Edwards injured on third play of game (Associated Press)

To quote Anchorman: "Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast."  J.P. Losman couldn't retaliate with a trident.  Not-so-obscure pop culture references aside, the Buffalo Bills can no longer count themselves amongst the NFL's unbeaten teams.

Trent Edwards suffered a concussion on the third play of the game, and an abysmal defensive effort by the Bills led to a 41-17 loss in the desert to the Arizona Cardinals.

Buffalo is 4-1 heading into the bye week, and the health of Edwards will be the main topic of interest over the next two weeks.  Edwards was injured on a hit by Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson (pictured to the right); he was on the turf for a number of moments, walked off of the field with assistance, was carted to the locker room and did not return.  I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about Edwards in the coming days.

Defense can't stop Warner
It was a poor defensive effort, however, that was the main culprit in Buffalo's first loss of the season.  Cardinals QB Kurt Warner enjoyed one of the better performances of his career, completing 33 of 42 passes for 250 yards and two scores in a dominant offensive outing for Arizona.  The Cards didn't make too many big plays through the air, but they didn't have to; Arizona held the ball for over 36 minutes in this one and wore down Buffalo's defense from the start.  Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower combined for 3 rushing scores.

Coming into this game, Buffalo's defense led the league by a wide margin in third down defense, holding opponents to around a 20% conversion rate.  The Cardinals weren't listening; they converted 9 of 15 third-down opportunities (60%) to control the ball, and the Bills couldn't make a play defensively to counter their dominance.  It was quite out of character for this Bills defense; rest assured we'll be looking for reasons why in some more in-depth film reviews this week.

Losman keeps things interesting... for a while
J.P. Losman replaced Edwards early in the first quarter and kept things interesting for a time.  Trailing 14-0, Losman found Lee Evans wide open for an 87-yard touchdown to cut the lead in half; he later scored on a quarterback draw in the first half to cut the lead to 21-14, which Arizona extended by halftime.

Losman's stat line looks OK (15 completions in 21 attempts, 220 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 101.2 QB rating), but it doesn't tell the whole story.  He didn't get much help from his defense, to be certain, but Losman took 5 sacks, lost two fumbles and threw an interception, killing any faint hopes of another fourth-quarter comeback attempt.  Losman doesn't deserve blame for the loss by any stretch of the imagination, but his errors certainly didn't help the cause.

Falling behind early, the Bills never had a chance to establish the offensive balance that was so crucial to their success on the day.  Marshawn Lynch finished with 55 yards on 13 carries, Fred Jackson carried once for five yards, and the Bills had their worst offensive performance of the season.  That was bound to happen, however, with Edwards out of the lineup and the defense performing so poorly.

Game Balls
None.  There are no awards in a losing effort.  We can only hope that these young Bills use this effort as motivation to continue to get better.  The Bills simply ran into a buzz saw in Arizona; the Cardinals are a very good football team (clearly the best team in the NFC West) with a huge home-field advantage, and the Bills were missing their leader.  Take this loss with a grain of salt; it's unfortunate, but it's also very clearly not the end of the world.

Oh, and Mr. Edwards?  Get well soon.

Open Thread Roll Call
Thanks to the 40 folks who stopped by to share in today's misery.  WABillsFan paced the day with 161 comments.  The roll call...

Ron From NM, RabidBuffalo, NYTXFAN, StuckInNJ, Cinga, Calvert, twoeightnine, silverstreak3k, big john, tlowe52, GhostDogg47, fletcherjd, jdol1568, NJBillsfan, TheSharp, illeagle12, WABillsfan, Zumone, Tony_O, Hassanali181, Crizal, the Skycap, Memphisbillsfan, dontuan, mjt1586, chaosthepitbull, Kurupt, keuka121, BeastMode, jj24, SebastianPruiti, Dyl, Joe P., CB #37, geno227, BearsNecessity, BillsNorth, grego32, Hopefulcynic

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)

New half, new thread.  The Buffalo Bills trail the Arizona Cardinals 24-14 at halftime.  Please use this thread for all of your second-half and post-game thoughts on this matchup.

