Buffalo passes first test and escapes the Cardinals

ORCHARD PARK – Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott made a good point Sunday afternoon when he finally made his way into the interview room following his team’s narrow 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

“You know, you have to get through it, and the NFL is tough, right? It’s hard to win,” McDermott said, and yes, he’s right, as the Bills clearly demonstrated for three hours at Highmark Stadium in a game in which they were down 17-3 at one point.

“You almost have to take the logos off the helmets because it really doesn’t matter who you play or where you play. It’s how you play – how we play – that matters.”

McDermott’s Bills didn’t play well for most of the first half, which is why they found themselves trailing by 14 points. But even with so many new players in key positions this season, the Bills found a way back to winning ways, and the winning mentality McDermott showed in Buffalo helped stave off the Cardinals’ attempt at an opening-day upset.

“I think this team was tested early here,” McDermott said. “Great to get a win, a hard-fought battle. You have to give Arizona credit for coming here and having a good plan. We fell behind early in the game and they battled back from there. I think that in and of itself is a great sign for our football team.”

This is how I graded the bills:

PASS FEAR: B+

This was such a strange game that Josh Allen only attempted 23 passes and completed a very efficient 18 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked twice and had a couple of running attempts, so more than 23 pass plays were called, but that was few and could be a window into what Joe Brady wants to do – run the ball and try to get Allen manageable second and third attempts.

Allen spread the ball all over the place, targeting 10 different players and completing at least one pass on nine. Rookie Keon Coleman led the way with four catches on five targets for 51 yards, leading the Bills in all three categories. His biggest play was a beautifully contested catch for 28 yards that set up Allen’s second TD run in the fourth quarter.

It was a strangely quiet day for Dalton Kincaid, one catch on two attempts for 11 yards. Everyone assumed the passing game would run through Kincaid, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, at least on Sunday. It was also a very minimalist day for Curtis Samuel, two for 15. Khalil Shakir caught three balls, two of which were excellent plays, a catch and run for 19 yards and then his touchdown reception for 11 yards.

Running Attack: B+

James Cook rushed for a solid 71 yards on 19 attempts, his best run being a 15-yard run. Cook has that jump cut that serves him so well, and it helped him gain a few extra yards on a day when the offensive line, at least on the surface, wasn’t playing well. Ray Davis got a little play and had a 13-yard run and then two more that yielded zero, and Ty Johnson had just two attempts. Allen, of course, was the best secondary runner with 39 yards and two TDs.

As far as the line goes, it was a rough day in many ways. Against an Arizona defense that doesn’t pressure the passer well, there were two sacks, one of which resulted in an Allen fumble, although that was more due to the receivers not getting free and Allen having nowhere to throw the ball.

What was at stake were penalties. There were four false starts (including one by TE Quintin Morris), a facemask on O’Cyrus Torrence that negated an Allen TD, and holding calls on Torrence and Dion Dawkins. There’s a lot to clean up there, and Torrence could be a concern because he had a pretty sloppy preseason as well.

PASS DEFENSE: B

The entire defense was in a slump in the first half and Kyler Murray took full advantage. At halftime he had completed 16 of 19 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown and took the Bills apart with a short passing game. But in the second half he only completed 5 of 12 passes for 31 yards and lost a fumble during one of Greg Rousseau’s three sacks.

Von Miller also had a sack, at a key moment late in the fourth quarter. It was incredibly impressive that the Bills took Murray down four times, as he is incredibly elusive, as evidenced by his 57 rushing yards, most of them on scrambles. Also incredibly impressive was how the secondary handled the loss of nickel CB Taron Johnson in the first quarter.

Bobby Babich connected with Cam Lewis in the slot and then put Ja’Marcus Ingram in as a safety when they played dime. Ingram was in coverage on Arizona’s final play, preventing Greg Dortch from making a potentially game-winning catch on fourth down inside the 5-yard line.

Marvin Harrison Jr., the No. 4 overall pick, had only one catch for four yards, and TE Trey McBride, a very good but relatively unknown player, had only 30 yards and caught only five of nine passes.

RUN DEFENSE: B-

James Conner had it coming early in the game and then mixed with dynamic runs from Murray, the Bills were on the retreat, leading to 17 points in the first half. But after making their adjustments, the Bills were significantly better in the second half.

The Cardinals finished the game with 124 rushing yards and an average of five yards per carry, but that was mostly Murray’s fault. Conner averaged just 3.1 yards per attempt and 20 of his 50 yards came on one play. Terrel Bernard led the Bills with 11 tackles and Lewis had nine, several of them on the run game. Dorian Williams also played well with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D

There were certainly some dynamic moments, both good and bad. Brandon Codrington’s first touch as a Bill resulted in a 53-yard kickoff return that gave the Bills a great drive start on their first offensive possession. After that, the Cardinals kicked the ball into the end zone four times, giving the Bills the ball at the 30.

Tyler Bass made all six of his kicks – two field goals from 37 and 39 yards and all four extra points on a windy day. But then there were those two kickoffs in the fourth quarter. He kicked into the wind and couldn’t get the ball into the end zone, and when the coverage team stumbled, DeeJay Dallas returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. And then Bass’s final kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Cardinals the ball at the 40-yard line for their last chance at possession. I’m sure he tried to pin Dallas in the corner, knowing he couldn’t get him into the end zone, but he did.

COACHING: C

Halftime adjustments are sometimes overrated, but I think the Bills team did a good job in this game. Things weren’t going well for the defense in the first half, but Bobby Babich made some coverage changes, employed a little more dime defense, and that seemed to get Murray to hold onto the ball a little longer. He also employed some blitzes to get Murray to speed up his progressions, and he was a much less effective quarterback in the second half.

Offensively, it was one thing for Joe Brady to lean on the running game, and I’m not sure I completely agree with that, but it worked out pretty well in this game. If for no other reason, it evened up the time of possession in the middle of the game and gave the Buffalo defense a chance to catch their breath and regroup after a poor start.

Special teams coach Matthew Smiley knew the new kickoff would be challenging, and it was. The Bills need to solve their problems, and the best idea might be to just kick the ball into the end zone.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades, including 35 years as a full-time reporter for D&C, and has written numerous books on the team’s history. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast