The first Sunday of the 2024 NFL season is on the horizon and it's jam-packed with top-tier matchups. One of those is the showdown that is slated to take place in Orchard Park when the Arizona Cardinals roll into Highmark Stadium to face the Buffalo Bills.
Kyler Murray's team has been a growing dark horse pick as a possible playoff team in the NFC this summer. Arizona is coming off a 4-13 season in 2023 that found them sitting in last place in the NFC West. However, Murray did miss the first chunk of the year as he continued to recover from the torn ACL he suffered in 2022. The former No. 1 overall pick is now well over a full year removed from that injury and will look to bring the Cardinals back into the playoff conversation.
As for Buffalo, they are firmly in the playoff mix in the AFC and are fresh off winning the AFC East for the fourth consecutive year. While Josh Allen is a bonafide MVP candidate, it will be interesting to how this offense shakes out, particularly in the aftermath of the Stefon Diggs trade this offseason along with Gabe Davis departing in free agency.
This game promises to be one of the more entertaining of the weekend and to learn more about it along with how to watch, check out our breakdown below.
All NFL odds are via SportsLine Consensus.
Where to watch Bills vs. Cardinals
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Bills -6.5, O/U 48
Bills vs. Cardinals what to watch for
Who will be Josh Allen's go-to pass catcher?
As we noted above, Buffalo's receiver room was completely overhauled this offseason. With Diggs and Davis gone, that leaves 240 targets from 2023 up for grabs. How those targets are divvied up and which pass-catchers become the new favorites of Josh Allen will be of interest to those in the fantasy football realm along with the actual game itself to determine how Buffalo's offense will flow this season.
The Bills did add wideouts Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the offense this offseason. They also have Khalil Shakir and second-round rookie Keon Coleman on the roster. They all should factor into the target share in their own way but don't sleep on the passing game flowing through second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid. The former first-rounder was second on the team in targets in 2023 with 91 and should be even more productive as he steps into Year 2.
Marvin Harrison Jr. debut
Marvin Harrison Jr. was selected with the No. 4 overall pick at the 2024 NFL Draft and is one of the more highly anticipated receivers to enter the league in recent memory. Even putting aside his Hall of Fame lineage, the Ohio State product has been deemed a top-tier prospect for the last few years and is expected to produce right out of the gate. For the Buckeyes, he topped 1,200 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns in each of the previous two seasons.
His landing in Arizona and alongside Kyler Murray was an ideal situation as the franchise was in desperate need of a new go-to receiver in the offense. Murray has produced at high levels with No. 1 receivers in the likes like DeAndre Hopkins and Harrison Jr. could be the latest. From 2019 to 2022, Murray ranked third in the NFL in completion percentage (67%) when targeting wide receivers.
Seeing how Harrison Jr. does in his debut could go a long way in seeing how Arizona's offense will fare in 2024 and the youngster's chances of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Bills vs. Cardinals prediction
I expect this to be a tighter game than the 6.5-point spread indicates, so I'm going to take the points with the Cardinals in this head-to-head. However, I believe the Bills will come out of Week 1 in the win column, albeit by a field goal. Arizona's offense headlined by Murray's dual-threat ability may give the Bills fits. The pass rusher is going to be a strength of Buffalo's in 2024, but Murray's mobility could negate their impact in Week 1. The Cardinals quarterback has also been a strong bet in this setting. He is 9-1-2 ATS in his career as a five-point (or more) road underdog. He's also 5-1 straight up in his past six starts under that circumstance. Murray shouldn't fully wilt even in the hectic Buffalo environment.
Projected score: Bills 30, Cardinals 27
The pick: Cardinals +6.5