Bills did what they needed to Sunday: Win

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The first thing I thought of when the Buffalo Bills came up with a fourth down stop to secure Sunday's 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals was the immortal Al Davis. One of the favorite sayings of the former Raiders owner was "just win baby".

A way too stressful Week 1 victory for the Bills was all about just winning.

As head coach Sean McDermott might say, there are lots of things that need to be corrected. But a 1-0 start is a whole lot better than an 0-1 start to the season. Especially given this is a short week with a big early season matchup coming against the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

The offense did put up 34 points, but the passing game was just so-so, the running game averaged only 3.9 yards per-carry, and the Bills converted only 33% on third down, going 3-for-9.

There were also seven penalties called on the offensive line, including three false starts (and they were not playing on the road).

The defense looked like two completely different units from the first half to the second.

In the first half, Arizona had three drives that produced a touchdown, field goal and another touchdown. They totaled 17 points and 190 yards of total offense.

In the second half, however, the Cardinals had five drives and managed just 80 yards and three points. On four of those five drives, the Bills held the visitors to zero or negative yards.

Special teams had an up-and-down day on Sunday.

The good news is Tyler Bass looked like his old self kicking the ball. The Bills kicker went 2-for-2 on field goals, and was a perfect 4-for-4 with extra points on a very windy day at Highmark Stadium.

New Bills kick returner Brandon Codrington had a 53-yard kick return as well.

However, the Bills' special teams unit gave up a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and Bass had a kickoff go out-of-bounds, giving the ball to Arizona at their own 40-yard line when they were down six points with 1:56 to go.

Offensively the Bills leaned more on the run than the pass. They ran the ball 33 times, while Allen had just 23 pass attempts (only five in the first half). Allen was an efficient 18-of-23 passing with a pair of touchdown tosses, while totaling only 232 yards in the air.

The "everybody eats" philosophy was certainly evident, as 10 different players had, at least, one target, and nine of them had, at least, one catch.

Rookie wideout Keon Coleman led the way with four catches for 51 yards, including a huge 28-yard reception in the fourth quarter that gave the Bills a 1st-and-goal at the Arizona 6-yard line.

Allen eventually ran it in for a touchdown, giving the Bills a 31-20 lead.

That Coleman catch was not just clutch. It was impressive since a Cardinals defender was draped all over him as the ball came down. Coleman won that 1-on-1 battle, which is partially why the Bills took him where they did.

Khalil Shakir had just three catches, but one was a big third down conversion as part of a Bills touchdown drive to close the first half. Shakir also made a really athletic play, keeping his balance and then rolling over for a run-after-catch touchdown in the second half.

Running back James Cook had a solid day with 103 yards on 22 touches.

Rookie back Ray Davis wasn't used much, but he did record 27 yards on back-to-back touches during the Bills' touchdown drive that opened the second half.

Now to the defense.

Already playing without linebacker Matt Milano, who was injured in the preseason, they lost outstanding nickel cornerback Taron Johnson on the Cardinals' very first drive.

Cam Lewis was pressed into duty, and the former University at Buffalo Bull played well with numerous good plays in both run defense and pass defense.

In the first half, Murray carved up the Bills defense, but they looked much better in the second half.

Greg Rousseau had a monster day with three sacks and a key forced fumble in the third quarter. The takeaway gave the Bills offense a drive start at the Arizona 21-yard line, and they converted with a touchdown that gave them their first lead of the game, 24-17.

Von Miller looked a little more like his old self on Sunday. After getting no sacks in 12 games played last season, Miller recorded a big sack of Murray that ended Arizona's second-to-last drive of the game.

Cardinals rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was a non-factor in this game. The fourth overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft had just one catch for four yards.

Like I said, the Bills have plenty of areas that need to be cleaned up, but this week, they won't have much time to do that. They will have to get on a plane come Wednesday to South Florida, where they will face the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

The Bills won, and that is what matters most to open the season. Even more so when you consider this game looked to be the easiest one on paper out of the first six games on the schedule.