ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — For all the changes the Buffalo Bills had at wide receiver and on defense this offseason, the one big constant that remained was quarterback Josh Allen.
And when the four-time defending AFC East champions needed their franchise player the most after falling behind by 14 points in their season opener against Arizona on Sunday, Allen delivered by taking matters into his own hands — and leaping legs.
Allen capped his four-touchdown outing in a 34-28 win by going airborne. Scrambling to his right from Arizona’s 6, Allen burst toward the goal line and hurdled Budda Baker before being pushed from behind by another Cardinals defender and landing hard in the end zone.
The touchdown put the Bills up 31-20 with 8 1/2 minutes left and capped a surge during which Buffalo outscored the Cardinals 28-3 spanning halftime.
“I thought it was the flyover,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said, comparing Allen’s leap to the Air Force jet that zipped over the stadium during the national anthem. “I just said, shoot, what goes up, must come down. And I hope you come down in the end zone.
“And he did. You know, that big quarterback, it’s hard to stop that, especially when you’re flying.”
Allen said his leap was a split-second decision, especially after he lowered his shoulder while bowling over linebacker Xavier Thomas on a 7-yard touchdown run just before the end of the half.
“Second time, I knew it was Budda, and Budda’s a good player, and he’ll lay the boom on you,” Allen said. “So I decided to go up and over. But probably can’t make a living doing that, but here we are.”
Allen finished the game with his left, non-throwing hand heavily wrapped and initially said he was fine before adding he’s awaiting further tests. He was 18 of 23 for 232 yards and completed 11-yard touchdown passes to Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir.
This was a thrilling back-and-forth affair between non-conference rivals on a blustery day with temperatures in the low 60s and heavy winds gusting up to 30 mph (45kph) from the west off 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 4, 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.
The Cardinals were unable to sustain the momentum from scoring two touchdowns and a field goal on their opening three possessions while building a 17-3 lead on James Conner’s 3-yard touchdown run with 2:40 left in the second quarter. It marked the first time since 2006 that Arizona scored points on each of its first three drives.
Buffalo had 352 yards offense and showed it was capable of topping 30 points with a new-look receiver group after trading Stefon Diggs to Houston and losing Gabe Davis to free agency. Allen completed passes to nine players, with rookie Keon Coleman finishing with a game-high four catches and 51 yards.
Buffalo’s young and injury-depleted defense also contributed.
Greg Rousseau had a career-best three sacks, including one that forced a fumble. The defense 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-7 from Buffalo’s 29 with 26 seconds remaining.
“We’ve got to be better. We were up 17-3 and lose the game,” said second-year Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon. “We have to keep the scoring up a little bit there, especially when we have a lead.”
If there was a bright side, the Cardinals carried over the glimpses of spark they showed while closing last year 3-5 under Murray in the quarterback’s return after missing 11 months with a torn ACL.
Murray finished 21 of 31 for 162 yards and a touchdown and also led the Cardinals in rushing with 57 yards on five carries.
Arizona rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the fourth player selected in the draft, had a near-invisible NFL debut while finishing with one catch — on three targets — for 4 yards.
The game turned in the third quarter with the score tied at 17. Rousseau set up Buffalo’s go-ahead touchdown with his third sack, when he forced Murray to fumble and Dorian Williams recovered at Arizona’s 21.
Buffalo scored five plays later when Allen hit Shakir to the left and the receiver rolled over defensive lineman Justin Jones before reaching the ball over the goal line.
Bills coach Sean McDermott paid tribute to Buffalo’s newcomers and backups for stepping up. That included Ingram, who wasn’t supposed to be active before defensive lineman defensive end Duwaune Smoot was sidelined after hurting his toe in practice Thursday.
Ingram played an even bigger than expected role by filling in after cornerback Taron Johnson didn’t return after hurting his right forearm in the first quarter.
“It’s a great example of being ready when your number’s called,” McDermott said. “We got down early in the game and they were fighting back from there. I think that that in and of itself is a great sign for our football team.”
Up next
Cardinals: Host three straight home games beginning with the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.
