Bills vs. Cardinals: Buffalo defense gets final stop to seal comeback win

ORCHARD PARK - While it might feel like early October Sunday morning in western New York, we’re not there yet.

It’s early September, Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, and the Buffalo Bills are opening at Highmark Stadium for the first time since 2021 as they host the Arizona Cardinals .

This will be an interesting test for the Bills as they will be facing a team coming off a 4-13 season, but a team that has made some notable improvements, and also has its star quarterback, Kyler Murray, healthy for the first time since the middle of 2022.

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The Cardinals come to Orchard Park with zero pressure, and that can make for a dangerous opponent for Buffalo to open the season with.

Stay up to date on everything that is happening at the stadium right here all day long.

Final score: Buffalo Bills 34, Arizona Cardinals 28

Buffalo's defense got a stop to seal the win.

Arizona started its potential game-winning drive at its 40-yard line after the kickoff went out of bounds. Kyler Murray completed to Greg Dortch for 12 yards for a first down, and two plays later the duo connected for 7 yards and another first down to the Bills' 32. Murray passed incomplete to Trey McBride, incomplete to Dortch and on a puzzling third-down play call, James Conner ran up the middle for 3 yards. On fourth-and-7 with 32 seconds left, Murray's deep pass was incomplete for Dortch with cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram in coverage.

Josh Allen completed 18 of 23 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more touchdowns. James Cook rushed for 71 yards on 19 carries and Keon Coleman had four receptions for 51 yards in his debut. Terrel Bernard led the Bills with 11 tackles.

Kyler Murray was 21 of 31 for 162 yards and a touchdown. Buffalo held rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to one catch for 4 yards.

Bills 34, Cardinals 28 - Bills extend lead with field goal

Buffalo started with great field position after a terrible Arizona punt. James Cook ran up the middle for 9 yards and the Cardinals were penalized for too many men on the field. Cook had a 7-yard run but he was stopped for a 1-yard gain and Allen lost a yard on a carry. Tyler Bass made a 39-yard field goal.

Von Miller sack on Kyler Murray forces Cardinals punt - 4:30 4th quarter

Von Miller has more sacks than last year. Miller tripped up Kyler Murray on third-and-10 for a 5-yard loss. Blake Gillikin shanked a 28-yard punt to the Cardinals' 42.

Buffalo punts - 5:17 4th quarter

Josh Allen, who appeared to injure his hand on his touchdown run, scrambled for 9 yards and James Cook rushed for 13 yards for a first down. Buffalo recorded another first down on an 11-yard pass from Allen to Dalton Kincaid. James Cook lost 3 yards on a run on the next play and on third down, Allen's pass was incomplete. Sam Martin punted 34 yards to the Cardinals' 19.

Bills 31, Cardinals 28: Deejay Dallas returns kickoff 96 yards for touchdown

It's the first kickoff return touchdown with the NFL's new rules. Deejay Dallas went up the middle before breaking the kickoff to the outside and diving to the goal line for a 96-yard kickoff return.

Bills 31, Cardinals 20: Josh Allen hurdles for touchdown

The Josh Allen hurdle is back. Buffalo took a two-possession lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by Allen. The Bills quarterback scrambled, pump faked and hurdled past to Cardinals defenders, who collided as Allen reached the end zone.

Allen completed passes of 19 yards to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, 12 yards to Khalil Shakir and 28 yards to Keon Coleman on the drive.

Bills 24, Cardinals 20: Arizona settles for a short field goal

Arizona got into the red zone but couldn't tie the game. Kyler Murray converted a third-and-7 with a 29-yard scramble and James Conner ran up the middle for 18 yards to the Bills' 18. Greg Dortch took an end around 4 yards on first down but the Cardinals' play-calling became conservative, with Conner rushing for 2 yards and then getting stopped for no gain on third-and-4 from the Bills' 12. Matt Prater made a 31-yard field goal.

Bills 24, Cardinals 17: Khalil Shakir's stretches ball over goal line for Buffalo's first lead

The Bills have scored 21 consecutive points. Khalil Shakir took a screen pass, maneuvered through the Cardinals' defense and stretched the ball over the goal line as he was falling backward for the 11-yard touchdown.

Greg Rousseau gets strip sack on Kyler Murray and Bills recover - 5:25 3rd quarter

Greg Rousseau recorded his second sack of the quarter and this one gave Buffalo the ball back. Rousseau knocked the ball away from Kyler Murray and Dorian Williams recovered at the Cardinals' 21.

Bills go three-and-out - 6:16 3rd quarter

Buffalo and Arizona traded punts. Josh Allen completed to James Cook for 3 yards, Ray Davis was stopped for no gain, and Allen overthrew an open Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a deep post. Sam Martin punted 51 yards and Greg Dortch returned it 6 yards to the Cardinals' 21.

Cardinals go three-and-out - 7:53 3rd quarter

The momentum has completely flipped. James Conner had two straight 2-yard runs and Greg Rousseau sacked Kyler Murray on third down for an 8-yard loss. Blake Gillikin punted 50 yards and Brandon Codrington returned it 7 yards to the Bills' 31.

Cardinals 17, Bills 17: Josh Allen touchdown pass to Mack Hollins ties score

The Bills have scored 14 straight points to tie the game.

Buffalo started at the Bills' 40-yard line after the kickoff fell short of the landing zone. On third-and-11, James Cook took a catch-and-run 25 yards. Rookie running back Ray Davis made a 14-yard catch and followed it with a 13-yard run. On third-and-10, Josh Allen hit Mack Hollins over the middle for a touchdown.

