Five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ rollercoaster win in Week 1 against Arizona

The week one experience can often be an adventure. There is always a dry run in the first game, as rosters with a different twist than the previous ones can bring new intricacies that teams may not have been prepared for since there wasn’t much footage available.

The Bills’ 34-28 win over the Cardinals in Week 1 can probably best be described as a rollercoaster ride. The Bills’ defense was unable to prevent anything at the beginning of the game and gave the visitors a 17-3 lead just a few minutes before the end of the first half. The offense had to operate almost perfectly for the rest of the game.

But that’s exactly what franchise quarterback Josh Allen did, scoring touchdowns on four of the next five drives and accounting for 74 percent of the team’s yards. Even with 34 points scored, the Bills almost lost to the Cardinals, but they ended up winning and starting 2024 1-0.

What stood out? Here are some takeaways from the Bills’ chaotic Week 1 win.

Greg Rousseau is making a promising summer come true

The Bills’ defense was shaky in the first half. They couldn’t get off the field, the pass rush didn’t get into the backfield well enough, and the Cardinals exploited all of the Bills’ individual weaknesses. But in the second half, fourth-year defensive end Greg Rousseau took over the game. Rousseau’s sack on third down on the Cardinals’ first possession of the second half set the tone for the rest of the game. And then, shortly after the Bills’ offense had to punt for the first time on their ensuing drive, Rousseau answered with a strip sack, putting the Bills ahead, which the offense did.

But Rousseau’s performance is a continuation of the tremendous potential he has shown throughout training camp. The defensive end has always had the ability to be a top-notch pass rusher, and he was easily one of the best players all summer.

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“These are things that don’t surprise us at all given his performance,” said defensive end AJ Epenesa.

“Dominance. He’s great to watch,” added defensive tackle Austin Johnson. “I mean, he’s just a natural.”

And it was more than just the sacks. He kept getting in the backfield, provided good run support, and even intercepted a pass from tight end Trey McBride late in the game. If this is the start of something to come, Rousseau could become a key player on a defense that desperately needs difference-maker players.

ACCOUNTING BALL‼️

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— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) 8 September 2024

The concern about defense is real

Although the defense bounced back in the second half, their performance early in the game was a major concern. Even late in the game, when the Bills were strong and limited the Cardinals’ points in the second half, Arizona missed some clear opportunities for points through broken coverage and dropped passes. The Bills showed they were concerned about second-year linebacker Dorian Williams in coverage when they followed a 2023 strategy of using a sixth defensive back on obvious pass attempts. But it was clear the Cardinals were targeting Williams with misdirection early in the game.

The safety play, particularly from Taylor Rapp, is another concern in the coming weeks. He was caught in a bad position a couple of times and was bailed out by a bad throw on a play where he was clearly beat in coverage. In addition to the uncertainty at free safety, teams will likely continue to push the Bills to prove that this isn’t a weakness. And another major injury to one of their best players could make the defensive volatility even more concerning.

Taylor Rapp’s (left) performance and Taron Johnson’s (right) injury are causing concern for the Bills’ defense. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)

Although the Bills were able to pull out a win on Sunday, the defense suffered one of the worst injuries imaginable. Star linebacker Matt Milano is out for the foreseeable future after a torn bicep suffered in training camp, and star nickel cornerback Taron Johnson played just seven snaps in the first series before leaving the game with a forearm injury. Although Johnson’s return was initially listed as questionable, the team announced shortly after halftime that the nickel would not play again. This relatively quick exclusion is not a good sign, especially given the short switch to a Thursday night game in Week 2. The Bills will have to cross their fingers that Johnson is not out for an extended period of time.

In Johnson’s place came Cam Lewis, who played every defensive snap at the position the rest of the way. It wasn’t flawless, as the Cardinals’ primary slot receiver, Greg Dortch, was their best pass catcher. But it certainly helped that Lewis is playing his sixth full season in the Bills’ defensive system and has played nickel corner for most of it. There’s little doubt that Lewis will be the starting nickel corner while Johnson is out, but it raises the question of how much the team will rely on nickel in all situations without their star player, Johnson. Johnson is the reason they switched to it in the first place in 2021. If Lewis gets injured, their next move would likely be to use Ja’Marcus Ingram as nickel.

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Don’t worry about Dalton Kincaid’s statistics

It was a forgettable debut for standout tight end Dalton Kincaid, who caught just one pass and rushed for 11 yards on two attempts in his sophomore year. The stat line might raise some concerns about the role of one of the most talented players on the entire roster. But his overall effort tells a different story, and if the Bills follow a similar path in the future, Kincaid will have some important games coming up in the next few weeks.

There were, of course, concerns about Kincaid’s role in conjunction with the presence of tight end Dawson Knox, as Kincaid’s role was greatly scaled back in 2023 after Knox returned from injured reserve. Even the first two offensive series against the Cardinals did not assuage those concerns. Knox had 11 snaps to Kincaid’s nine, which is closer to his late 2023 seasons. However, with the offense failing to get going in the first two series, there was a clear shift in Kincaid’s time on the field. Head coach Sean McDermott indicated after the game that he wanted to get Kincaid more involved, and his in-game message resonated with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Kincaid took 46 of the Bills’ final 52 offensive snaps. In the second half alone, Kincaid missed just three of her 41 snaps, for a 92.7 percent second-half snap percentage. Along with Kincaid’s usage, there was also a huge increase in the number of 12-person players in the second half, with the team using them on 41.5 percent of their 41 offensive snaps. Last year, Brady made this more of a matchup tool than a fixture, so it remains to be seen if the 12-person percentages will hold up. What should hold, however, is that Kincaid is out there in a full-time role. He’s a potential difference-maker. More productive days are likely ahead.

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Good debut for Tyler Bass, but with one caveat

Kicker Tyler Bass endured a turbulent summer of practice, especially leading up to the final preseason game against the Panthers. Despite his struggles, the team stood by Bass in word and deed because he had been so effective for the team in the past. General manager Brandon Beane championed Bass and backed that up by not putting a kicker on the practice squad. In their first regular-season game, Bass was successful on all six attempts — four extra points and two field goals. While that was a good vote of confidence, all six of those attempts were under 40 yards — distances Bass had no trouble with over the summer. In the two practices leading up to the Panthers game and in this final preseason game, Bass hit 5 of 12 attempts from 40 yards or more. So that’s an encouraging start, but Bass still needs to master the distance kicks to prove he’s out of his slump.

Best Bills player: QB Josh Allen — Allen had an impressive, MVP-like performance in his first game, which Tim Graham wrote about in more detail.

In the past, Allen has been a bit rusty in Week 1 due to turnovers, but that wasn’t the case – even after an early mistake. Allen was the best player on the field, and if the defense forces him to play more games like this in 2024, this could be his best chance yet to be named NFL MVP, especially without a standout receiver on the roster.

Bills LVP: Third Defense – They got better in the second half, but allowing first downs on seven of the Cardinals’ 13 attempts is unsustainable and will require Allen to switch to superhuman mode more consistently if this continues.

Next: The 1-0 Bills head to Miami on a short week to face the 1-0 Dolphins in an early AFC East showdown.

(Top photo of Greg Rousseau: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)