ORCHARD PARK – It may feel like a Sunday morning in early October in western New York State, but we’re not there yet.

It’s early September, Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, and the Buffalo Bills are opening Highmark Stadium for the first time since 2021 to host the Arizona Cardinals.

This will be an interesting test for the Bills as they face a team that is coming off a 4-13 season but has made some notable improvements and whose star quarterback Kyler Murray is healthy for the first time since mid-2022.

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The Cardinals come to Orchard Park without any pressure and can therefore become a dangerous opening opponent for Buffalo in the season.

Stay up to date with all the latest news about the stadium here throughout the day.

Cardinals get the ball first

The Cardinals got the ball first and quickly crossed the halfway line. James Conner threw two consecutive short passes of 22 yards and 9 yards to the Bills’ 36. Conner got a first down with a short run and on third and sixth attempts, Kyler Murray and Greg Dortch got a first down with an 8-yard pass. Taron Johnson was injured but left the field.

Spencer Brown collects

In a somewhat surprising move announced Friday, offensive tackle Spencer Brown was granted a four-year contract extension through the 2028 season.

Brown was set to become a free agent after 2024, the end of his original rookie contract. But the Bills believe the 2021 third-round pick, who made big strides last season, can be part of their future as a bookend tackle alongside Dion Dawkins.

“It’s good to look forward with a clear head and know where you’re going to be. Knowing that this isn’t my last season in Buffalo and that there’s a lot more to look forward to now,” Brown said.

With the 53-man roster also including second-year player Ryan Van Demark and sixth-round rookie Tylan Grable, there was speculation that the Bills would sit out Brown this year and then move on because he likely would have brought in more money on the open market.

Instead, he is under contract and the Bills do not have an offensive lineman in the starting lineup whose contract expires after 2024.

Non-playing players of the Buffalo Bills vs. Arizona Cardinals

No surprises among the Bills’ inactive players on Sunday. We already knew that edge rushers Dawuane Smoot and Javon Solomon were ruled out by Sean McDermott on Friday due to injuries. In response, edge rusher Kameron Cline and offensive lineman Will Clapp were signed to the Bills’ practice squad.

The other three non-players are linebackers Joe Andreessen and Edufuan Ulofoshio, offensive linemen Ryan Demark and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and safety Cole Bishop.

This is a disappointment for Andreessen, the homegrown product who made the 53-man roster and surely had a large group of friends and family in the stadium.

When is the Bills vs. Cardinals game?

• Date: Sunday, 8 September

• Time: 1pm

• Location: Highmark Stadium

Who is commentating on the Bills vs. Cardinals game?

• Move by move: Tom McCarthy

• analyst: Ross Tucker, Jay Feely

• Sideline reporter: Tiffany Blackmon

How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Arizona Cardinals on TV and streaming

• Cable/Network TV: CBS. The game will be available locally on the following stations: WROC channel 8 (Rochester area), WIVB channel 4 (Buffalo area), WTVH channel 5 (Syracuse area), WKTV channel 2 (Utica area), WENY channel 2 (Elmira area), WRGB channel 10 (Albany area) and WBNG channel 12 (Binghamton area).

• Online streaming services: You can watch the games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s streaming service. However, you can’t cast the games to your TV – you’ll have to watch them on your phone or tablet.

• TV streaming: You can also stream games if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, fuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV+.

On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs. Cardinals game

You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 227 (Bills feed) and channel 381 (Cardinals feed). On traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations across the state. Chris Brown reports live, Eric Wood is the analyst and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:

• Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)

• Buffalo (WGR550, 550 o’clock)

• Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)

• Binghamton (WDRE 100.5 FM)

• Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)

• Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)

• Newark (WACK 2:20 p.m.)

• Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)

• Elmira (WNGZ 1490 hrs)

• Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)

• Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades, including 35 years as a full-time reporter for D&C, and has written numerous books on the team’s history. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills vs. Arizona Cardinals: Score, highlights, live updates