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
4:15 PM EDT, University of Phoenix Stadium
Key Matchups :: Keys to Victory :: Revenge of the Birds
Video Preview :: Shutting down the Cardinals
BUF Injury Report :: ARI Injury Report
Bills Inactives -WR Roscoe Parrish, CB Terrence McGee, RB Xavier Omon, FB Corey McIntyre, OT Demetrius Bell, TE Derek Fine, DE Chris Ellis

This is a day all about momentum, Bills fans.  The Buffalo Bills, as I'm sure you're well aware, have opened up their 2008 regular season schedule with four straight wins - something they haven't done since 1992.  Following today's game, the Bills will take their bye week.  That means that a loss in today's game would, for two weeks, kill most - if not all - of the momentum that the team has built up through the first quarter of the season.

Momentum is, in reality, the most influential force on wins and losses in the NFL.  The Bills have momentum, to be sure, but their test today is far from easy, as they take on the high-scoring Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Cards always play tough football.  A loss wouldn't be the end of the world for Buffalo, clearly - but it would spell the end of their momentum.

Preserve momentum.  That's what the Bills need to do today, and the only way that's accomplished is by winning their third consecutive road game against a very tough opponent.  It's not going to be easy, but it can certainly be done.  This is Buffalo's stiffest test to date, and I can't wait to see how they'll respond.  Join me in today's Open Thread as we cheer the Bills on and hope that they can preserve their momentum.  GO BILLS!

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
Sunday, October 5, 2008 - 4:15 PM EDT
SB Nation's Cardinals coverage: Revenge of the Birds

The 4-0 (how great does that sound?!?) Buffalo Bills head out to the desert to face the Arizona Cardinals in a tough intra-conference matchup.  The Bills are looking to move to 5-0 for the first time since 1991 and for just the fourth time in franchise history.  Below are my keys to a Bills victory and a perfect record heading into the bye week:

Harass Kurt Warner: Pretty self-explanatory, but do whatever is necessary to get after Warner. Blitz him from any and all angles, run stunts, create pressure up the middle, hit him with a 2x4, etc.  Simply put, pressure and harass him, and he will turn the ball over.  We cannot allow him to sit back in the pocket because he will pick us apart and hit his talented wideouts.  He's as good as it gets when given the time to throw; it's time for us to have a game like the Jets D just had against him last week.  To do so, we have to get after him.  I like the Aaron Schobel vs Mike Gandy matchup.  If there is ever a game for Schobel to look like a Pro Bowler, it's this week against our old turnstile, Gandy.

Live on the Edge: Don't let Warner beat us; instead, force Edgerrin James to crank out the yards.  He's nowhere near the explosive runner he used to be and it may be in our defense's best interest to go the nickel route and challenge the Cardinals to beat us by running it.  I have no concern about James and the Cards' running game, so it is likely we focus on stopping the Cardinals through the air and take our chances against the Edge.

Take Fitzgerald out of the game: Easier said than done, I'd say.  With Anquan Boldin more than likely out of this game, Larry Fitzgerald will be the apple of Kurt Warner's eye.  And he could very well destroy our secondary if given the opportunity.  Because of that, I would focus heavily on shutting him down, shading a safety (likely Ko Simpson) toward him early and often.  With Terrence McGee out, we'll have to provide help to Jabari Greer and the young corners, Leodis McKelvin and Ashton Youboty.  I'll take my chances with Steve Breaston and Jerheme Urban rather than letting Fitzgerald run free.

Control the line of scrimmage...offensively: There comes a time when the OL has to step up their play and finally hit their potential.  We've been so far from that level the past few weeks, but this is a good week for them to return to form.  Darnell Dockett is a very good player for the Cards, but their other starters are nothing to be overly scared of: Gabe Watson, Antonio Smith and Travis LaBoy (sorry Cards fans, don't kill me).  They have actually been quite solid this year stopping the run and getting after the QB, so despite their anonymity, they have been effective. The linebackers, led by Karlos Dansby, are pretty solid, so it will take a strong effort from our big nasties to control the game.  WIth the way they've played recently, I have a feeling that pride will kick in and they will finally have a big game, instead of a big quarter or two like we've been experiencing. 

