Bills 34, Cardinals 28

When the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in the off-season, burdening the team with a massive “dead cap” number by so doing, the most enduring video clip over the ensuing months has been his dropped pass in the Divisional Playoff game in Orchard Park on January 21^st. With the Bills trailing the Chiefs 27-24 late in the fourth quarter, Josh Allen dropped a perfectly placed deep ball into Diggs breadbasket. From our vantage point, the play was to the far side of the field and as Diggs turned to his right to make the catch attempt, his back was turned to us, leaving us to see the ball sailing into his arms (and as we know through his arms) with the defender close behind. At the time, I thought he had made the catch but of course he had not. The Bills went on to punt and the Chiefs simply ground out the necessary first downs they needed to run the clock out, advance to the AFC Championship Game and go on to win the Superbowl. I have now seen that drop multiple times from every available angle and I still wonder how things may have played out had he made the catch. The team just may have been unveiling its first Superbowl banner yesterday in Orchard Park (it actually would have been this past Thursday as the defending champs open each NFL season with a week one Thursday home game), Diggs would probably still be wearing a Bills uniform and this season would be their own attempt to repeat as champions.

Through most of the first half of yesterday’s season opener in a blustery Orchard Park, it felt like 2024 might be the rebuilding year Bills fans hoped that it would not be. A healthy Kyler Murray was able to move the ball seemingly at will against the Bills still-depleted defence and a classic Josh Allen sack/fumble/turnover on the first drive created a sinking feeling and I had visions of an 8-9 season accompanied by thoughts of the benefits of greatly increased salary cap space and inventory of draft capital going into 2025. A loss to the lowly Cardinals, who drafted Marvin Harrison, Jr with the fourth overall pick in April, could cast a long shadow over what might end up being a lost season. A step back to absorb the dead cap hit, re-tool the receiving corps and defensive backfield might just be what we would have to endure as we prepare to move to a new stadium (and pay a lot more to see live NFL football) in 2026. But, as quickly as the prospect of a lost season loomed, the team gathered itself in the second half and squeaked out a win in a game not decided until the final minute. The fans went home happy. For now.

Yesterday was the first real exposure for most of us to the new and still somewhat incomprehensible kick-off format. As I understand the logic, there were two goals in mind which brought about the change: to create fewer touchbacks and more kick returns and to limit injuries from players colliding at full speed. I’d say that goal number two will be achieved because of the elimination of the running by the kicking team but in the limited sample I saw yesterday, in the Bills game and others I saw parts of, it seems like there are just as many touchbacks as there were under the old rules. We did see a few twists such as the Cardinals kicker failing to reach the landing zone giving the Bills the ball at their own 40 yard line, Tyler Bass kicking the ball out of bounds in an attempt to hit the landing zone kicking into a strong wind, also giving the Cardinals the ball at their 40 yard line and, most importantly, the Bills giving up a touchdown on a kick-off return. Take away the wind yesterday and it looked like we would see just as many touchbacks as before. The only real difference is that the receiving team gets the ball on its own 30 yard line on a touchback. I’m sure I’ll get used to the new kick-off format but seeing the kicker standing alone, 40 yards from any other player, is a strange look indeed. When punter Sam Martin came out to hold the ball on the tee for Tyler Bass (on account of wind), as was pointed out on the CBS broadcast, it was the first time in NFL history that a team legally fielded 12 players.  

We watched a bit of college football on Saturday. The Michigan game went the way the Bills game looked like it was going (for fans of the blue and maize), Notre Dame lost at home to Northern Illinois and the Deion Sanders coached Colorado Buffaloes lost to the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, NE. After seeing Deion Sanders (“Prime Time” or more commonly, “Prime”) wearing his trademark sunglasses throughout last season and again this season, I wondered what brand they were and how much they cost….maybe $2,000? Maybe more? They look like they’re gold-plated or something. Well, the answer is that they are made by Blenders and are called Prime 21. They come in white or black frames and retail for $89 USD. Over the last year, Sanders has made them one of the most popular brands of sunglasses. So, I ordered a pair to look as cool as possible on canoe trips. White frames.

Up next for the Bills is a very short week and a tough Thursday night game in the humidity of south Florida against the Dolphins who eked out a win yesterday against their northern Florida cousins, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tyreek Hill will be taking an Uber to the stadium.