Bills Must Have Answer For James Conner vs. Cardinals

For the first time in his NFL career, James Connor went over the 1,000-yard mark with the Arizona Cardinals last season.

His blend of power and athleticism makes him a player who defenders want to tackle in the NFL. He's also now the problem of the Buffalo Bills.

As the Bills prepare for their season-opening contest against the Cardinals on Sunday, the organization knows they need to find a way to contain Connor if they want to start their season on a high note.

Despite fielding a top-five unit against the run in 2022, the Bills dropped to the 14th-best group across the league - a big part of that was the injury to Matt Milano.

Milano is also out for the start of this season, though, with a torn biceps injury and it will put even more pressure on Buffalo's young and inexperienced linebacking core. If the Bills can't figure out a way to dominate the line of scrimmage, Connor and the Cardinals' offense could own the time of possession game and force Allen and the offense of Buffalo to struggle to put the ball in the end zone.

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Buffalo may be heavy favorites, but they have a matchup concern going into Week 1 that can be exploited.

It's why containing Arizona's top power back is the top priority for their defense.