THE STORY: BUFFALO, N.Y. – The opener started exactly how the Cardinals wanted.
Kyler Murray was connecting on every pass. James Conner was the bell cow. Roy Lopez had a strip-sack leading to points. And the Cardinals had quieted Highmark Stadium by building a 17-3 lead and dominating time of possession.
"We didn't want to be going backwards," Murray said afterward. "We played clean.
"That was the difference first half and second half."
In the second half, the Cardinals (0-1) did not, and eventually, that meant a 34-28 loss to the Bills on Sunday.
The Cards only had 80 yards in the second half. Their lone touchdown after halftime came on a 96-yard kickoff return by DeeJay Dallas, which sparked hope but that was it. The defense struggled all game to do exactly what they said before the game they had to contain – Bills quarterback Josh Allen breaking contain and running and passing his way off schedule to big plays.
"He did a great job of extending the plays," safety Budda Baker said. "Being in coverage was hard, and when he takes off you have to make the tackle. That was the challenge, to keep him in the pocket."
Allen passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, the second of which came from six yards out to leap Baker, who came out of coverage to try and take down the much-bigger Allen low. That score, with 8:44 left, became the winning points.
Assessing the job on Allen, coach Jonathan Gannon said it was "what it looked like – probably not great."
The Bills averaged 6.3 yards a play, emerging on their first second-half touchdown drive after converting third-and-11, second-and-12, and third-and-10.
"You watch it today, probably be frustrated, but the season's not over," Murray said. "Been doing this a while now. Next week we have a divisional opponent. The next one is the most important."
Murray started 10-for-11 for 87 yards, a TD pass and 17 yards rushing on his first two drives. He finished 21-of-31 for 162 yards, losing a fumble that eventually became a Bills TD possession. He ran for 57 yards on five carries, showing how his ACL injury was an ancient memory.
Gannon did note the wind was a factor, a reason why the Cardinals took the ball first to get the right field setup.
The Cardinals did have two possessions in a one-score game. The first, down three after Dallas' score, ended with a three-and-out. But the Bills managed only a field goal, and Murray had 1:56 to go 60 yards after the Bills kickoff went out of bounds.
On one play that was thrown elsewhere after Murray scrambled for time, TV cameras showed Marvin Harrison Jr. get alone uncovered behind the defense. Murray acknowledged he never saw the rookie.
"When you play football, there is a lot of stuff moving around, moving fast," Murray said. "You don't see everything."
The offense could only reach the Buffalo 29. A final fourth-and-7 bomb to Greg Dortch, in one-on-one coverage, inside the 5 was broken up.
No repeat of the Hail Murray was coming. The home opener against the Rams comes next.
"What I like about this group is their will did not waver," Gannon said. "We will keep our confidence."
TURNING POINT: The Bills trailed by 14 but drove for a touchdown right before the end of the first half and then took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove for the game-tying score.
"I didn't love the end of the half," Gannon said. "On defense we have to keep some of the explosive plays down."
"You're up 17-3 and lose the game, that falls on coaches," Gannon added.
THE STANDOUTS: Wide receiver Greg Dortch emerged as the team's leading receiver on Sunday, with six catches for 47 yards. Only tight end Trey McBride had more than Dortch's eight targets. Inside linebackers Mack Jones Sr. and Kyzir White also had key tackles for loss in the fourth quarter to give the Cardinals a chance to come back. White had 11 tackles and a quarterback hit, Wilson had nine tackles and a pass defensed.
MARVIN HARRISON JR. QUIET
The debut of rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. didn't create any fireworks. He had one catch for four yards, and only three targets. He was not targeted in the second half. The first pass he was thrown was an attempted back-shoulder that wasn't close. The second would've gained 10 or 15 yards, but Harrison couldn't hang on. Murray made sure to go right back to Harrison the next play for his one reception.
"No confidence lost in Marv," Murray said.
"That's how our offense is going to be built," Gannon said. "The ball should go where it should go, depending on the coverage. We'll find a way to get him involved."
JONAH WILLIAMS DOWN: The Cardinals may have suffered a harsh blow already to the offensive line when right tackle Jonah Williams went down with a right knee injury. Veteran Kelvin Beachum took over. Williams had been signed as a free agent in the offseason, and he is the second tackle to get hurt – rookie Christian Jones is already on IR with a knee injury, although Jones is expected to return at some point.
"I thought Beach played well," Gannon said. "I thought he played his ass off."
Gannon also said rookie cornerback Max Melton was being evaluated for a concussion.
