GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Buffalo Bills lost their quarterback and, emphatically, their first game of the season.
Rookie Tim Hightower had a pair of touchdown runs, and Kurt Warner threw to Larry Fitzgerald twice for scores to lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 41-17 victory over the Bills on Sunday.
Second-year quarterback Trent Edwards, a major reason Buffalo was one of three unbeaten teams entering the day, went down with a concussion on a fierce hit from Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson on the third play of the game. It was the Bills’ defense that collapsed after that.
The Cardinals (3-2), without standout receiver Anquan Boldin, amassed 373 yards against what had been one of the stingier defenses in the league. Buffalo’s offense contributed, too, fumbling the ball away three times in Bills territory, resulting in 17 Arizona points.
Buffalo had rallied in the fourth quarter to win its last three. The Cardinals did not have a turnover and in their two home games have outscored Miami and Buffalo by a combined 72-17.
Buffalo turnovers set up the Cardinals’ 10 fourth-quarter points, a 38-yard field goal by Neil Rackers and a 2-yard run by Hightower.
