Buffalo Bills Win Home Opener Against Arizona Cardinals

It's finally time to shake off all of the worries and excitement of the off-season as the 2024-25 NFL season in Buffalo has kicked off as the Bills hosted the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 8, 2024, for the season's first game.

Some truly beautiful weather greeted folks as the people of Western New York were fully prepared for football as tailgating and all of the typical fun you expect in the 716 was well underway around the stadium.

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With over 70,000 screaming fans in Highmark Stadium, the game got underway, with Arizona taking the opening kickoff. The Cardinals chewed up the clock as they drove 70 yards down the field and put up the game's first points, with Tyler Murray connecting with Michael Wilson for a 5-yard touchdown pass.

On the ensuing drive, Buffalo was moving the ball until a Josh Allen fumble gave the ball right back to the Cardinals. Arizona quickly took advantage as the team put their kicker, Matt Prater, in position to kick a field goal, giving the Cardinals a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Bills put some points on the board in the 2nd quarter after a holding penalty forced the team to settle for 3 points with a Tyler Bass field goal. The Cardinals got the ball back on the next kick-off and drove 71 yards in 13 plays to score another touchdown on a James Conner 3-yard yun.

The 1st half ended after the Bills got a touchdown after Josh Allen ran for the score.

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The second half for the Bills turned out much better than the first, with both the Bills offense and defense waking up. The 3rd quarter featured Buffalo scoring two touchdowns with the Bills defense, leaving Arizona largely ineffective and keeping them off the scoreboard.

The 4th quarter turned out to be more competitive as both teams went back and forth with touchdowns and field goals until the end of the game when Arizona, who was down 34 to 28, had a chance to end the game with a game-winning score. Ultimately, the Bills' defense prevailed as Damar Hamlin and Ja'Marcus Ingram successfully kept the ball away from Greg Dortch on a 4th down game-winning pass.

That tough defense gave the Bills the win and allowed them to avenge the 2020 win the Cardinals had against Buffalo. Including this game, the Bills and Cardinals have played each other 13 times, with Buffalo having won 8 of those meetings and Arizona taking 5.

Week 1 Final Score: Arizona Cardinals 28 - Buffalo Bills 34

With this victory in Orchard Park, the Bills now look forward to traveling to Miami to face the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football, on September 12 at 8:15 pm.