ORCHARD PARK - Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott made a good point Sunday afternoon when he finally found his way down to the interview room after his team’s tense 34-28 survival against the Arizona Cardinals.

“You know, you go through it, and the NFL is hard, right? It’s hard to win,” McDermott said, and yes, he’s right, as the Bills clearly proved for three hours at Highmark Stadium in a game they once trailed 17-3.

“You almost have to take the logos off the helmets because it really doesn’t matter who you play, where you play. It’s how you play - how we play.”

During most of the first half, McDermott’s Bills did not play well which is why they were in that 14-point hole, but even with so many new players in key roles this season, the Bills found a way to get back on track and the winning pedigree that McDermott has established in Buffalo helped stave off the Cardinals’ game attempt at an opening day upset.

“I think this team was tested early here,” McDermott said. “Great to get a win, hard fought battle. Give Arizona credit, they came in here and had a good plan. We got down early in the game and they were fighting back from there. I think that that in and of itself is a great sign for our football team.”

Here’s how I graded the Bills:

PASS OFFENSE: B+

This was such a weird game in that Josh Allen attempted only 23 passes, completing a very efficient 18 for 232 yards and two TDs. He was sacked twice and had a few scrambles so there were more than 23 pass plays called, but it was a low amount and it might be a window into what Joe Brady wants to do - run the ball and try to give Allen manageable second and third downs.

Allen spread the ball everywhere, targeting 10 different players and completing at least one pass to nine. Rookie Keon Coleman led the way with four catches on five targets for 51 yards, leading the Bills in all three categories. His biggest play was a beautiful contested catch for 28 yards which set up Allen’s second TD run in the fourth quarter.

It was an oddly quiet day for Dalton Kincaid, one catch on two targets for 11 yards. Everyone assumed the passing game would go through Kincaid, but that could not be further from the truth, at least Sunday. Also, it was a very minimalist day for Curtis Samuel, two for 15. Khalil Shakir made three catches, two of which were excellent plays, a 19-yard catch and run and then his 11-yard TD reception.

RUN OFFENSE: B+

James Cook had a workmanlike 71 yards on 19 attempts, his best run a 15-yarder. Cook has that jump cut that works so well for him and it helped him gain a few extra yards on a day when the offensive line, at least at first look, did not play well. Ray Davis was used a bit and had a 13-yard run and then two others that netted zero, and Ty Johnson had only two attempts. Allen, of course, was the best secondary runner with 39 yards and two TDs.

As for the line, it was a rough day in many respects. Against an Arizona defense that does not rush the passer well, there were two sacks, one that resulted in an Allen fumble, though that was more on the receivers not getting open and Allen having nowhere to throw the ball.

What was on the line were penalties. There were four false starts (counting one by TE Quintin Morris), a facemask on O’Cyrus Torrence which wiped out an Allen TD, and holding calls on Torrence and Dion Dawkins. There’s plenty to clean up there, and Torrence might be a concern because he had a pretty sloppy preseason, too.

PASS DEFENSE: B

The entire defense was in a funk in the first half and Kyler Murray took full advantage. At the break he was 16 of 19 for 131 yards and one TD as he picked the Bills apart with a short passing game. But then in the second half, he was just 5 of 12 for 31 yards and lost a fumble on one of Greg Rousseau’s three sacks.

Von Miller also had a sack and it came in a big moment late in the fourth quarter. It was tremendously impressive that the Bills got Murray on the ground four times because he is crazy elusive as his 57 yards rushing, most of that on scrambles, would attest. Also hugely impressive was how the secondary overcame the loss of nickel CB Taron Johnson in the first quarter.

Bobby Babich pieced it together with Cam Lewis in the slot, and then used Ja'Marcus Ingram as a safety when they played dime. Ingram was in coverage on Arizona’s last play, preventing what might have been a decisive catch by Greg Dortch inside the 5-yard-line on fourth down.

Marvin Harrison Jr., the No. 4 overall pick, was held to one catch for four yards and TE Trey McBride, a very good albeit somewhat unknown player, had just 30 yards and caught only five of nine targets.

RUN DEFENSE: B-

James Conner had it working early in the game and then mixing in dynamic runs by Murray, the Bills were on their heels which led to 17 first-half points. But once they made their adjustments, the Bills were vastly better in the second half.

The Cardinals finished with 124 rushing yards and averaged five yards per carry, but that was mostly Murray. Conner averaged just 3.1 yards per attempt and 20 of his 50 yards came on one play. Terrel Bernard led the Bills with 11 tackles and Lewis had nine, several coming in the run game. Dorian Williams also played well with eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D

There were certainly some dynamic moments, both good and bad. Brandon Codrington’s first touch as a Bill resulted in a 53-yard kickoff return which gave the Bills a great drive start for their opening offensive possession. Thereafter, the Cardinals kicked it into the end zone four times and gave the Bills the ball at the 30.

Tyler Bass made all six of his kicks - two field goals from 37 and 39 yards and all four extra points on a windy day. But then there were those two kickoffs in the fourth quarter. Kicking into the wind, he couldn’t get the ball to the end zone and when the coverage team floundered, DeeJay Dallas returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. And then Bass’ last kickoff went out of bounds giving the Cardinals the ball at the 40 for their last-chance possession. I’m sure he was trying to pin Dallas in the corner knowing he couldn’t get it to the end zone, but he hooked it.

COACHING: C

Halftime adjustments sometimes get overrated, but I think the Bills staff did a nice job in this game. Nothing was working in the first half for the defense, but Bobby Babich made some tweaks in coverage, used a little more dime defense and that seemed to make Murray hold the ball a little longer. He also dialed up some blitzes to make Murray rush through his progressions and he was a much less effective QB in the second half.

Offensively, Joe Brady leaning on the running game was a thing and I’m not sure I’m entirely on board with that, but it worked out OK in this game. If for no other reason, it evened up the time of possession in the middle of the game and gave the Buffalo defense a chance to catch its breath and regroup after a bad start.

Special teams coach Matthew Smiley knew the new kickoff would be challenging, and man was it ever. The Bills need to fix their issues and the best idea might be to just kick the ball into the end zone.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Buffalo passes early test to escape Cardinals