Arizona (4-13) at Buffalo (12-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Bills by 6 1/2.
Series record: Bills lead 7-5.
Last meeting: Cardinals beat Bills 32-30 on Nov. 15, 2020, in Glendale, Arizona.
Cardinals offense: overall (19), rush (4), pass (26), scoring (24)
Cardinals defense: overall (25), rush (32), pass (13), scoring (31)
Bills offense: overall (4), rush (7), pass( 8), scoring (6)
Bills defense: overall (9), rush (15), pass (7), scoring (4)
Turnover differential: Cardinals minus-1; Bills plus-2.
Rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will play his first NFL game after being selected with the No. 4 overall pick in last spring's draft. The Cardinals expect the Ohio State star to be an elite playmaker right away and his performance in practices has been impressive. Teammates and coaches have raved about Harrison's maturity and the 6-foot-3 receiver has an impressive family — his dad Marvin Harrison is a Pro Football Hall of Famer after a 12-year career with the Colts.
Quarterback Josh Allen has much more on his shoulders in unveiling a new-look offense that features just one player at the receiver position, Khalil Shakir, to have caught a pass from the seventh-year starter. The rest of the WR group is rounded out by offseason additions such as Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and rookie Keon Coleman. The group is tasked to replace the offseason departures of Stefon Diggs (traded to Houston) and Gabe Davis (free agency), who combined for 152 catches, 1,929 yards and 10 TDs last season.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray versus Bills new-look secondary. Murray provided the Cardinals offense a big spark in his return after missing the first 10 games of last season with a torn ACL. Arizona averaged scoring nearly 6 more points and gaining more than 73 yards per game with Murray under center. In his final three games to close the season, he combined to go 71 of 99 for 724 yards with six TDs and one interception. The Bills introduce a new secondary to replace the offseason losses of safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer and cornerback Tre’Davious White. Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin will start at safety, with Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas the starting cornerback tandem.
The Cardinals have already taken a few hits to their defense. Linebacker BJ Ojulari is out for the season after a knee injury in camp. Defensive lineman Darius Robinson, a rookie who was the No. 27 overall pick, will also miss at least the first four games of the season with a strained calf. ... The Bills are mostly healthy with the big exception of starting linebacker Matt Milano, who is expected to be out until at least December with a torn left bicep.
The Bills had won six of seven meetings before a stinging loss to the Cardinals in the desert in 2020. After Buffalo took the lead on Allen’s 21-yard TD pass to Diggs with 34 seconds left, Murray heaved a 43-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins, who out-jumped three Bills defenders in the end zone to seal the win with 2 seconds left. ... Buffalo has won four straight at home against the Cards, since a series-opening 28-23 loss to the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1971.
Allen followed by Murray top the NFL list as youngest quarterbacks to reach the 15,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing milestones. The 28-year-old Allen did so at age 26 and 127 days, 12 days earlier than Murray who is tied with Cam Newton on the list. ... Arizona RB James Conner is coming off his first 1,000-yard rushing season. Conner also led the NFL with 11 runs of 20-plus yards in 2023. ... The Cardinals ran for 5.02 yards per carry last season, which ranked second in the league. ... Jonathan Gannon enters his second season as the team's head coach. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis also are back for their second year. ... Tight end Trey McBride returns after catching 81 passes last season, which was a franchise record for the position. ... Veteran kicker Matt Prater made nine field goals from at least 50 yards last season, which set a career high. ... The Cardinals had a 3-5 record after Murray's return from injury last season after starting out 1-8. ... Arizona's roster features 39 newcomers — including 20 players entering their rookie or second seasons — since Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort took over in 2023. ... The four-time AFC East defending champion Bills have gone 40 straight regular-season games without a loss by more than 6 points. That’s tied for the longest streak in NFL history with the Packers (Nov. 15, 2009-Jan. 1, 2012). Buffalo's run began following a 44-15 loss to Indianapolis on Nov. 21, 2021. ... Bills coach Sean McDermott, entering his eighth season in Buffalo, has wins against every NFL team as a head coach with the exception of Arizona (0-1) and Philadelphia (0-2). ... The Bills feature just 11 players left from the team that lost to the Cardinals in 2020. ... The Bills are 4-3 in season openers under McDermott, including 1-2 the past three years. Buffalo opened last year with a 22-16 overtime loss at the New York Jets. ... Allen's 29 TDs passing last year were the fewest since he had 20 in 2019, and he also threw a career-high 18 interceptions. Buffalo went 8-6 in games the quarterback committed a turnover. ... TE Dalton Kincaid set a rookie team record last year with 73 catches, which were also the most by a Bills tight end in team history. ... Hamlin opens the season as a starter some 20 months after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati. This marks the first time in eight years Buffalo opens a season without the starting safety tandem of Poyer and Hyde.
Both teams' running backs, Conner and Buffalo's James Cook, should be safe bets to start based on the status of both opposing defenses. Buffalo's run-D has plenty of question marks, particularly without Milano and Poyer. The Cardinals, meantime, are breaking in seven new starters, who may need time to gel. And Buffalo leaned more on Cook over the second half of last season after Ken Dorsey was fired as coordinator and replaced by Joe Brady, who took over the full-time position this offseason.
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