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Week 5 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 17, Arizona Cardinals 41
What you need to know
| Buffalo Bills |
The Bills lost starting quarterback Trent Edwards to a concussion during their first series of the game, and although they played hard, were unable to generate a consistent rhythm on offense. Edwards was hit cleanly on a blitz and after laying on the field for several minutes, walked to the sideline with the assistance of the medical staff. He was attended to on the sideline for a few minutes, then left the playing field area on a cart, with what the team confirmed was a concussion. Compounding their inconsistency on offense was their defense could not stop the Cardinals from scoring, and as a result Buffalo fell from the ranks of unbeaten teams. The Bills tried to get their running game going early, but found Arizona's defense up to the task of limiting them. Apart from one run of 22 yards, Marshawn Lynch was held to a 2.75 yards per carry average and was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage on 23 percent of his carries. Lynch ran very hard and attempted to power through the Cardinals' defense, but was met by multiple defenders on most of his rushing attempts. As Buffalo fell behind by more than two touchdowns, they attempted to pass more and relied less on the running game, limiting Lynch's opportunities.
J.P. Losman entered the game promisingly, connecting on six of his first seven passes, including a long touchdown pass to Lee Evans. However, he contributed to several turnovers that Arizona converted into points, which made their offense more predictable and less effective. Losman and Lynch had a mix-up on a handoff that resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Cardinals and lost two fumbles after being sacked, all of which were converted into scores by Arizona. Losman connected deep with Lee Evans on an 87 yard touchdown, but did not have much time to throw and as a result focused on shorter passes. He displayed good accuracy on those passes, but was unable to make many big plays due to the pressure from the Cardinals' pass rush. Josh Reed and James Hardy were the most targeted on the short passes, but though they were able to get open, were unable to gain many yards after the catch.
The Bills attempted seven plays on two possessions in the red zone, with one of those possessions coming at the end of the game. On their first possession, they ran three consecutive times, twice by Lynch and once by Losman, who scored a touchdown. With time running out in the game, Losman attempted four passes and was sacked once and had to throw the ball out of bounds due to the pass rush. His other two red zone passes were to Hardy, one for a modest gain and the other in the end zone, with the ball being batted away by a defensive back.
| Arizona Cardinals |
The Cardinals played efficiently on offense and very aggressively on defense, and came away with the win as a result. Although the Bills played the run well, Arizona did not abandon the run, although they were more effective passing the ball. Edgerrin James ran with quickness and made good decisions about which hole to run through, but Buffalo's defenders minimized his long runs. Although James was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage on 38 percent of his rushing attempts, once he got through the line of scrimmage, he averaged just over 4.35 yards per carry. He and backup Tim Hightower ran successfully in the red zone, combining for three rushing touchdowns.
Kurt Warner led the offense expertly, not only with his accurate passing, but also by calling audibles several times that resulted in positive gains. Warner relied heavily on his short passing game, as only five of his 42 passes were of the intermediate or deep variety. His accuracy and decision making was such that the Cardinals converted their first six third down plays and scored on all four of their first half possessions. Warner continued to display an affinity for his wide receivers, targeting Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston -- who started for the injured Anquan Boldin -- and Early Doucet a combined 25 times out of the 42 passes he threw. All three receivers ran their routes well and Warner was in sync with them, throwing the ball to the spot they should be, and was successful most of the time. Fitzgerald was the beneficiary of more red zone passes, and converted two of them into touchdowns.
The Cardinals ran 18 plays on five red zone possessions, and came away with five touchdowns. They distributed their plays evenly with nine running and passing plays apiece. James and Hightower each had four red zone carries, with James punching one in for a touchdown and Hightower scoring two touchdowns. Warner targeted Fitzgerald with five red zone passes, with two going for touchdowns. He also targeted Breaston twice in the red zone.
What you ought to know
| QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 15 - 21 - 220 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 2 - 1 |
Losman came off the bench and tried to keep the offense going, and was successful in spurts. He showed his great arm strength by connecting on a pass with Lee Evans where the ball was in the air for a little over 60 yards, and displayed his athleticism on a touchdown run that was designed for him. However, he made several costly mistakes, including an interception, contributing to a fumble recovery due to a botched handoff with Lynch, and losing two additional fumbles while being sacked. His offensive coordinator had some strong words for him as he came off the field after one of his fumbles, and Losman listened briefly without saying anything then walked away and sat on the bench by himself.
| QB Trent Edwards, Pass: 3 - 3 - 18 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Edwards connected on his first three passes before leaving the game with an apparent concussion during Buffalo's opening drive. There was no official word as to the severity of the concussion as of the end of the game.
| RB Marshawn Lynch, Rush: 13 - 55 - 0, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Lynch ran hard and showed good power, but was unable to get going against a defense that featured multiple defenders arriving at the same time to bring him down. While his numbers were modest, he never stopped running hard, and his touches were limited in the second half by a combination of turnovers and the resulting focus on the passing game after Buffalo fell behind by more than two touchdowns.
| RB Fred Jackson, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jackson was utilized mostly as an outlet receiver out of the backfield and showed good running after the catch skills to pick up additional yards.
| WR Josh Reed, Rec: 4 - 45 - 0 (5 targets) |
Reed ran mostly short routes, and displayed very good hands and route running ability. He managed to get open consistently on short routes and along with Evans, was the most targeted player. The only pass he did not catch was deflected by his defender.
