Analyst Sees Cardinals Offensive Vision

The Arizona Cardinals are on the right track offensively.

Sep 8, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) runs with the ball against the Buffalo Bills in the third quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images / Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals' offense scored 28 points in their season opening loss to the Buffalo Bills, though their hot start cooled off rather quickly.

Arizona scored on their first three drives to open a season for the first time since 2006 as the Cardinals looked very much like the offense they held potential to be. James Conner was a force in the rushing game while Kyler Murray picked apart Buffalo's defense and made plays with his legs.

That was the first half, though the finish to the game was quite ugly. The Cardinals were aided by a kickoff return for a touchdown but only managed to put up a field goal on the offensive side of the ball in the second half.

Arizona got the ball back to potentially win the game with two minutes left and missed a few opportunities before a turnover on downs sealed their fate.

Despite the loss, ESPN's Ben Solak says the Cardinals' offense will be just fine.

"The Cardinals' offense is going to be good. It wasn't a perfect day for Arizona, which was 20th in success rate and 13th in EPA per play while losing 34-28 to Buffalo. But the vision is so easy to see. The Cards' highly diverse run game gave the Bills fits, averaging 3.8 yards before contact per rush and gaining at least 10 yards on four of their 25 rushes. While the passing game largely operated underneath, Kyler Murray looked as comfortable from the pocket operating with timing as I can remember him looking," Solak said.

"The downfield reps will come, as will success for Marvin Harrison Jr . as their chemistry grows. I don't trust this defense to stop anyone, but I trust this running game to keep good offenses on the sideline. And as the passing attack matures, the Cardinals will win a shootout or two."

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon says Arizona's offense is close to where they should be.

“Give credit to their defense but I thought our offense did enough to win the game today," he told reporters following the game.

“I’m excited to get back to work. We’re a couple plays away. We’ve got to start making those plays to win games.”

For a Cardinals squad that ranked near the top of rushing last year, seeing Arizona's 25 rushing attempts (which ranked in the middle of the league) was a bit surprising, though their 31 passing attempts should mantain a balanced approach to keep defenses on their heels.

It's nowhere close to being time to push the panic button in the desert.

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