Cardinals 17, Bills 10: Josh Allen runs for TD after Buffalo benefits from big penalty

Well, there’s no denying the Bills needed that.

After a first half that featured all kinds of bumbling and stumbling, terrible play by the defense and silly penalties on the offense, Josh Allen put together a huge drive that ended

The Bills got a couple key penalties to go their way including a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty before Allen scored on a seven-yard run to cut the gap to 17-10 with 19 seconds left in the half.

Along the way, Keon Coleman made his first NFL catch and it went for 12 yards and a first down.

Cardinals 17, Bills 3: James Conner punches in touchdown run as Arizona offense dominates

The Buffalo defense continued to look horrible as the Cardinals made it three possessions, three scores, this time a James Conner three-yard touchdown run capping a 13-play, 71-yard drive that looked impossibly easy.

The Cardinals now have 14 first downs and 191 yards and they’re 5-for-7 on third down. Kyler Murray has completed 16 of 19 passes for 130 yards.

Cardinals 10, Bills 3: Penalty negates Josh Allen TD, Buffalo settles for field goal

The Bills desperately needed to produce on their second possession, staring at a 10-0 deficit and it looked like they had a touchdown on a Josh Allen keeper.

Instead, O’Cyrus Torrence got called for a facemask penalty as Allen was scoring, wiping out the touchdown, and the Bills had to settle for a Tyler Bass field goal.

So, to recap, two penalties have cost the Bills a differential of eight points so far.

Cardinals 10, Bills 0: Matt Prater makes field goal

Brandon Codrington made quite a debut for the Bills. The kick returner who was acquired from the Jets at the end of training camp fielded Arizona’s first kickoff at the 2 and raced 53 yards to give the Bills a great drive start at the Cardinals 45.

Unfortunately for the Bills, Josh Allen lost a fumble a few plays later at the Cardinals 29, Kyler Murray put together another impressive drive, this one going 59 yards in 10 plays before the Bills defense finally managed to get a third down stop as the first quarter ended.

Matt Prater then came on and kicked a 29-yard field goal to give Arizona a well-deserved 10-0 lead.

Josh Allen loses fumble on Bills' first possession - 5:24 1st quarter

It's a disastrous start for Buffalo. Things looked promising when Brandon Codrington took the kickoff 53 yards to the Cardinals' 45. James Cook sprinted for 9 yards and Josh Allen completed to Mack Hollins for 14 yards to get into the red zone. On the ensuing play, Josh Allen was sacked and fumbled on a hit from behind by Roy Lopez. Defensive tackle Justin Jones recovered at the Cardinals' 29.

Cardinals 7, Bills 0: Kyler Murray throws touchdown to Michael Wilson

The Cardinals opened the scoring with a 70-yard drive that took 13 plays before Tyler Murray hit Michael Wilson with a five-yard touchdown.

It came three plays after an absolutely egregious penalty against Buffalo’s JaMarcus Ingram that allowed the Cardinals to convert a third-and-13. Ingram was called for a personal foul on Murray, and it was not even close to a personal foul, just a terrible call that cost the Bills four points.

Spencer Brown cashes in

In a somewhat surprising move that was announced Friday, offensive tackle Spencer Brown was awarded a four-year contract extension that takes him through the 2028 season.

Brown was scheduled to become a free agent after 2024, the end of his original rookie contract. But the Bills believe the 2021 third-round pick, who made nice strides last season, can be part of their future as a bookend tackle along with Dion Dawkins.

“It’s good to have a clear head moving forward, knowing where you’re going to be, knowing that this isn’t your last season in Buffalo and now I have a lot more to look forward to,” Brown said.

With second-year man Ryan Van Demark and rookie sixth-round pick Tylan Grable on the 53-man roster, there was some speculation that the Bills would ride it out with Brown this year and then move on because he probably would have commanded more money on the open market.

Instead, he’s locked up and the Bills do not have a starting offensive linemen on a contract expiring after 2024.

Buffalo Bills vs. Arizona Cardinals inactives

No surprises on the Bills inactives for Sunday. We already knew edge rushers Dawuane Smoot and Javon Solomon were ruled out by Sean McDermott on Friday due to injuries. As a response, the Bills’ two practice squad elevations were edge rusher Kameron Cline and offensive lineman Will Clapp.

The other three inactives are linebacker Joe Andreessen and Edufuan Ulofoshio, offensive linemen Ryan Demark and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, and safety Cole Bishop.

It's a bummer for Andreessen, the local product who made the 53-man roster and surely had a big contingent of friends and family at the stadium.

What time is the Bills vs Cardinals game?

• Date : Sunday, Sept. 8
• Time : 1 p.m.
• Place : Highmark Stadium

Who is announcing the Bills vs. Cardinals game

• Play-by-play: Tom McCarthy
• Analyst : Ross Tucker, Jay Feely
• Sideline reporter : Tiffany Blackmon

How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Arizona Cardinals game on TV, streaming

• Cable/Network TV : CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC channel 8 (Rochester area), WIVB channel 4 (Buffalo area), WTVH channel 5 (Syracuse area), WKTV channel 2 (Utica area), WENY channel 2 (Elmira area), WRGB channel 10 (Albany area), and WBNG channel 12 (Binghamton area).
• Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.
• TV streaming: You can also stream games if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, fuboTV , Sling , Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV+.

On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Cardinals game

You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 227 (Bills feed) and channel 381 (Cardinals feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:

• Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)
• Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM)
• Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)
• Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM)
• Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)
• Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)
• Newark (WACK 1420 AM)
• Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)
• Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM)
• Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)
• Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs. Cardinals: Buffalo defense gets final stop to seal comeback win