Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - While it wasn't the most impressive start to a football season for the Buffalo Bills, they managed to overcome some early struggles to earn a 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium.
At one point, Buffalo trailed the Cardinals, 17-3, heading into the tail end of the first half. That's when Bills quarterback Josh Allen kicked things into high gear, leading his team back to a victory in Week 1 of the season.
Allen was effective in the air, going 18-of-23 for 232 yards and two touchdowns, while adding another 39 yards on the ground on nine carries and two more touchdowns. It was a performance that certainly got the attention of many around the league to put him in (super) early contention for NFL MVP this season.
After the Bills defense looked to have trouble trying to contain the Cardinals defense, the unit was able to tighten things up in the second half, not giving up too many big plays and limiting the Cardinals to just three points in the final 30 minutes of the game.
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There's no rest of the wicked, though, as the Bills now have a very quick turnaround for Week 2 when they visit the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida.
In their season opener on Sunday, the Dolphins were able to overcome a 17-7 deficit at halftime to earn a 20-17 win over their state neighbors to the North, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With the game tied at 17-17 with 2:09 left in the game, the Dolphins killed the clock while treking the ball into field goal range for kicker Jason Sanders, who hit on a 52-yard field goal as time expired.
Heading into the prime-time matchup on Thursday, both the Bills and Dolphins have their fair share of injury worries.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott has already ruled nickel cornerback Taron Johnson out of Thursday's game with a forearm injury, while defensive end Dawuane Smoot is also likely unavailable with a toe injury.
As for the Dolphins, their two big injury concerns lie in their running backs room. De'Von Achane did not practice for two days in-a-row with an ankle injury he picked up in Week 1, while Raheem Mostert also did not practice for the last two days with a chest injury.
While Howard Simon knows the high-flying nature of the Dolphins offense may present a challenge to the Buffalo defense, there is one factor keeping him on the side of the Bills in Week 2: Josh Allen.
In 12 career games against the Dolphins, Allen has dominated the Dolphins with a 10-2 record, a completion rate of 66.4%, 3,363 yards through the air, and 33 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Allen has also added 638 yards rushing on 85 carries and another five touchdowns.
In the second weekly edition of "Howard Picks the Bills", not only does Howard have the Bills beating the Dolphins, but he also had numerous flips on the schedule with his picks.
Last week, Howard had the Bills going 5-6 heading into the Week 12 bye, but now has Buffalo going 7-4 in the first 11 games.
Following the bye week, despite a picked loss to the San Francisco 49ers on "Sunday Night Football", Howard's confidence does not waiver, as he picks the Bills to run the final five weeks of the season and have the Bills finishing the 2024 campaign with a 12-5 record.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, as well as watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" below: