Ability to adapt on the fly helped Bills defense spur season-opening win over Cards

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills first-time defensive coordinator Bobby Babich half-joked on Monday of the silver lining in witnessing Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray spend the first half of the season opener marching the Cardinals up and down the field.

The miserable experience of watching from the booth at least provided Babich a good grasp of Arizona's offensive game plan and, more importantly, ways to counter it come halftime.

For all the attention paid to Josh Allen’s latest leap in capping a four-touchdown outing, the quarterback wouldn’t have been in position to rally the Bills in a 34-28 win if not for Buffalo’s revamped defensive coaching staff’s ability to adapt on the fly.

After allowing the Cardinals to build a 17-3 lead by scoring two touchdowns and a field goal, convert 5 of 7 third down chances and generate 190 yards on their first 36 plays, the Bills defense clamped down in the second half.

Buffalo limited the Cardinals to a field goal — their other score came on a 96-yard kickoff return — and a combined 80 yards over their final five possessions. The two halves were so lopsided, the Bills won the time of possession edge by 1 minute after the Cardinals controlled the ball for 20:06 of the first half.

“Hopefully, you're doing the right things, you're making the right adjustments and you're seeing things clearly,” Babich said. “It’s like anything, if you get a chance to get a mulligan in the second half, and your answers aren’t good, it’s not good."

Another benefit was the buy-in from players.

“You're going to go through adversity, period,” defensive back Cam Lewis said. “It's going to be some ups and downs, but we stay together, keep playing as a team.”

Greg Rousseau finished with a career-best three sacks, with his last two ending consecutive Cardinals drives. His final sack forced Murray to fumble, which Allen converted into a go-ahead touchdown. And defensive back Ja’Marcus Ingram sealed the win by breaking up Murray’s last-gasp heave to Greg Dortch at the 2 on fourth down.

Ingram, who’s appeared in five games over two seasons in Buffalo, wasn’t supposed to be active before defensive end was Dawuane Smoot was sidelined by a toe injury in practice last week. And Ingram was getting additional playing time after Taron Johnson was sidelined by an injury to his right forearm.

These are the challenges the Bills were expected to go through, especially early in the season, with a defense featuring a retooled secondary, is minus starting linebacker Matt Milano (torn bicep) and counting on first- and second-year players as backups.

What's encouraging is how players and the coaches successfully adapted in facing their first challenge of the season, and with a more daunting test coming Thursday, when the Bills travel to play division rival Miami.

“I think that was big for us as a staff,” said coach Sean McDermott, who relinquished the defensive play-calling duties in promoting Babich to coordinator this year.

“Obviously, we fell behind early, but to keep our poise and really trust that, `Hey, we’ll find our way back.′ And the players did a phenomenal job of doing that.”

What’s working

Offensive production. The Bills generated 352 yards, just 22 below their season average last season, and scored 34 points, 7 1/2 above last year’s average, despite having to replace their top two receiving options, Stefon Diggs (traded to Houston) and Gabe Davis (free agency).

What needs help

False starts. Buffalo was flagged four times for false start penalties, with three of them coming over a series of six snaps on their final drive of the first half. Allen overcame the penalties by capping the drive with a 6-yard TD run.

Stock up

Rousseau. Facing questions of how the Bills will make up for the offseason departure of Leonard Floyd and his team-leading 10 1/2 sacks last season, the fourth-year player delivered with a career-best three-sack outing. Rousseau is already two short of his total last season, and five away from his career high in 2022.

Stock down

TE Dalton Kincaid. A year after setting the franchise rookie record with 73 catches, Kincaid had a quiet debut. He finished with one catch for 11 yards, and was just targeted twice, with Allen’s attempt batted down, despite playing 52 or 62 offensive snaps.

Injuries

Johnson has already been ruled out this week, with no timetable set for his return. ... Allen has been cleared to play after he finished the game with his left non-throwing hand heavily wrapped.

Key numbers

41 — Consecutive number of games in which the Bills have not lost by more than six points, breaking the NFL mark set by the Green Bay Packers spanning the 2009-12 seasons. The streak began after a 41-15 loss to Indianapolis on Nov. 21, 2021.

Next steps

The Bills have no time to rest or recuperate, facing a short week and what could be a steamy night in Miami on Thursday. The forecast calls for temperatures in the low-80s and a 40% chance of rain.