The Arizona Cardinals coming into this week one matchup against the Buffalo Bills seems to be one of the weaker teams in the NFL. To some extent, that is true. This does seem like, on paper, a team that doesn't look like a playoff contender. However, there are some aspects of the Cardinals that can be a headache for the Bills.
Cardinals rushing offense vs. Bills run defense
Last year, Arizona had one of the worst run defensive units. The opposite was true for the Cardinals' rushing offense in 2023. The Cardinals were one of the most effective offenses on the ground in 2023, led by James Conner. In the off-season, the Cardinals drafted a pretty good complimentary piece in Trey Benson, which could be a two-headed monster for them.
Along with that, their offensive line seems to be slightly bolstered in that department as well. The Cardinals will definitely lean into the ground game for this matchup, especially considering they would want to keep Josh Allen and the Bills offense off the field for as much as possible. Along with that fact, the Bills were not much better in 2023 in terms of a run defense. This could definitely be a situation where the Cardinals win the time of possession by running all over the Bills.
Dorian Williams vs. Trey McBride
The Bills don't have Matt Milano for this game, and the presumed starter opposite of Terrel Bernard is Dorian Williams. Williams is a great defender against the run, but has been known to be a weakness in pass coverage. If Williams did not improve in this area in the off-season, the Cardinals passing game across the middle of the field could have their way with him.
Couple that with the fact that Williams would be exposed against an up and coming tight end for the Cardinals in Trey McBride. McBride had a pretty good season in 2023, and he's looking to build on that in 2024. Also, McBride has developed chemistry with Kyler Murray in the second half of 2023 and the off-season leading into 2024. Murray will definitely lean on him as a safety blanket, and if Williams is the one covering McBride, that could be a big weakness for this Bills defense.
Cardinals pass catchers vs. the Bills safeties
Trey McBride is not the only pass catcher for this Cardinals team that the Bills will have to keep an eye on. They will also have to deal with a very promising rookie in Marvin Harrison Jr. The cornerback room for the Bills is one of the strengths for this Bills defense, but the other part of their secondary is unknown in the safeties. The Bills have been spoiled in having one of the best safety tandems in the NFL for the past seven seasons in Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
Hyde and Poyer are no longer part of this team, and they will be leaning on the likes of Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin. These two could potentially be a strong part of this defense later on in the season, but they have to build that chemistry together. Along with that fact, they also are going to eventually get Cole Bishop into the mix, potentially as early as this game. But with how good Harrison Jr. is presumably, and with the combination of McBride, Michael Wilson, and Greg Dortch, they could present some problems for this duo early on.
Kyler Murray's Scrambling Threat
Kyler Murray was coming back into this Cardinals offense in 2023 off of a major ACL injury. That was about halfway through the season, where the Cardinals started to have success. A major part of that was their run game, but also there was the threat of Murray running the ball as well. Bills fans know how good Josh Allen is for the Bills, and part of that is his threat to run.
Another thing Bills fans know is how well Murray can scramble. There's no better example than in 2020 when these Bills faced the Cardinals and lost because of a famously known play dubbed the "Hail Murray". This play only happened because of how well Murray was able to scramble and buy time for then Cardinals wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins. Because of his ability to run and make plays outside of structure, that can definitely open up these receivers.
Especially with how good the Cardinals run game could be this year, having that threat of play action could be detrimental for the Bills. Along with that play action passing game, if Murray can't find a viable target, he can escape out of the pocket and run for some big gains.