Bills Hang on Despite Close Call with Cardinals
The Cardinals opened the first week of the NFL season with a great drive down the field led by running back James Conner. The back caught two screens amounting to 31 yards and six rushing attempts on Arizona’s way to the endzone. The Cardinals’ red zone offense stalled on third and 13 from the Buffalo 25-yard line and received a generous unnecessary roughness call to keep the drive going. Quarterback Kyler Murray created time in the pocket on third and goal to find wide receiver Michael Wilson open in the back of the end zone to go up 7-0.
The Bills responded with an explosive return on the ensuing kickoff from Brandon Codrington. After the good start, the Bills drove 16 yards on four plays including the first hookup between quarterback Josh Allen and free-agent acquisition wide receiver Mack Hollins. The drive ended with a strip sack that Arizona recovered. On the turnover, The Bills' offense ran a dagger concept that Allen missed, leading to the extra time for the rush to close in. Arizona nickel and dimed their way down the field with running back Emari Demercado picking up 24 on a reception, ending with a 29-yard chip shot to go up 10-0.
With a defensive pass interference to jump-start the drive, Buffalo got back in the rhythm of the season feeding their lead back, James Cook. The former Georgia Bulldog gained 33 yards on five attempts, including a gain of zero, to move the ball down the field. Josh Allen did Josh Allen things as he broke contain to rush for a touchdown, but the play would get called back due to a face mask penalty. The drive soon stalled and the Bills kicked a 37-yarder to get on the board 10-3.
The following drive saw Kyler Murray extend plays several times, including a 12-yard scramble to pick up a third down conversion and a 14-yard toss to receiver Greg Dortch for another first down. Tight end Trey McBride made a couple of catches on sit routes against zone coverage over the middle and secondary back Trey Benson rushed for eight before Conner punched it in from three yards out to go up 17-3. Despite a penalty-ridden next drive, the Bills scored to cut the lead to 17-10 on a seven-yard scamper by Allen. The drive saw a connection between Allen and Khalil Shakir for 19 yards and rookie receiver Keon Coleman caught a pass for 12 yards. The score left 0:25 left on the clock for Arizona before the end of the half before the Bills would get the ball back to start the second half.
The first drive of the second half saw another offensive penalty to put Buffalo behind the sticks early. On a third and 11 inside their own half, Allen evaded pressure to find James Cook on a crossing route for 25 yards. After three straight 10-plus yard pickups from running back Ray Davis, Mack Hollins beat his man in one-on-one coverage with a slant route to tie the game at 17-17. The teams traded punts before defensive end Gregory Rousseau closed in on Kyler Murray in the pocket for a strip sack of his own. The turnover gave Josh Allen and the offense the ball on the Arizona 21-yard line and the offense got right to work. After a first-down conversion, Allen attacked the outside of the defense with a quick screen out to Shakir. The six-foot, 190 lb receiver broke two tackles, before contorting himself into the endzone to score the go-ahead touchdown for the 24-17 lead.
The following drive stalled to third down quickly, before Kyler Murray used his legs to pick up the seven-yard distance on a 29-yard rush from the pocket. On the next play, Conner gashed the Buffalo defense for 20 yards, using a clever jump cut to find the hole up the middle. The drive would eventually end with a 31-yarder from kicker Matt Prater to make the score 24-20. The Buffalo offense continued to find their way with a good rush for six yards to open the next drive. The play after, Allen used play action to get his receivers sometime over the middle before finding his second look, receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a stop route for 19 yards on the backside. During the next set of downs, more penalties pushed Buffalo back behind the sticks again. On third and 14, Allen got the ball out quickly on a shallow crosser to Shakir who picked up 12 yards to make it a manageable fourth down. On fourth and two, Allen stepped up through pressure and scrambled to convert. After chipping away underneath for a few plays, Allen took a shot to Coleman along the sideline for a 28-yard completion. One play later, Allen picked up his second rushing touchdown of the day on a six-yard scramble to extend the lead to 31-20.
Arizona responded with a kickoff return for a touchdown right after, but a late field goal secured the 34-20 victory for Buffalo. The Bills escaped Week One with a narrow victory and built momentum into their Week Two matchup with AFC East rival, the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football at 8:30 p.m. EST. Josh Allen is Sunday’s Player of the Game. The former Wyoming Cowboy went 18-for-23 through the air for 232 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 137.7. On the ground, Allen broke the Arizona defense’s back with nine carries for 37 yards and two touchdowns.