DeeJay Dallas becomes the first NFL player to return a dynamic kickoff for a touchdown, and other notes from the Arizona Cardinals after a loss in Buffalo

The Cardinals were given hope, and it came in the most dynamic way possible thanks to DeeJay Dallas.

The NFL has dubbed its new kickoff rules a “dynamic kickoff,” and what that means for the season as a whole and going forward is still up in the air. But Dallas, a running back signed for his special teams skills, made history Sunday in Buffalo by becoming the first player to return one of the special kickoffs for a touchdown.

His 96-yard pass got the Cardinals — who were down by 11 points and struggling on offense throughout the second half — back in the game. (If only it had resulted in a comeback win…) Jonathan Gannon had said all along that he wanted to make the dynamic rules work to the Cardinals' advantage, and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers (and Dallas) made that happen.

Then after the game, Dallas FaceTimed his wife and kids and saw them jumping up and down with excitement.

“It’s the best feeling,” he said.

When it was pointed out that from up in the press box it looked like a giant hole had opened up for his run, Dallas smiled. It looked “tiny. I swear,” he said. “Under the old rules, the coaches always said you had to run through the dark crease. I just trusted that.”

“Everyone has their role in the team. I just try to do my role as best as I can.”

Dallas's hit was the Cardinals' first kickoff return for a touchdown since rookie David Johnson did it in Week 2 of 2015 in Chicago.

— I loved seeing Kyler Murray's legs back in the game like that, and I liked that he skipped the tackling and made the pass a few times. The Cardinals will want/need to show that their improved wide receiver team can do something. I did like Murray's postgame temperament, though. Again, that's a small thing, and he was clearly not happy with the outcome. But the way he talked about the loss, he wanted to avoid the dark hole that those losses used to put him in. The change will only help him and his teammates.

— James Conner had all the work to do early on. Even on a 20-yard run – his first of the season after leading the NFL with 11 such runs last season – Conner only rushed for 50 yards on 16 carries, but he scored a touchdown and caught three balls for another 33 yards.

“I just have to do my job and get the ball where it needs to go,” Conner said.

– The work of Marvin Harrison Jr. not The question of whether he would get Harrison would also have been an issue. Coach Jonathan Gannon said the Bills limited some coverages to keep Harrison out of the game, but that they didn't have a target in the second half was a surprise.

“It was the first time we played together,” Murray said, adding that the two would get better at plays like the missed shoulder throw in the first half.

— The 60 degrees at kickoff was the coldest temperature for a Cardinals opening game since the team moved to Arizona in 1988.

— Zaven Collins once lost a sack on a hardness check that looked like a false flag on replay. But the Cardinals also scored their first touchdown after Murray fell short on a third-down scramble and the Bills defender was whistled for a hardness check, which also looked like a false flag.

— The defense should have had a few sacks. Credit goes to Josh Allen for managing to avoid those things, but the Cardinals can't survive if they miss the opportunities they create to bring down the quarterback.

— It turned out it didn't matter because the Cardinals came down the field anyway, but Michael Wilson has to catch the ball he didn't catch on the first play of the last drive. He'll be the first to say so, too.

— There was a lot more Emari Demercado in the game than Trey Benson. I'm not sure that will change anytime soon, especially if Conner gets that kind of work.

– Admit that “Hail Murray” wasn’t on your mind as the clock ran out and the Cardinals had a chance.

Time to fly back across the country. The regular season means we get back into full swing on Monday.