Bills: Face a short week and travel to play the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
STEELERS 18, FALCONS 10
ATLANTA (AP) — With all eyes on the quarterbacks, Chris Boswell’s strong right leg stole the spotlight in the season opener.
Boswell booted six field goals, three of them longer than 50 yards, to account for all of Pittsburgh’s scoring as Justin Fields and the Steelers grinded out an 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Fields stepped in after Russell Wilson’s debut with the Steelers was put on hold by a calf injury —- getting a big assist from Boswell and a defense that made life miserable for Kirk Cousins in his first game as Atlanta’s quarterback.
“Just having a weapon like him on the offensive side of the ball, we only have to get the ball to the 40,” Fields said of Boswell. “It makes our job way easier.”
Boswell connected from 57, 56, 51, 44, 40 and 25 yards — and even stepped in to handle a crucial punt in the closing minutes after Cameron Johnston was injured.
Johnston went down when an Atlanta player was blocked into him, actually resulting in a penalty on the Steelers. Pittsburgh was forced to punt again, with Boswell handling the duties.
He did just fine, getting off a 43-yard punt the Falcons weren’t able to return.
“I can’t say enough about Bos, not only in terms of him kicking the ball, but that punt was timely,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
Two plays later, Cousins threw his second interception to essentially seal the Pittsburgh victory.
Wilson was ruled out just before the game and worked the sideline as the inactive third quarterback. Pittsburgh kept the play-calling close to the vest under new coordinator Arthur Smith, who was fired in January after three seasons as Atlanta’s head coach.
Smith certainly got a bit of payback against his former employer, while new Falcons coach Raheem Morris endured a tough start to a season of high expectations in Atlanta, which has endured six straight losing campaigns.
“We’ve got to have the ability to execute against anybody,” Morris said. “When you play a team like this, the Pittsburgh Steelers with the defense they have, you know it’s going to be a dirty game. But we had our opportunities.”
Cousins hardly looked like a quarterback worthy of the four-year, $180 million deal the Falcons gave him in free agency, including $100 million in guaranteed money. He didn’t play at all in the preseason while coming back from an Achilles injury that cut short his final season with Minnesota.
In his first game since Oct. 29, Cousins was just 16 of 26 for 155 yards with two interceptions, including a pick by Donte Jackson and 49-yard return with about 2 1/2 minutes that finished off any hopes of an Atlanta comeback.
In an appropriate finish, Cousins was sacked on the last play of the game, leading to one last roar from thousands of towel-waving Steelers fans who turned Mercedes-Benz Stadium into Pittsburgh South.
One week into the season, and Atlanta is again facing questions about its long-troubled quarterback position, which is sure to heat up even more with first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. sitting on the bench.
Fields, the former first-rounder who was dumped by the Chicago Bears, was 17 of 23 for 156 yards. He fumbled his first snap of the game — and quickly jumped on it — but didn’t make the sort of major mistakes that plagued Cousins and the Falcons.
Atlanta also lost a fumble when Ross Dwelley went in motion, with Cousins appearing to indicate for him to stay put, and ran right in front of the shotgun snap. T.J. Watt, who seemed to be everywhere, recovered it for the Steelers.
That was more than deserved. Watt also caused two other fumbles — recovering one of them — only to have both plays overturned by penalties.
On the very next play after one of those flags, Cousins found Kyle Pitts wide open in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass that gave the Falcons a 10-6 lead with 32 seconds left in the first half.
Fields responded with a 41-yard pass to George Pickens, who stepped out of bounds with just 3 seconds remaining. Boswell came on to boot his third field goal of the half.
Smith returns
The Steelers hardly looked like an offensive juggernaut, but it was still a satisfying result for their new offensive coordinator.
Smith was fired by the Falcons after three straight 7-10 seasons.
“I know how competitive he is, so it definitely meant a lot,” Fields said. “I know he wishes we could have put even more points on the board, but I know that he’s glad we came out with the win.”
Injury report
Steelers: Johnston’s right leg buckled when Atlanta’s KhaDarel Hodge rolled into him. The punter immediately waved to the sideline for assistance. “He appears to have a serious injury,” said Tomlin, who called Johnston “an absolute stud.” … CB Darius Rush was evaluated for a possible concussion.
