Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills runs for a first down during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium on Sept. 8 in Orchard Park, N.Y.Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images
Josh Allen had three of his four touchdowns in the second half and the Buffalo Bills overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 34-28 on Sunday.
Greg Rousseau had a career-best three sacks, including one that forced a fumble. The defence preserved the Bills’ win when Damar Hamlin and Ja’Marcus Ingram broke up Kyler Murray’s pass attempt to Greg Dortch near the goal-line on fourth-and-seven from Buffalo’s 29 with 26 seconds remaining.
This was a thrilling back-and-forth affair between two non-conference rivals on a blustery day with cool temperatures and heavy winds gusting up to 45 kilometres an hour from the west off of nearby Lake Erie.
The outing featured the first kickoff return for a touchdown under the NFL’s new rules. DeeJay Dallas fielded the ball at his own four, worked his way up the middle through a barrage of Bills before finding a lane up the left side with 8:31 remaining in cutting Buffalo’s lead to 31-28.
Dallas’s score came after the Bills appeared to put the game away when Allen scampered in from six yards and hurdled Budda Baker before being hit from the side and tumbling into the end zone.
Allen finished the game with his left, non-throwing hand, heavily wrapped, and managed to march the Bills 22 yards to set up Tyler Bass hitting a 39-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining. Allen finished 18 of 23 for 232 yards and completed 11-yard touchdown passes to Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir. He also ran for 39 yards and scored on a seven-yard run to close the first half.
The Cardinals were unable to sustain the momentum from scoring two touchdowns and a field goal on their opening three possessions in building a 17-3 lead on James Conner’s three-yard touchdown run with 2:40 left in the second quarter. Murray capped the Cards’ 13-play, 70-yard opening drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson. Matt Prater also made a 29-yard field goal.
It marked the first time since 2006 that Arizona scored points on each of its first three drives.
The Bills overcame a sloppy start during which they were undone by penalties and Allen lost a fumble at Arizona’s 19 to close Buffalo’s first possession. The Bills were flagged five times for 40 yards, including three false-start penalties on six snaps on their final drive of the half.
Buffalo’s young and retooled defence also had trouble getting off the field, allowing the Cardinals to dominate the time of possession in the first half by more than 10 minutes.
The game turned in the third quarter when Allen capped Buffalo’s opening possession with a touchdown pass to Hollins to tie it at 17. After both teams went three-and-out, the Bills capitalized on Rousseau’s third sack when he forced Murray to fumble and Dorian Williams recovered at Arizona’s 21.
Buffalo went ahead five plays later when Allen hit Shakir over the middle and the receiver rolled over defensive lineman Justin Jones before reaching the ball over the goal-line.
The Bills face a short week and travel to play the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.