Bills-Ravens: What does recent history tells about this Week 1 blockbuster? Let's take a look

Bills-Ravens: What does recent history tells about this Week 1 blockbuster? Let's take a look

Both the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens have made changes since their last meeting in January, a 27-25 win for Buffalo in the AFC divisional round, but revisiting those games can provide some clues as to how they'll try to stop each other at Highmark Stadium.

buffalonews.com

It has been 11 days since Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott addressed reporters.

Since then, general manager Brandon Beane has cut the roster to 53 players and brought back some notable veterans, including safety Jordan Poyer, to the practice squad.

The health of cornerback Tre’Davious White remains a mystery. The Bills’ top cornerback, Christian Benford, didn’t practice last Wednesday, the last time reporters were allowed to see players on the field. McDermott will provide an update today when he addresses media ahead of their season opener against on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.

Both teams have made changes since their last meeting in January, a 27-25 win for Buffalo in the AFC divisional round, but revisiting those games can provide some clues as to how they’ll try to stop each other at Highmark Stadium:


Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed 16 of 22 passes for 127 yards against the Ravens in the AFC divisional round playoff game in January at Highmark Stadium.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

Notable absence
Ravens coach John Harbaugh declined to provide an update to reporters Monday on the status of injured tight end Isaiah Likely, who hasn’t practiced for five weeks because of a small fracture in one of his feet.

The Ravens still have Mark Andrews, 29. He is their starter, and teammates told reporters Monday that the tight end wants redemption after he dropped the game-tying 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter.

“He’s a true warrior,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley told reporters Monday. “He’s going to push through those moments. I know he’s excited to prove to himself and everyone else that he’s still that guy.”

Likely is an important part of their game plan, though. He played a career-high 60% of the Ravens’ snaps last season because he is their second tight end in heavy personnel. The Ravens used either two backs with a tight end, one back with two tight ends or two backs with two tight ends together in 62% of their offensive plays during the 2024 regular season.

The Ravens trust their third tight end, Charlie Kolar, to fill in, but he is not the same athlete or receiver. In the AFC divisional round, Baltimore completed 19 passes for 153 yards when using two tight ends with one back. The Ravens also gained 76 yards on eight carries, but Lamar Jackson threw an interception in the second quarter. Their longest completion in so-called 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends) went to Likely, who gained 39 yards on the first drive of the game. He finished with four catches for a team-high 73 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that cut Buffalo’s lead to 27-25.

Up frontHow will the Bills’ defensive line fare against the Ravens’ heavy personnel? Buffalo bottled up Derrick Henry in the first half of the playoff game, containing the future Hall of Famer to just 21 yards on eight carries. When Baltimore had two backs on the field, Buffalo used Dorian Williams as a third linebacker. Sean McDermott and his defensive coordinator, Bobby Babich, may use more base defense Sunday night, with veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson another option to play next to Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard. One of the linebackers will be a spy on Jackson, who had 93 rushing yards in two games against the Bills last season.


Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard, center, celebrates with teammates after forcing a fumble by Ravens tight end Mark Andrews during their January playoff matchup
in Orchard Park Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News

In the AFC divisional round, Baltimore gained 52 yards on 11 rushes with two backs and two tight ends on the field together.

This is a measuring-stick game for the Bills’ revamped defensive line. It’s the first time we’ll see Joey Bosa rushing the quarterback for Buffalo in a regular-season game. The rookie defensive tackles, T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker, need to be reliable when they rotate onto the field. The team’s defensive-line depth is challenged with the suspensions of edge rusher Michael Hoecht and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, as well as the season-ending injury to second-year defensive tackle DeWayne Carter. It may be too soon for Jordan Phillips to come up from the practice squad, so the rookies will be tested early.

The Ravens had 176 rushing yards on 30 carries in the playoff game – a vast improvement from the 271 yards the Bills allowed in their Week 4 loss in Baltimore. Between the two games, Buffalo allowed 15 rushes of 10-plus yards and, according to Next Gen Stats, Baltimore averaged 4.05 rushing yards before contact per carry.

The Bills’ pass rush will need to get to Jackson. His two turnovers in the playoff game happened while he was blitzed by Buffalo’s defense. But they also need to be stout against the run. The group has practiced together in pads for nearly five weeks. However, it takes time for four linemen to play as one unit.

“It’s a challenge to learn to rush together, learn what people’s tendencies are, what their favorite moves are, what they have success with and then young guys having knowledge of the defense,” Bills edge rusher A.J. Epenesa said. “I’ve gone through this myself, having the knowledge of who’s next to. … With these young guys, all those things are starting to happen. It’s fun to watch and fun to be a part of.”

Third-down defense
The Ravens converted 12 of their 19 third downs in their two games against the Bills last season.

Buffalo can’t give Jackson as much time to throw. He had a clean pocket on his two touchdown passes in the AFC divisional round. But the Bills also need their secondary to cover the Ravens’ offensive weapons. With three receivers on the field in the playoff game, Jackson completed each of his four passes for 49 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Likely in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens will try creative ways to get the ball to Zay Flowers, who ranked 13th among NFL receivers last season in yards gained after the catch. They also have Rashod Bateman and DeAndre Hopkins, among others.