Show Lee Evans off: Having signed Evans to a brand new, big time contract extension, I think fans around the league would like to see whether Evans is worth that type of money or not.  This is the perfect week for Evans to have a big time game to prove to everyone how good he can be.  With a semi-hobbled Eric Green, a rather solid, but unspectacular Rod Hood and the young Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie manning the CB spots for Arizona, Evans will have enough opportunities to excel this week.  The deep ball was a major concern for the Cardinals D last week, so that looks to be an area Trent Edwards needs to attack this week.  Like I say every week, get Lee into it early. I'd love to see him finally have an 8+ catch game.

Dominate Special Teams: This should be a close game which could come down to Special Teams.  The Bills should have a significant advantage in all areas of the "third phase", and this is an area to excel in this week.  Steve Breaston is a solid punt returner, but overall hasn't had much success returning kicks or punts this year.  Dirk Johnson is a mediocre punter who will give McKelvin and Fred Jackson opportunities to return punts, so the blocking needs to remain as strong as it has all season there.  As a unit, the Cardinals have been one of the bottom teams in the league this year, while the Bills rank near the top, per usual.  This would be a good week for McKelvin to break that big kick return we've all been waiting for.

***

This is a big game for the Bills and a win would leave a great taste in their mouth heading into the bye.  It is also another opportunity for the team to show that they are a contender this year and are able to win tough games, including tough games on the road.  Go Bills, and let's make it 5-0!

Stay tuned to Buffalo Rumblings and tomorrow's Open Game Thread for the "live chat" during today's big game with the Cardinals!  That thread will open approximately an hour before the 4:15 PM EDT kickoff.  Until then, GO BILLS!

Can Peters rebound from 3 sloppy starts? (buffalobills.com)

The Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals are set to square off this coming Sunday as the Bills look to extend their record to 5-0 for the first time since 1991.  The Cardinals, meanwhile, will look to end a two-game skid in their first home game since a Week 2 trouncing of Miami.

Several key matchups will hold huge importance in this game.  We're glad to be joined once again by cgolden of Revenge of the Birds, SB Nation's Cardinals blog, as the two of us break down four key matchups for the Bills/Cardinals tilt.  On to the matchups...

Bills WR Lee Evans vs Cardinals CB Roderick Hood
cgolden - Lee Evans is a tough match-up for any cornerback because of his big play ability and Roderick Hood will certainly have his hands full on Sunday. Evans is having a great year, averaging over 23 yards per catch, so Hood will have to bring his A-game to keep Evans from getting deep. Evans is not only a legitimate down the field threat, he's also shifty enough to turn every short pass into a huge play. Roderick Hood is a good tackler but the Cardinals don't play much press coverage, which could leave Evans open for some quick, short passes. Hood is the Cardinals' best corner by far but he's not anything spectacular so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cardinals keep a safety over the top. Much of the Cardinals defensive game plan will depend on Adrian Wilson's avaliability on Sunday, but either way, Hood will need to some help to contain Evans.  Advantage: Bills

Yours Truly - Evans is off to a fast start.  He'll never be a guy who catches a large volume of passes, but he definitely makes his catches count (see his 23.7 YPC average through four games).  When Evans is at his best, he's making a play or two early in the game, letting other receivers keep the offense efficient in the middle quarters, and putting the final dagger in a win late in the fourth quarter.  He lulls defenses to sleep in this manner.  There isn't a corner in the league who can cover Evans for an entire game (when he's got competent quarterback play), so I fully expect Evans to make a big play or two in this one.  Advantage: Bills

