Will Josh Allen or Matthew Stafford have the best Week 1 performance?
By: Jake Rajala
The first game (Buffalo Bills vs the Los Angeles Rams) of the NFL season is mightily approaching. On September 8th, the Josh Allen-led Bills will face off against the Super Bowl reigning Champions (Rams). Well, I’m going to highlight the pivotal QB spot and untwine which QB should have the best Week 1 performance.
Josh Allen
The Bills mega-arm QB1 is coming off a season where he unleashed 4,407 passing yards, 36 passing TDs (to 15 ints), 738 rushing yards & six rushing TDs. In his latest playoff showdown against the Chiefs – he unleashed 4 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 90.2 QBR.
Apart from the utterly electric Stefon Diggs, Allen doesn’t have Emmanual Sanders or Cole Beasley. He will ask Gabriel Davis to be a star. As widely enunciated, Davis had a whopping 4 TDs against the Chiefs. The all-purpose RB James Cook should be quite involved for Allen in the passing game, too.
The QB from Wyoming faces off against an LA Rams pass defense that will thrive from an un-suspended Aaron Donald (as of right now), Leonard Floyd (9.5 sacks last season), Jalen Ramsey, Nick Scott, Taylor Rapp, and Troy Hill. PFF slotted the Rams secondary as the ninth-best unit in the league.
I do believe that Allen will have a lot of energy in Week 1, but I don’t believe he will be overly efficient against the Rams defense. He threw two interceptions against the New Orleans Saints, two ints against the Indianapolis Colts, and he only threw 3 touchdowns and 1 in two contests combined against the Phins. I foresee him throwing 2 or 3 TDs and 1 int against the Bills.
Matthew Stafford
The former Lions QB Matthew Stafford is coming off a blazing hot 2021 season – where he ousted 4,886 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, 17 ints, and a 102.9 passer rating. Stafford had an okay Super Bowl outing (3 passing TDs, 2 ints, and 283 passing yards). Stafford’s double-edged ability was in full effect in the SB showdown.
Stafford will lean on 2021 Offensive Rookie of The Year Cooper Kupp (145 catches, 1,947 yds, 16 TDs) and his new toy: Allen Robinson. A-Rob has ousted 1,147 yds in 2020 & 1,250 yds in 2021.
The Rams offense that is orchestrated by the genius Sean McVay will sprint into battle against an unusually talented Buffalo Bills defense. The Bills showcase a tenacious pass rush that is led by Von Miller, who should aim to sack Stafford with a smile. With that said, I believe that Allen should look to attack starting CB Dane Jackson – who is in place of CB Tre’Davious White (who is on the PUP). The other Bills starting CB is Taron Johnson.
I believe that Stafford will be pressured a lot behind his Andrew Whitworth (also known as Thanos) OL. He still should be able to have a very productive day with his WRs against the Bills CB group. In this deadliest warrior-like article – I’m going to say that Stafford, who has come a long way in his career, has the slight edge over Allen.
