NFL returns amid Tom Brady mystery with Rams and Bills poised for explosive kick-off

The Buffalo Bills swagger into La La Land aiming to validate feverish expectations that Josh Allen and co. can finally bludgeon the competition en route to a maiden Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams, formidable opponents and the reigning champions, provide a glorious match-up to leave NFL fans salivating at the prospect of the 2022 season kick-off.

There will be star power littered across the turf on both sides of the field at the quite magnificent SoFi Stadium late on Thursday, while there will be a meeting of minds between Sean McVay and Sean McDermott. Make no mistake, this is a match-up fit for a Super Bowl.

McVay, entering his sixth season as a head coach and still only 36 years of age, has the offensive repertoire and chess pieces to leave opponents in a daze. There’s also his infectious personality, a rarity at his age, to light a fire inside some of the biggest names in the sport. The likes of Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald, whose relentless desire vanquished Joe Burrow at the death to clinch Super Bowl LVI back in February, are back and determined to do it all over again.  Climbing the mountain is always an arduous journey, but repeating the feat is often beyond many teams, who lack the hunger to make those sacrifices once more.

But all signs point towards a hungry Rams side, teetering on the edge with their emotions as they prepare for battle. A key moment in pre-season saw a furious Donald swinging his helmet as a brawl broke out during a drill as part of a joint-practices between the Rams and Bengals.

"My main focus is Buffalo right now," Donald said on the incident. "I’m happy nobody got hurt in the practice and whatever, but my main focus is Thursday night against Buffalo.

“Everybody protected each other, everybody got out of the situation clean [and] healthy. So that’s what matters. Ready for Week 1."

And ready he will need to be against Allen, who last cut a sombre figure in overtime while Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs cruelly denied the Bills a shot at the AFC Championship in a 42-36 win. Allen did not deserve to exit the play-offs that night.

There is very little missing in this roster on either side of the ball now with Allen, able to whip the ball up and over opponents or frantically dash around traffic, representing the future of the league alongside Mahomes. Merely by chance, the AFC has benefited from a lopsided distribution of quarterback talent. Not only are there plenty of passers with elite talent and diverse skillsets, but their youth suggests a gauntless awaits for the next decade, including Allen, Mahomes, Chargers gunslinger Justin Herbert, Bengals sniper Joe Burrow and electrifying Ravens passer Lamar Jackson.

By contrast, the NFC boasts experience and nous in the shape of Stafford, reigning two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers and a returning Tom Brady, who couldn’t resist one final hurrah in lycra aged 45.

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Brady’s return is covered in mystery though, with an 11-day training camp absence that is yet to be explained. Conspiracy theories have spread like wildfire, with Brady fielding accusations of plastic surgery to an existing commitment to film and participate in The Masked Singer show before reneging on a commitment to retire.

Beyond Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been left scrambling after starting center Ryan Jensen’s crushing knee injury, although there is still no timeline for a return. A first date for the Bucs with Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, also struggling with their offensive line with Tyron Smith out until  at least December with a fractured knee, ought to provide hysteria one way or another on Monday.

Brady may well have been enticed to return by a vulnerable NFC: Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, who play the New York Giants in Tottenham next month, are back. However, superstar wide receiver Davante Adams has left, sent to the Las Vegas Raiders in a blockbuster trade, while the Rams may emerge bruised from their taxing division, including a Niners side tantalisingly ready to unleash quarterback Trey Lance.

But Brady’s turbulent pre-season and a new head coach Todd Bowles, after Bruce Arians moved upstairs, brings the tedious question over whether this is finally the end for Brady. But Bowles has been buoyed by this bizarre experience, confident Brady does not even need a pre-season as he starts a 23rd campaign and eager to show a more diverse offense.

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“I thought it was a good thing,” Bowles said. “And it kind of helped us develop our run game a little more. You know, it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve got to play with Blaine [Gabbert] or Kyle [Trask], let’s develop things we have to do to win the ballgame.’

“And I think in that process we got our run game going a little more because we spent a little more time on it, which we probably wouldn’t have had he been here. So I think it’s helped us in the long run. And we figured out that we’re a team and not just one guy and a team.”

The league will start to comprehend the impact of Brady’s peculiar hiatus on Sunday night, but first an explosive opener in Los Angeles. Two Super Bowl hopefuls prepare to duel as the journey to the big dance begins.