The Super Bowl hangover may be a real thing for the Los Angeles Rams, who looked ill-prepared to play against the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 season opener.
Los Angeles was thrashed 31-10 and looked like a shell of the championship team that played in SoFi Stadium earlier this year. The Rams managed to keep pace with the Bills in the first half, but the second half was when the wheels fell completely off the bus and they would suffer an embarrassing 31-10 defeat.
Not only did L.A. lose their first season opener under head coach Sean McVay, but they also lost multiple players to injury. The Rams learned rookie running back Kyren Williams suffered a high ankle sprain to open the game, but Sean McVay also announced that center Brian Allen suffered a knee injury and will miss several weeks, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Sean McVay also said C Brian Allen is having a "procedure" on his knee and will be out 2-4 weeks.
Coleman Shelton will slide over to center, and Tremayne Anchrum Jr. will take over at right guard for Shelton.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) September 9, 2022
The offensive line looked overwhelmed in their first action together, but losing a starter like Allen off the bat is of major concern. Allen’s suffered several injuries during his first few years with the Rams, and this latest ailment only makes their loss to Buffalo even more sour.
All night, the Bills had success rushing four players at Matthew Stafford, who endured seven sacks. With the Rams having to shuffle the o-line some more, there’s real reason to believe that those struggles in pass protection will persist.
The road to defending their Super Bowl title was always going to be tough, but with the injuries starting to pile up L.A. has their work even more cut out for them.