Bills DT Marcus Stroud vs Cardinals C Lyle Sendlein and RG Deuce Lutui
cgolden - Lyle Sendlien got his first taste of a big, powerful defensive tackle last week when Kris Jenkins abused him a couple of times, and things won't get any easier when Marcus Stroud comes to town.  Stroud benefited from playing on a great defensive line in Jacksonville and he's got some pretty good defensive line mates in Buffalo as well with Aaron Schobel, Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay. Stroud, like Jenkins, is strong enough to bull rush nearly any center or guard but also has the quickness and agility to be a decent pass rusher. Sendlien is a young guy who's still coming into his own and Lutui has been performing just well enough not to be benched. They'll have to double team Stroud most of the day but I still wouldn't be surprised to see him blow up a running play in the backfield and be in Warner's face a couple of times on Sunday.  Advantage: Bills

Yours Truly - Stroud's importance to this defense can't be measured just by his stats alone.  You have to take into account what Stroud has done for Kyle Williams as well; Buffalo's starting defensive tackles have combined for 28 tackles and 3 sacks in the team's first four games.  Stroud's a force against the run, and he's proven over and over this season that he can routinely beat the double team.  He's been impossible to block.  I don't expect Arizona to establish much of a run game on Sunday, but it would be nice to see Stroud collapse the pocket a handful of times around Kurt Warner, who is a fabulous rhythm passer.  Advantage: Bills

Cardinals OLB Travis LaBoy vs Bills OT Jason Peters
cgolden - This should be a strength on strength match-up and should be worth the price of admission. Oddly enough, these two guys have probably faced off before considering that LaBoy spent his first four seasons in Tennessee. LaBoy is the Cardinals best pass rusher and if Clancy Pendergast decides to be aggressive this week, he should be able to apply some pressure.  Jason Peters is the Bills' best offensive lineman and is one of the better left tackles in the league.  Since LaBoy will at times focus too much on rushing the passer, Peters should be able to handle him in the running game.  In passing situations, though, it'll be much more interesting.  LaBoy is a natural pass rusher and has the ability to get around almost any tackle in the league. He may not register a sack but I'd be surprised if he wasn't able to apply some pressure to Edwards a couple of times.  Advantage: Push

Yours Truly - Peters has been off his game since deciding to return from a prolonged pre-season holdout.  As such, he's only got about a month's worth of football under his belt this year, and with a new offensive coordinator and line coach, he's had some difficulty adjusting to what Buffalo does offensively.  He's been very streaky - looking awful at times and dominant at others - and he's currently dealing with an ankle sprain as well, hindering his footwork.  I fully expect LaBoy, who is very sudden in his pass-rushing, to make some plays on Sunday.  But Peters will have help, and he's still very adept at neutralizing the speed rush.  Advantage: Push

Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald vs Bills CB Jabari Greer
cgolden - Larry Fitzgerald has had a great year through four games and he's on pace for over 1,600 yards. His size and ability to snatch the ball out of the air at its highest point are second to none.  He'll have a four inch height and 40 pound weight advantage over Greer, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them test Greer early and often. Whatever the Cardinals' game plan ends up being, Greer shouldn't be underestimated though.  He's a slightly undersized corner back (5'11", 180) who is coming into his own and he plays much bigger than his stature would suggest. He's pretty good about getting his hands on a pass or two during a game and he sealed the Bills' victory over the Rams with a 33-yard pick six.  Overall, Greer's a solid corner but he'll need help because Fitzgerald is a special reciever.  Advantage: Cardinals

Yours Truly - Buffalo employs a Cover 2 shell on pass downs, so it's a virtual certainty that the Bills will have two guys on Fitzgerald at all times.  That number could balloon to 3 on occasion if Anquan Boldin doesn't play as expected.  Greer will get the Fitzgerald assignment most often, and I actually think that his aggressiveness and surprising reach match up better with Fitzgerald than most people believe.  But Fitzgerald is undeniable; he'll get his touches.  The Bills will be lucky if they can hold him to one score.  Advantage: Cardinals

***

Not much of a debate here.  We'd love to hear your thoughts on these matchups and on this exercise in the comments section.

