The Buffalo Bills overcame a 14-point deficit to come back and defeat the Arizona Cardinals 34-28. And while the heroics of Josh Allen are always fun to watch, he needs more from those around him going into Week 2 where the Bills will face the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. Here is this week's game plan:
Win between the sticks
The Bills struggled in the intermediate portion of the field against the Cardinals. The Cardinals had seven rushing first downs and were 7-of-13 on third down, but Buffalo's cornerback tandem of Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford only allowed a combined two catches. What does that tell you? Arizona was eating underneath. The Dolphins led the NFL in yards after the catch in Week 1 with 236 - the Chiefs were second with 190. Buffalo has to clamp down underneath to prevent short receptions from becoming big gains.
Big James Cook game
The Jaguars ran for 128 yards on just under five yards per carry against the Dolphins with Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. James Cook was quietly fourth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2023. The Bills ran for 130 yards as a team against Arizona, with Cook leading all rushers on the team with 70 yards. If he and Allen can consistently plow forward for four, five, six yards a pop, Buffalo can control the tempo of the game and not allow the Miami offense to have enough time to get into a rhythm.
Another big Greg Rousseau performance
Rousseau had three sacks against the Cardinals, which means the Dolphins' offensive line will have to respect what he can do off the edge. If he continues to be disruptive, that will open the door for A.J. Epenesa and Von Miller to apply pressure of their own to Tua Tagovailoa and force him into errant throws, as well as compile sacks and keep Tua uncomfortable.
