It was exactly the type of start the Cardinals needed to open the 2024 season.
Right after Sunday’s opening kickoff against the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Kyler Murray and the offense went on a 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 5-yard toss to receiver Michael Wilson in the end zone.
Four plays into the Bills’ first drive, Cardinals nose tackle Roy Lopez burst into the backfield, forced a strip sack of Josh Allen and Arizona’s Justin Jones recovered the fumble.
But all the things everyone worried about with the Cardinals came to fruition the longer the game went on until it finally ended with a 34-28 loss in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Arizona blew an early 14-point lead. The beleaguered defense couldn’t shut down Allen. Rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. finished with one catch for four yards and the play-calling was suspect down the stretch.
And yet there were the Cardinals — 15 minutes and nine seconds into the game — thinking they just might have this one in the bag.
“We’re a confident group, man,” Lopez said Monday from the team’s Tempe training facility. “We feel like we’ve got some ballers on this team, man. We’ve got some dawgs and you see it on film. There’s some dawgs on this team.
“So yeah, start the game with a strip sack, it’s pretty fun, and it’s good to build off of, but there’s a reason why a game is 60 minutes.”
There’s also a reason Josh Allen is Josh Allen. The Cardinals didn’t have an answer for the Buffalo QB.
“Hey man, he’s Josh Allen,” Lopez said. “There’s a reason why everybody knows his name. He’s a dual threat to say the least. He had a great game and we’ve got to be better. It’s the NFL, man. They have great players. We have great players. That’s why people love to watch it. That’s why people love to play in it. They’re going to make plays.
“As a defense, you have to be able to settle in and punch back.”
The Cardinals couldn’t do it against the Bills, but they had better find a way to punch back when Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams roll into town this Sunday.
“Josh Allen is a guy who feels like he has a plan for everything,” Lopez said, adding of Stafford, “Our guys have played against Matt Stafford before, so they understand what type of quarterback he is, especially being in the (NFC West) division. Plans change every week in the NFL."
It could have ended far better than it did on Sunday against the Bills.
Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass made a field goal to give the Bills a six-point lead with 1:56 left to play.
When Bass booted the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, Arizona got the ball at its 40-yard line and coach Jonathan Gannon still had all three timeouts stuffed in his back pocket. There was plenty of time and playmakers to finish the job.
"There wasn't any point in that game where we didn't think we were going to win the game," Gannon said Monday. "Even when it wasn't going great there for kind of that last part of the second quarter into the middle of the third. ... We got back in the game and had the ball there twice in the last six minutes with a chance to take the lead and win the game."
Asked how he felt about the start of the Cardinals' last possession while watching the offense from the sideline, Lopez said it was both “exciting” and “a blessing.” He wasn’t worried. Surely, Murray and his mates would make their way down the field and score a game-winning touchdown.
“It’s a blessing to see Kyler Murray play. It’s a blessing to see James Conner on the field, Marvin Harrison, Trey McBride,” Lopez said. “Like I said before the season, I can’t wait to watch them play. It stays the same. It doesn’t matter the time of the game. It’s a show and it’s exciting to watch.”
But Wilson dropped a deep pass. There were incompletions to McBride and Greg Dortch. Murray never saw a wide-open Harrison down the field during a furious Bills’ pass rush. An unexpected run play to Conner on third and 10 picked up only 3 yards, forcing a critical fourth down. Murray then missed on a last-ditch throw to Dortch.
“Yesterday is yesterday,” Lopez said. “You can only smile about the future.”
Gannon put it a different way.
"It was a good, hard-fought game," he said. "Need to make a few more plays, need to coach a little bit better, but enthused that everything is correctable and we can improve from this game."
Injury updates
Starting right tackle Jonah Williams suffered a knee injury at the end of the first quarter and did not return. Gannon said the lineman was still getting tests done on Monday and suggested Williams' status likely wouldn't be determined until Wednesday at the earliest.
Rookie cornerback Max Melton, meanwhile, remains in concussion protocol, Gannon said,
About Marvin's debut
Gannon said he thinks Marvin Harrison Jr. will rebound from an otherwise forgettable pro debut.
"He'll be fine. Marvin will be fine," he said. "He'll get back at it and go to work. No one's going to put more expectation or pressure or him wanting to do well than himself. He'll be perfectly fine."
By the numbers
With a team-high 57 rushing yards, Murray reached 2,500 in his career. Only five quarterbacks in NFL history – Lamar Jackson (42 games), Michael Vick (48), Cam Newton (61), Jalen Hurts (62), and Josh Allen (65) – have accomplished that feat in fewer games than Murray (66).
*With 10 tackles, Cardinals’ safety Budda Baker reached double-digit tackles in a season opener for the fourth time in the past seven seasons.
*McBride’s five receptions on Sunday moved him into fifth place on the Cardinals’ all-time list for receptions by a tight end. Jackie Smith (480) ranks first, followed by Doug Marsh (167), Freddie Jones (144), Zach Ertz (130) and McBride (115).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals couldn't finish what they started in loss to Bills
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