🏈 The Stage Is Set For Josh Allen

Thursday’s NFL opener is Allen’s chance to rise to the occasion for superstar status. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Bills quarterback Josh Allen has the superstar swagger, but he's still missing the Super Bowl ring ... exploring the messy history between the Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide … and more! Josh Allen occupies rarefied air, one of just a handful of superstars regarded as having the power to carry a team to an NFL championship, to hold his nerve in the most stressed moments of all, to drive for greatness. It’s like its own little club, pro football’s collection of ultra-elite quarterbacks, entry typically denied to anyone who hasn’t shown themselves to be worthy — which usually means owning a Super Bowl ring. Yet while the new season will begin with five members of the league’s starting QB corps having hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and another three having come within one victory of the ultimate prize, Allen comes in with the highest levels of hype and expectation. Preseason rankings, surveys, predictions, fantasy football theories, and Las Vegas odds have combined to tout the Buffalo Bills signal-caller as the man to watch ahead of the fresh campaign – which kicks off when the Bills visit the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. "[The Bills] are absolute juggernauts, based on what we saw last year," Super Bowl-winning former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings said on FS1’s "First Things First." "Everything we saw about the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen leads me to believe this is the best team in football. Yes, they should be favorites — and why? Because they have the best quarterback." FOX Bet lists the Bills as +600 Super Bowl favorites. A survey of NFL GMs conducted by The Athletic conveyed the overwhelming belief that Allen will be league MVP. When the NFL’s list of Top 100 players placed him at "only" 13th overall, there was a small outcry, especially in Western New York. Allen has played into the attention, too, both by releasing his own hype video this week and also with his choice of summer hangout buddies. He took part in The Match, a golf game also featuring Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, in which his status as the only guy without a ring guaranteed he took some playful trash talk, especially from Brady. Toward the end of preseason, he swapped jerseys and conversation with Russell Wilson ahead of a preseason game with the Denver Broncos. He feels like he belongs among the best of the best. Now comes the hard part – proving it. For the rest of the story, [click here.]( [STORY IMAGE 1] [IN OTHER WORDS] - Carmen Vitali [previews the NFC North]( with analysis, predictions and projections for all four teams. - [FOX Sports college football writer Laken Litman]( explores the messy history between Texas and Alabama ahead of Saturday’s rare matchup between the bluebloods. - The AL road to the World Series will likely go through Houston, but the Yankees’ spiral and the Mariners’ surge leaves the rest of the playoff picture uncertain, [Jordan Shusterman writes](. For the latest news and updates, [click here.]( [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres (FS1, 8:40 p.m. ET) Yu Darvish takes the mound for the Padres, who go up against a D-backs team that has won nine of 12. Tijuana vs. Guadalajara (FS2, 10:05 p.m. ET) Catch the latest Liga MX action! For all of today's games and scores, [click here](. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Rams (+2.5) vs. Bills From FOX Sports Betting Analyst Sam Panayotovich: The more I hear, the more it’s "Bills this" and "Bills that." Multiple American sportsbooks are reporting over 70 percent of tickets on Buffalo, which is wild to think that so many people are willing to fade Los Angeles in the opener. Let’s not forget the reigning Super Bowl champs opened as a 1-point home favorite before respected money flipped Buffalo to the favorite and public cabbage pushed the line out towards Buffalo -3. Sean McVay’s offense could be even better this year with the addition of receiver Allen Robinson to play opposite Cooper Kupp, plus Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson are healthy in the backfield. Reports of Matthew Stafford’s elbow have been rather exaggerated, too. Super Bowl champions are 38-16-1 SU in regular-season openers the next year and 4-0 ATS when catching points at home. And if you’re a teaser player, the Rams are a very strong leg from +2.5 to +8.5 with a team like the Vikings. For the latest betting odds, [click here](. [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2022 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900