2024 NFL Week 1: Bills open as 7-point favorites vs. Cardinals

The Buffalo Bills’ Week 1 game to open the 2024 NFL season doesn’t kick off until we get through the next 111 days on the calendar — nearly a third of a year’s time away in distance. However, it’s not too early to get in on the action with DraftKings, who this past week have shared opening odds for all 32 NFL clubs.

At this juncture, Buffalo sits as seven-point favorites for their season (and home) opener against the Arizona Cardinals. The over/under is currently at 48 points, while the moneyline is at -355 for the Bills, and +255 for the Cardinals.

Last season, the Buffalo Bills ended the regular season with the league’s fifth-best record (11-6), while the Arizona Cardinals were near the bottom at 29th and with a 4-13 record. The Bills finished with the fourth-best offense, ninth-best defense, and 26th-ranked special teams. The Cardinals had the league’s 19th-ranked offense, 25th-ranked defense, and 23rd-ranked special teams.

Established in 1898, the Cardinals are one of two remaining charter franchises from the dawn of the NFL’s first season in 1920 — today, the Cardinals remain the league’s oldest continuously run team.

Records between the two teams date back to 1971, with Buffalo holding a 7-5 overall record against the Cardinals. The 12 games between these two NFL teams in the last 53 years isn’t a very large sample size, which is to be expected when teams from opposing conferences often only face off once every four years.

Despite their unfamiliar on-field relationship, it’s likely you remember the last time these two played in 2020. The rosters are vastly different now — save for quarterbacks Josh Allen and Kyler Murray, plus a few additional franchise cornerstones — but almost every member of Bills Mafia who saw the prior game can recall the final play, and probably every player who was involved in what became known as the “Hail Murray,” and was named the play of the 2020 NFL season.

After losing 32-30 in Arizona, the Bills didn’t lose again during the regular season, ultimately winning eight straight games (including the playoffs) before suffering an unforgettable overtime defeat on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs.

With so much roster turnover from season to season — and that likely to continue happening during the next few months leading up to Week 1 — it’s challenging to gauge how Buffalo and Arizona will play one another. That may leave you with the feeling that it’s perhaps a bit too early to discuss key matchups ahead of this Week 1 clash, but don’t bet against Allen and Murray coming out of the gate firing on all cylinders.

Will the Bills be prepared to knock the Cardinals back down the ladder a bit, and exit Week 1 as winners? Vegas predictably expects the Buffalo Bills to do well in Week 1. We’ll find out in a few months if that’s the case.

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