GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Adrian Wilson nearly sat out Sunday's
game against Buffalo because of a sore hamstring. The decision to
let him play brought a painful, early end to Trent Edwards' day.
Wilson's fierce hit on the third play of the game sent the Bills
quarterback to the locker room with a concussion, and the Arizona
Cardinals went on to emphatically hand Buffalo its first loss of
the season, 41-17.
"I had my mind made up this morning that I was going to play,"
Wilson said. "Coach (Ken) Whisenhunt asked me if I had a role,
what would it be. I said I could go on third down. That was my
role."
Kurt Warner bounced back from an awful weekend at the
Meadowlands to pick apart the Bills' defense with short passes,
completing 33 of 42 for 250 yards with no interceptions. Nine
Arizona receivers had catches. The Cardinals had no lost fumbles or
interceptions.
"We're a tough team to beat when we don't turn the ball over,"
said Whisenhunt, whose team had seven turnovers a week earlier in a
56-35 road loss to the New York Jets.
Warner threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away three
times in that game, so he spent the week hanging onto the football
around the house.
"I was actually chasing my kids around and I had two hands on
the football," the father of seven said, "or they were chasing me
around trying to simulate the Buffalo Bills."
Rookie Tim Hightower had touchdown runs of 17 and 2 yards for
the Cardinals, who now stand alone atop the NFC West.
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 Bills were down 31-17 after three in this one, and it only got
worse from there.
Coach Dick Jauron painted as positive a face on the loss as he
could.
"I'd much rather go into the bye week 5-0 than 4-1," he said,
"but I'm willing to bet there's not a lot of people in this room
that thought we'd be 4-1."
J.P. Losman, who wanted an offseason trade after losing his job
to Edwards, was 15-of-21 for 220 yards, most of them on an 87-yard
touchdown pass to Lee Evans.
"I try to mentally prepare every game like I'm going to go
in," Losman said. "Today, I was put to that test - quite early -
which is unexpected. But that's my job right now."
With Boldin out as a result of the vicious helmet-to-helmet hit
by the Jets' Eric Smith, his replacement Steve Breaston caught
seven passes for 77 yards.
"I knew with Anquan being out we'd have to rely on a lot of
other people," Breaston said, "and I think a lot of people
stepped up."
Fitzgerald had seven catches for 52 yards and rookie Early
Doucet, in his pro debut, caught six for 42 yards.
In its two home games, Arizona has outscored Miami and Buffalo
by a combined 72-17.
After ringing up 35 points in a second-half rally against the
Jets, Arizona scored on all four of its first-half possessions to
go up 24-14 at the break. The first three went for touchdowns,
giving the Cardinals eight TDs in nine possessions.
Very early, it looked to be a long day in the desert for the
Bills.
Wilson blitzed untouched and leveled Edwards, slamming the
second-year quarterback onto his back. Edwards lay on the ground
for several minutes before being helped to the sidelines.
"I don't think it was helmet-to-helmet but I've only seen one
replay on the big board," Jauron said. "There are other things
involved in any hit on a quarterback so we'll see where that one
goes."
Wilson immediately signaled to the Buffalo sideline that Edwards
was hurt.
"I know the situation that happened with Anquan last week,"
Wilson said, "so it was just a scary situation whenever you see a
guy just laying there and not moving."
Two plays later, Losman and Marshawn Lynch botched a handoff and
Antonio Smith recovered for Arizona at the Bills 38. Edgerrin James
ran 13 yards to help set up Warner's 2-yard TD pass to a wide open
Fitzgerald, and the Bills never pulled even again.
Two of the first-half touchdowns came on a 14-play, 80-yard
drive and a 12-play, 78-yard drive. Together, the possessions
consumed just under 13 minutes.
After Losman's 2-yard touchdown run, the Cardinals moved down
the field in the final two minutes. Neil Rackers' 47-yard field
goal as the half ended put Arizona up 24-14.
The Bills cut the lead to a touchdown on Rian Lindell's 48-yard
field goal with 5:25 left in the third quarter. The Cardinals
responded with another long drive, going 78 yards in 13 plays.
James scored from 2 yards out to put Arizona ahead 31-17.
Turnovers set up the Cardinals' 10 fourth-quarter points.
Notes: Arizona is 8-2 at home since Whisenhunt took over a year
ago. ... The Cardinals had 28 first downs, 19 in the first half.
... Buffalo entered the game allowing teams to convert on third
downs an NFL-best 19 percent of the time. Arizona converted
9-of-13, 6-of-6 in the first half.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)