Pollock: From decisions by McDermott on 4th down to Allen's injury ...
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
This was not a victory to be celebrated … though myopic Bills fans will dismiss the way it was achieved with a cliche … “a win is a win.”
Buffalo’s 34-28 triumph over the Cardinals, Sunday afternoon at windy Highmark Stadium, was a major “Phew” in the season opener that could easily have gone the other way but for Arizona’s self-inflicted errors.
Afterward Bills coach Sean McDermott admitted, “For our new players, this was an experience that they’ve never had before. It was great to get a win, a hard-fought battle. Give Arizona credit, they came in here with a good plan. We got down early (17-3), due to some undisciplined play, then were fighting back and that in itself is a great sign for our football team.
“Every week’s like that but to have that with a new team and for them to stick together and pull it out …”
In fairness, what this game did prove was how much the Bills depend on quarterback Josh Allen’s “hero ball.”
When it was over, the seventh-year QB did everything.
He accounted for all four of Buffalo’s touchdowns, 11-yard TD passes to wideouts Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir and runs of 6- and 7-yards.
Allen finished 18-of-23 passing for 232 yards with completions to nine different receivers while being sacked twice (Kei Trel Clark and Roy Lopez, the latter causing a fumble that the Cards turned into a touchdown)). He also had nine carries for 39 yards including the two scores.
McDermott admitted he worries whenever Allen takes off running.
And, indeed on his second rushing TD, he hurt his left (non-throwing) arm when landing and finished the game with it double-taped.
“Always,” the eighth-year coach admitted of Allen taking off. “I’m always keeping my eyes on him … to make sure that he’s all right. There’s a balance there (having him run against the risk of injury) as always and I think about that a lot.”
But he can’t be a one-man offense every week … starting with Thursday night in Miami Gardens against the Dolphins.
Most of Allen’s damage — three TDs — came after intermission. His first score occurred with 19 seconds left before intermission which closed Buffalo’s deficit to 17-10. That came after the Bills embarrassed themselves with all manner of first-half gaffes, most notably losing time of possession by a galling 20 minutes to 10. Then there were the three different false starts by as many different offensive linemen on the same drive.
In the game Buffalo committed an unacceptable nine penalties.
SOME “EXPERT” Bills fans were fuming after the game that McDermott, with Buffalo up 27-24 and facing fourth down at the Arizona 20-yard line with two minutes to go, opted for the 37-yard field goal rather than going for a game-clinching first down.
Their argument was it was “analytics say” which, of course, is a perfect copout.
When asked about it, McDermott said, “I thought about it and we’d have gone for it if it was 4th-and-2, but this was fourth and a long three.”
What if Buffalo went for it and was stopped? The Cardinals would have needed to merely drive 45 yards to get in position for the tying field goal with 1:44 to go and all three timeouts remaining.
At least the field goal forced Arizona to score a touchdown to win and Tyler Bass, who kicked the three-pointer, made his own gaffe, slicing the kickoff out of bounds giving the Cardinals only a 60-yard path for the winning touchdown.
NOTES from the Bills victory:
— The AFC East has a bit of a surprise look with three unbeatens pending the Jets game tonight in San Francisco. Buffalo and Miami were expected to win, but nobody considered that the Patriots would go into Cincinnati and stun the Bengals.
— Allen’s two rushing and two passing TDs were the 20th time he’s accomplished the feat in a single game, tying him with Aaron Rodgers for second all-time. Cam Newton has the NFL record with 22.
— Though the first half was Buffalo’s mistake-fest, its biggest blunder came in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Allen’s touchdown run gavr the Bills a 31-20 lead with with 8:42 remaining. But, on the ensuing kickoff, Buffalo’s special teams turned the Cardinals’ DeeJay Dallas loose for a 96-yard score, the first in the NFL era of the “Dynamic Kickoff.”
— Arguably, Buffalo edge rusher Greg Rousseau had his best game in his four seasons as a pro sacking Murray for a career-best three sacks plus six tackles, three for a loss.
In addition, for the first time since he suffered a torn ACL on Thanksgiving of the 2022 season, Von Miller, a likely Hall-of-Fame-bound edge rusher, got a sack.
— Bills middle linebacker Terrel Bernard verified his selection as defensive captain by tying for the game high in tackles with 11 and had a game-best 10 solos. Former UB star Cam Lewis, the Swiss Army knife of the secondary, had 10 tackles partially because he filled in at nickelback after Taron Johnson left the game with an injured forearm in the first half.
— McDermott had no updates on the injuries to either Allen or Johnson.
— Inactive for the Bills were safety Cole Bishop, the second-round draft choice, rehabbing a shoulder injury, rookie linebackers Joe Andreessen, the free agent rookie from UB, and Edefuan Ulofoshio, rookie edge rusher Javon Solomon (oblique), rookie center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, tackle Ryan Van Demark and edge rusher Dewuane Smoot (toe).
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at [email protected].)
Read more from Chuck:
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• Bills took some risks with the roster cuts
• Preseason has not panned out the way McDermott planned
• Suddenly, major injury issues for the Bills
• It was a win over the Steelers but a loss in other departments
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• Beane says this is a new NFL team
• Beane responds to Josh Allen critic
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