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)

You've heard them, you know them by heart, and you're either irritated by or embrace their simplicity.  NFL teams spout cliches at you - their favorite being "we're taking things one game at a time" - because they're tested theories that have proven to work most often in this league.  Good teams live by and excel at these cliches.  When the Buffalo Bills make a cross-country trip to take on the Arizona Cardinals this coming Sunday, two good football teams will take the field, elevating the importance of the cliches.

How adept are the Bills and Cardinals at fulfilling some of today's most popular cliches?  Let's examine...

Cliche 1: "Run and stop the run"
Both Buffalo and Arizona are surprisingly similar in this department.  Both teams have two-back systems that they employ, with Arizona relying on contributions from Edgerrin James and rookie Tim Hightower, and the Bills leaning on Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  Neither team is particularly adept at rushing the football, however; the Cardinals are averaging 3.2 yards per rush on the season, while the Bills aren't much better at 3.5 yards per rush.

Even defensively, both teams are strikingly similar.  Though they've been missing their top two nose tackles (Gabe Watson and Alan Branch), the Cards are surrendering 4.0 yards per rush; that's actually a tick better than the Bills at this point, who are giving up 4.1 yards per rush despite a more consistent defensive attack led by Marcus Stroud and Kyle Williams.  Advantage: Push

Cliche 2: "Get off the field on third down"
Buffalo's third down defense has been one of the biggest factors in the team's fast start.  Through the first four games, the Bills have allowed opponents to convert just 10 of 52 third down attempts, a 19.2% clip.  This has been more of a problem area for the Cardinals, who give up first downs at nearly double the rate (16/44, 36.4%).  Advantage: Buffalo

Cliche 3: "Convert third downs offensively"
The Bills have become much more adept at sustaining drives this season, and it's a big reason that the team's offense is putting up 22 points per game by themselves.  Buffalo, led by Trent Edwards, has converted 18 of 52 third downs offensively, a 34.6% conversion rate.

Arizona, however, treats this as a strength of their team.  Behind a potent passing attack led by Kurt Warner, Arizona has converted 22 of 51 third down opportunities, good for a 43.1% conversion rate.  The Cardinals are one of the best teams in the league at sustaining drives.  Advantage: Arizona

Cliche 4: "Control time of possession"
Even though they're 4-0, the Bills have only held narrow time of possession margins over their opponents each week.  Through four games, the Bills have had the ball for 53.5% of field time.  This is only narrowly ahead of the Cardinals, who have had one dominant T.O.P. game to "pad" their stats (they held the ball for over 37 minutes in their opening day win over San Francisco).  Arizona possesses the ball for 52.9% of field time.  Advantage: Push

Cliche 5: "Don't shoot yourself in the foot"
Buffalo was the least penalized team in the league in 2007 despite their 7-9 record; that's why through four games, the 14 penalties that the Bills have accrued - most of them from the offensive line - have irritated Bills fans to no end.

Believe me when I say it could be worse - in fact, it could be twice as worse, as it is in Arizona, who have committed 29 penalties through the team's first four games this season.  Ouch!  Advantage: Buffalo

Cliche 6: "Don't settle for field goals"
Arizona's offense is a touch more potent - they're averaging 26.5 points per game as compared to Buffalo's 22 - but it's actually the Bills who are more efficient in the red zone by a hair (translation: Arizona makes a few more big plays).  Arizona scores 52.4% of their red zone trips; the Bills score on 54.3% of theirs.  Advantage: Push

Cliche 7: "Make your opponent settle for field goals"
Red zone defense is key to winning games in this league; in particular, it's key to keeping your team in games, and good defense in the red area is exactly why the Bills have been able to stage some fourth-quarter comebacks this season.  The Bills have allowed touchdowns on 2 of 9 opponent trips into the red zone this season, a 22% clip.  For Arizona, this area is a weakness; Cardinals opponents have put up six on seven of 12 trips into the red zone, a 58.3% clip.  Advantage: Buffalo

