Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 34-28 victory Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium …
Running game: A-
There was a commitment to running the ball as the Bills racked up 33 rushing attempts to 23 passes. “Staying in front of the chains, when we can run the ball like that, we’re going to find success because it helps play action, it helps our O-line, not just sitting pass set the whole game,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “It allows us to do different things and have different personnel and force their hand, whether they want to play base or nickel, to some of our personnels.” As he so often is, Allen was a big part of the rushing attack, with 39 yards on nine carries, including two touchdowns. James Cook started the game with a 9-yard gain on the Bills’ first offensive play – a sign of a good day to come. Cook finished with 71 yards on 19 carries, with a long gain of 15 yards. Rookie Ray Davis had a 13-yard gain in the third quarter on a touchdown drive.
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Passing game: B+
Allen was ultra efficient, finishing 18 of 23 for 232 yards and two touchdowns – a passer rating of 137.7. It’s not quite an ‘A’ day, though, as he held the ball too long in the first quarter, getting sacked and losing a fumble as a result. The “everybody eats” mentality was on display, as 10 different receivers were targeted, and nine of them made catches. Rookie Keon Coleman led the way with five targets, which produced team highs of four catches and 51 yards. Allen was sacked twice, and avoided several others with his out-of-this-world ability to make the first rusher miss. Moving forward, the Bills will want to involve Dalton Kincaid more than they did Sunday, as he finished with just one catch on two targets for 11 yards. Khalil Shakir again showed outstanding contact balance on his go-ahead, 11-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Run defense: B-
The bulk of the damage on the ground for Arizona was created by quarterback Kyler Murray, who scrambled his way to a team-leading 57 yards on five rushing attempts. It’s a good bet most of those runs came on called pass plays. Arizona’s longest play was a 29-yard scramble by Murray. James Conner had 50 yards on 16 carries, and one touchdown. Connor had one 20-yard rush, but averaged just 2.0 yards per carry on his 15 other attempts. The Bills made just one tackle for loss in the run game, by Greg Rousseau on Arizona’s opening drive. Middle linebacker Terrel Bernard finished with a team-leading 11 tackles, while Dorian Williams had nine tackles.
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Pass defense: A
Murray was hot at the start, going 16 of 19 for 131 yards and a touchdown in the first half. An early screen pass to Conner went for 22 yards on Arizona’s opening drive, which reached the end zone. The Bills, however, held Murray to just 5 of 12 passing for 31 yards in the second half. The pass rush came alive, led by Rousseau. Ja’Marcus Ingram made the play of the game, sealing the win with a pass defensed on Greg Dortch with less than 30 seconds to play. Ingram had one of the Bills’ three passes defensed, with DaQuan Jones and Taylor Rapp getting the others. Cam Lewis stepped up in Taron Johnson’s absence and played a strong game, finishing with nine tackles, which was second on the team. “When Cam comes in, he’s a guy that can do everything, too,” Bernard said. “He’s physical, he’s smart, he can blitz, he’s obviously good in coverage, and then, he made a lot of plays in the run game today.”
Special teams: D
It wasn’t all bad. In fact, most of it was good. Rookie Brandon Codrington took his first kickoff as a member of the Bills back 53 yards to set up a drive start in Arizona territory. He also returned one punt for 7 yards. Tyler Bass was perfect on two field goals and four extra points – a good sign after a shaky summer. Then, disaster struck. The game looked to be in hand, but the Bills gave up a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to DeeJay Dallas – the type of mistake that simply can’t happen. Then, after his field goal put the Bills up, 34-28, Bass kicked the ball out of bounds, allowing the Cardinals to start their final drive at their 40-yard line. Those were two mistakes that can’t happen.
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Coaching: B
Week 1 is always a bit wonky, but the Bills did not look prepared to play at the start. The defense gave up points on every possession in the first half. Credit, however, goes to defensive coordinator Bobby Babich for settling down his group at halftime. Penalties were an issue, particularly against the offensive line. The pre-snap penalties will surely drive Sean McDermott nuts. “We’ve got a lot of room for improvement. We’re beating ourselves in an undisciplined fashion and manner at times,” McDermott said. “Pre-snap penalties in particular and just beating ourselves overall with some execution issues. We can take a lot from this game.” Despite those miscues, the Bills found a way to fight back for a much-needed win, which McDermott correctly called a great sign for the team, especially considering the changes to both the coaching staff and personnel coming into the year.
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Publish date : 2024-09-08 23:05:00
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