at SoFi Stadium.
The Los Angeles club presented the Lombardi champion trophy to the 73,846 fans who were delighted with the unveiling ceremony of the giant flag that commemorates the victory.
However, the Buffalo Bills had other plans and that was to spoil the party by defeating them 31-10.
“Their execution was very good, you could see that, they also did it in the preseason, but we have to make corrections and try to improve for the next game,” said coach Sean McVay after the game.
In the first quarter, the visitors took a 10-0 lead, thanks to Gabe Davis’ touchdown runs and kicker Tyler Bass’ conversion point, who also connected for a three-point field goal.
“This starts with me, I have to prepare them for the next game and make corrections,” said the coach. “We are going to be ready for the next game, the only guarantee we have is that there will be 17 more games in the season.”
For the second quarter, the Rams adjusted defensively and got closer on the scoreboard after a connection between quarterback Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, who received for the touchdown. Matt Gay completed the conversion point for 10-7 and shortly before halftime three more for the three-point field goal to even things up at 10-10.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the first game or the last, it’s unfortunate to lose a game like this,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “I think we did a good job defensively and we couldn’t exploit our attack more. They did things well and it was seen in the result”.
The Bills hit the gas in the third quarter with Isaiah McKenzie scoring and Bass converting for 17-10.
“The loss is a combination of several things that happened, but like I said, I have to put guys in better positions to score and that’s going to change,” McVay said.
In the last quarter, the quarterback of the Bills, Josh Allen, extended the advantage for the Buffalo and they reached 24-10. The Rams seemed resigned when Stefon Diggs caught a long pass from Allen to make it 31-10 on the conversion.
“We just couldn’t get into rhythm offensively tonight, it was a tough night in every way,” McVay explained. “It’s early in the season, we can’t take credit away from them. They have an excellent coach, they came well prepared and took the victory as they deserved it”.
The second game of the season for the Rams will be on Sunday, September 18, when they host the Atlanta Falcons (1:05 p.m., FOX).