Cliche 8: "Win the turnover battle"
This area is far more even than I anticipated, considering Kurt Warner's performance at The Meadowlands this past weekend.  Arizona has turned the ball over nine times in four games while forcing six themselves for a -3 differential.  The Bills have overcome some turnover issues themselves (particularly in the Oakland game); they've committed five and forced six, a +1 differential.  Advantage: Buffalo

Cliche 9: "Protect your home turf"
In the past two seasons, Arizona has proven to be a much different team at home (7-2) than on the road (3-8).  In the past two seasons, the Bills are 5-5 on the road, including 2-0 this season.  Arizona's prowess in the desert gives them a distinct advantage here, and it's one that Buffalo could have a hard time overcoming.  Advantage: Arizona

     
Buffalo Bills (4-0) at Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
Sunday, October 5, 2008 - 4:15 PM EDT

I noted last week that a Bills/Rams game was rare; apparently, it's rarer that the Bills take on the Arizona Cardinals.  In fact, the Bills and (St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona) Cardinals have only met eight times since their original meeting in 1971. The Bills are averaging over 27 points per game and hold a 4-1 edge in their last 5 meetings.

September 9, 1984: St. Louis Cardinals 37, Buffalo Bills 7
This was not a good game for the Bills; of course, the 1984 season wasn't very good overall. The Bills rushed for only 54 yards total as a team, turned the ball over 3 times and allowed 4 sacks. The Cardinals on the other hand ran for 221 yards including 2 Ottis Anderson scores, and Neil Lomax tossed for 2 more. The lone Bills highlight was a 22 yard TD pass and catch from Joe Ferguson to Preston Dennard. The Cards finished that year 9-7 but missed the playoffs. The Bills had a miserable year, going 2-14.

September 21, 1986: Buffalo Bills 17, St. Louis Cardinals 10
A complete turnaround from their previous meeting.  The Bills ran for 122 yards and 2 scores, one by Ricky Moore and one by Greg Bell.  The Cards only ran for 94 yards this time and the Bills sacked Neil Lomax 4 times and forced a turnover. The lone Cards highlight was a 19 yard hook-up between Lomax and Vai Sikahema (easily one of the greatest names in football history).  Both the Bills and Cardinals finished the '86 season 4-12.

November 11, 1990: Buffalo Bills 45, Phoenix Cardinals 14
A dominating win for the Bills included 206 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, one by Jaime Mueller and one by Kenneth Davis, and 4 Jim Kelly touchdown passes, one each to Keith McKeller, Butch Rolle, Don Beebe, and Steve Tasker.  Defensively the Bills sacked Cardinals QB Timm Rosenbach 4 times and forced 4 turnovers. The Bills put the game away with 24 fourth quarter points. The Bills finished the '90 season 13-3 and made their first of 4 Super Bowl appearances; the Cards went 5-11.

December 19, 1999: Buffalo Bills 31, Arizona Cardinals 21
Doug Flutie hit Jay Riemersma to give the Bills a 24-14 lead with 3:01 to play, but the Cards marched right down the field and Jake Plummer hit Rob Moore for a 26 yard TD hook-up to bring the Cards within a field goal of tying it up with 1:49 to play.  Henry Jones took the ensuing onside kick 37 yards for a touchdown to seal the win for the Bills. The Bills finished 11-5 and ended their playoff run in Tennessee (I'm pretty sure you know how by now), while the Cards lost their last 4 games of the year and finished 6-10.

October 31, 2004: Buffalo Bills 38, Arizona Cardinals 14
This game had a Tim Euhus sighting! Euhus had 2 catches for 21 yards and a TD. Looking at the stats I have no idea how the Bills won this game, or how they won by 24 points for that matter.  The Cards had only 85 passing yards TOTAL, which is putrid, but the Bills had an even worse 81!  Both teams finished the game with 128 yards on the ground, but Willis McGahee had 102 by himself to go with 2 scores. Terrence McGee also had an 87-yard kickoff return for a TD.