Buffalo Bills: Crushing loss to Cardinals opens up battle for AFC East
In devastating fashion, the Buffalo Bills lost to the Arizona Cardinals on a hail mary play that now re-opens the battle for the AFC East crown.
One of the top plays of the season could end up being one that the Buffalo Bills wish they could have a redo.
Just when it looked like the Bills were going to improve to 8-2 on the season, Kyle Murray and DeAndre Hopkins had other plans. With 11 seconds left in, Murray was flushed out of the pocket and only had one play available to him and once that ball was up in the air, Hopkins made it his mission to come down with it.
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It was a stunning play that not only knocked the Bills down to 7-3 but it also cost them a chance to improve their position in the AFC standings and open up a battle for the AFC East. This is because the Miami Dolphins picked up another win to move to 6-3 and now you can say they provide a legitimate threat to Buffalo’s pursuit of a division title.
Going into this game, this was an opportunity for Josh Allen to build off a great performance against Russell Wilson in Week 9 with an even better game against Murray. It was looking pretty good at the start for Allen and had the second-best throw of the game with a late touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs.
Unfortunately, Allen wasn’t perfect in this one and provided Murray and the Arizona Cardinals opportunities to stay in the game. The Bills quarterback had 284 yards, scored a touchdown on an interesting play early in the game.
The unfortunate part was that Buffalo struggled to establish the running game as Zack Moss and Devin Singletary combined for 35 yards on 11 carries which still didn’t surpass Allen’s 38 yards on seven carries. It really put pressure on Allen to get things down in the passing game leading to two interceptions.
A nice development was seeing Cole Beasley regain his form after a quiet couple of weeks. Diggs also continues to be a player that Allen can count on in big moments to haul in a big catch like he did in the fourth quarter but there are some concerns as well.
One thing that stood out was the defenses’ issues containing the Cardinals running game who had over 200 yards on the ground as Kenyan Drake had 100 yards. This continues to be a recipe for success to playing the Bills who once had a top 10 defense in the NFL but it’s safe to say that hasn’t been the case this season.
Going on their bye week, the Bills coaching staff will need to figure out the team’s defensive struggles and hope Allen can continue to put up points because they have needed it.
Bills need Allen to maintain strong play. light. Related Story
Are you concerned about the Bills’ latest stretch of games? What do they need to do to get back on track after their bye week? Let us know in the comments below.