ORCHARD PARK - Even in a year when the Buffalo Bills may not have the same quality roster they’ve had the previous few years, they still have Josh Allen, and that makes up for an awful lot of deficiencies.

The Bills looked to be in big trouble in the second quarter when they fell behind 17-3 to the Arizona Cardinals, but Allen took the game into his capable hands and carried the Bills to a hard fought, way-too-close-for-comfort 34-28 victory.

During a stretch from late in the second quarter to midway through the fourth, Allen directed four touchdown drives, hitting Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir through the air, and running into the end zone for two more to give the Bills a 31-20 lead.

Of course, it can never be easy and the Bills had to survive DeeJay Dallas returning the kickoff after Allen’s second rushing TD 96 yards for a touchdown and the Cardinals’ ensuing two-point conversion to cut the margin to 31-28, but the defense - which endured an awful first half - came up with two huge stops in the final five minutes and the Bills survived.

This was the fourth time in Allen’s career he’s had a game of at least two TDs rushing and passing, tying him with former 49ers great Steve Young for the most in NFL history.

The start of the day couldn’t have been much worse for the Bills. Arizona won the coin toss, bucked tradition and decided to receive, and that paid off as Kyler Murray marched them 70 yards in 13 plays, chewing up the first 7:13 of the game before he hit Michael Wilson with a five-yard TD.

It should have been a field goal drive, but an egregiously bad personal foul penalty was called on Ja'Marcus Ingram on a play where Murray scrambled and slid short of the first down, and Ingram hardly touched him, yet was flagged. That cost the Bills four points.

Buffalo’s first possession ended when Allen lost a fumble, ruining a great drive start that had been provided by newly-acquired kick returner Brandon Codrington who went 53 yards to the Cardinals' 45.

The Cardinals turned around and drove to a Matt Prater field goal and a 10-0 lead, and the Bills also lost star nickel corner Taron Johnson to a forearm injury for the rest of the game.

Another critical penalty cost the Bills moments later as Allen’s four-yard TD run was wiped out by a facemask penalty on O’Cyrus Torrence so they settled for a Tyler Bass field goal.

Arizona then made it 3-for-3 on scoring drives as the Bills looked helpless during a 71-yard drive that ate up another seven minutes and was capped by James Conner’s three-yard TD run.

The game began to turn when the Bills answered right back as Allen overcame two penalties to put together a 70-yard drive in the final 2:40 of the half, culminating in his seven-yard TD run that cut the gap to 17-10. And then he cashed in on the double dip by opening the second half with a 60-yard march that ended with his 11-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins on a third-and-10 which tied the score.

The true turning point came with 5:25 left in the third quarter when Greg Rousseau made his third sack of the game on Murray, and this time he forced a fumble which Dorian Williams recovered at the Arizona 21. Five plays later, after Allen converted a fourth-and-1, he threw a quick pass to Shakir who made a great individual effort to get into the end zone for a 10-yard go-ahead touchdown.

After an Arizona field goal, the Bills thought they had taken control when Allen put together a 70-yard drive that ended with his leap into the end zone, but the kickoff return turned it into a nailbiter.

The Bills had another chance to put the game away when they took possession after a punt at the Cardinals 40, but they had to settle for a 39-yard Bass field goal with 1:56 left that made it 34-28. Finally, Arizona pushed to the Buffalo 29 but a fourth-down pass near the goal line fell incomplete.

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: Josh Allen puts Bills on his back to lead comeback win over Cardinals