| WR Lee Evans, Rush: 1 - 22 - 0, Rec: 2 - 100 - 1 (5 targets) |
Evans was not utilized enough although he posted good numbers. He ran good routes, including a great one to get open deep for his 87 yard touchdown catch. Evans was able to get open several times, but Losman seemed to only look for him on deeper passes. Evans also ran a reverse that would have resulted in a touchdown had it not been for a great play by an Arizona defender to knock him out of bounds inside the ten yard line.
| WR James Hardy, Rec: 3 - 35 - 0 (4 targets) |
Hardy was utilized almost exclusively on shorter passes, and used his size to present himself to Losman as a good possession receiver target. Hardy was targeted once in the end zone on the Bills' final play of the game, but the ball was knocked away by the defensive back covering him.
| WR Steve Johnson, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets) |
Johnson was not much of a factor in the game.
| TE Robert Royal, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Royal was not a positive factor in the passing game. However, he fumbled a catch in the second half that was recovered by Arizona.
| PK Rian Lindell 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Lindell made both of his point after attempts and his lone field goal attempt, which was from 48 yards.
| BUF Rush Defense |
Buffalo's rush defense held the Cardinals' running backs to a 3.53 yards per carry average, but surrendered three rushing touchdowns. They either stopped Arizona's running backs at or behind the line of scrimmage or allowed gains of between six and 15 yards, which led to an uneven performance.
| BUF Pass Defense |
The Bills were aggressive, but were unable to make the adjustment to Warner's quick strike, short passing game. As a result, although they did not give up any pass plays of 20 yards or more, they found themselves going backwards as they were unsuccessful stopping the short passes. Although aggressive, Buffalo did not sack Warner or intercept him, although they had one opportunity to intercept him, which they dropped. Arizona subsequently scored a touchdown on that possession.
| QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 33 - 42 - 250 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0 |
Warner ran the offense very well, factoring Buffalo's aggressive pass rush by relying on the short passing game, which he executed with great accuracy. He made the right play consistently, whether changing plays at the line of scrimmage or making the right, quick decision in terms of who to throw the ball to. While he did not attempt many intermediate or deep passes, he was accurate on shorter passes all over the field, whether along the sidelines or across the middle of the field. Warner was knocked down early and had a bloody chin as a result, but he remained in the game and continued playing at a high level.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 21 - 57 - 1, Rec: 2 - 21 - 0 (2 targets) |
James ran hard, and although he did not post a good yards per carry average, proved effective in gaining tough yards and helping Arizona control the time of possession. James was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on over 30 percent of his rushing attempts, in large part to good penetration by the Bills' defense, but when he got past the line of scrimmage, he showed a good combination of quickness, elusiveness and power to gain positive yardage.
| RB Tim Hightower, Rush: 7 - 37 - 2, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Hightower received most of his carries in the red zone, and turned two of those carries into touchdowns. He ran with good power, and showed a good burst to the outside at times. Hightower did not go down at first contact, and consistently gained extra yardage after absorbing the first tackle.
| RB J.J. Arrington, Rush: 4 - 19 - 0, Rec: 3 - 25 - 0 (3 targets) |
Arrington made good use of his limited opportunities, catching all of the passes thrown to him for positive yardage, and running hard when given the opportunity. He managed to convert two of his opportunities into first downs.
| RB Terrelle Smith (1 targets) |
The fullback was an outlet target on one play, but the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
| WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 7 - 52 - 2 (10 targets) |
Fitzgerald received a lot of attention, but made the adjustment to get open for shorter routes, and continued to display excellent rapport with Warner. Fitzgerald was unable to gain many yards after securing the catch in large part to the attention paid to him, but he still was able to get open several times, including twice for touchdowns.
| WR Steve Breaston, Rec: 7 - 77 - 0 (8 targets) |
Breaston played well, running precise short routes and a few intermediate routes. He caught the ball well, and ran hard after the catch, showing good skills in traffic. The only pass he did not catch was thrown too high, and he seemed to have Warner's confidence, as the ball came his way when he broke open. Breaston was also targeted twice in the red zone, once inside the five yard line where he was stopped two yards from the end zone.
| WR Early Doucet, Rec: 6 - 42 - 0 (7 targets) |
Doucet had a good rapport with Warner, catching all but one pass thrown his way. There was a pass he dropped, but Warner threw to him on the very next play, and he rewarded that confidence by making the catch. Doucet was utilized exclusively on short routes, which he ran well.
| WR Jerheme Urban, Rec: 3 - 10 - 0 (4 targets) |
Urban was utilized as a possession receiver, and managed to get open on a few short routes, but was unable to generate many yards after the catch.
| TE Ben Patrick, Rec: 2 - 11 - 0 (2 targets) |
Patrick caught both of the short passes thrown his way but otherwise was not much of a factor in the game.
| TE Leonard Pope, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Pope was not much of a factor in the passing game.
| PK Neil Rackers 2 - 2 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 11 points |
Rackers made all five of his point after attempts, and both of his field goal attempts, which were from 47 and 38 yards.
| ARI Rush Defense |
Arizona's rush defense swarmed to the running backs and limited their opportunities to gain many yards. They were aggressive in getting to Buffalo's running backs en masse and kept the yards after initial contact to a minimum. They did allow a rushing touchdown to J.P. Losman, and seemed to be caught off guard by that play. Apart from that, they controlled the Bills' rushing game.
| ARI Pass Defense |
The Cardinals' pass defense was aggressive from the outset of the game, and even more so once they had a large enough lead that forced Buffalo to rely on the pass in an attempt to get back in the game. Although they allowed a deep touchdown to Lee Evans, Arizona's defenders were very successful defending the Bills' passing game. In addition to sacking Losman five times and intercepting him once, the Cardinals' forced two fumbles and recovered them both.