The Bills’ defensive allowed an average of 421.5 yards in those two games, as the Ravens converted 12 of their 19 third downs. Buffalo ranked 29th last season in third-down conversion rate.

“It’s our job to ultimately take that next step and complement the defense,” Bills defensive line coach Marcus West said last month, referring to his group’s role in helping Buffalo get off the field on third down.

On offense
A neutral game script in the AFC divisional round allowed the Bills to lean on their rushing attack early. Buffalo gained 36 yards on nine rushes during an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to start the game. All but two of those plays were with three receivers on the field.

It was vastly different than the Bills’ first drive in their Week 4 loss to the Ravens, when Buffalo moved the ball 20 yards in seven plays before a punt by Sam Martin. In the two meetings, the Bills ran for four touchdowns and gained 18 rushing yards over expected, according to Next Gen Stats, even though they ran into a stacked box on 40.7% of their carries.

Josh Allen averaged just 140.5 passing yards in the two games, but the offense looked much better in the divisional round. The Bills converted five of their 11 third downs – they were 3 for 13 in Week 4 – and won the time-of-possession-battle by more than three minutes. Buffalo ran for 147 yards on 36 carries and scored three touchdowns in the playoff game.

Personnel
How much will the Bills use heavy personnel in this game? They gained 42 yards on nine plays with an extra offensive lineman on the field in the divisional round, but they also stretched the field in three-receiver sets. On those plays, Buffalo gained 90 yards on Allen’s 18 completions, and the team ran for 85 yards on 22 carries.

For the Bills, five starters returned on the offensive line. Their three running backs are also back, plus their receiving corps should be improved with the development of Keon Coleman and addition of Joshua Palmer. Dalton Kincaid is also healthy entering his third NFL season. The Ravens’ defense is considered one of the best in the NFL, and they tried to improve it this offseason by drafting safety Malaki Starks in the first round.

Buffalo’s offense has used the offseason to prepare for the different ways defenses will try to stop them this season. The philosophy hasn’t changed, but offensive coordinator Joe Brady added wrinkles to try to be unpredictable.

“It’s going to be great motivation,” Ravens defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike told reporters Monday. “It was the last game that we played as a unit, so to go back there to play the same team we lost to, that we believe we should have (beaten). We made self-inflicting mistakes. Everybody is fired up.”

 

[HipKat]

The Athletic: Matt Prater’s whirlwind week ahead of Bills game winner: ‘I was not expecting this’​

Matt Prater’s whirlwind week ahead of Bills game winner: ‘I was not expecting this’

Roughly 89 hours after landing in Buffalo, Prater hit a walk-off field goal to beat the Ravens in the Bills' season opener.

www.nytimes.com

Just a few moments into early Monday morning, new Bills kicker Matt Prater climbed the three steps up to his postgame news conference.

“I was not expecting this,” Prater said with a laugh, acknowledging just how uncanny and wild his week had been.

To begin to understand the tale, you have to hit the rewind button to a moment that perfectly encapsulated the kicker’s whirlwind journey.

Prater walked into the Bills’ locker room on Friday after practice, all turned around.

He had just finished his first full session kicking inside Highmark Stadium. Prater took a wrong turn into a different cavern of the changing room, not sure where he was going.

Punter Brad Robbins was Johnny on the spot. He saw Prater struggling and quickly ran to the middle of the locker room. He yelled out, “Matt!” to get Prater’s attention, and used both arms to direct the new Bills kicker to his actual locker. Mind you, this was a full day after Prater had first arrived in Buffalo — technically his second day under contract.

It’s hard to blame Prater for his zombie-like state, though. After all, he arrived in Buffalo on a red-eye from Arizona on Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m.

From there, the Bills whisked him away to his physicals, then to their home base in Orchard Park. Prater signed on to the Bills’ practice squad that morning and took in the Thursday fieldhouse practice as much as he could.

When the team announced the signing, many on social media said something along the lines of, “Wait, that Matt Prater?!” Yes, that Matt Prater — the very same.

The 41-year-old kicker, now in his 19th NFL season, went from writing up practice on Wednesday for a 9-to-11-year-old football league that his son played on, to being a key cog in the latest chapter of the longstanding Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson rivalry.

“Matt was a rookie when I was eight years old,” the 26-year-old Robbins was quick to point out, saying he grew up watching the kicker. For reference, Prater is six years older than Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Prater was a seven-year veteran of the NFL when Allen graduated high school. The kicker is the oldest veteran to play for the Bills in their franchise history.

“We had some crazy years in Denver with Tebow,” Prater referenced. Tim Tebow’s last year with the Broncos was in 2011.

No matter his age, the Bills needed Prater desperately.

The team shut down its top kicker, Tyler Bass, putting him on injured reserve on Friday due to a left hip and groin injury. That meant it was Prater’s Bills debut — against one of the best teams in the NFL, in front of a national audience in primetime, no less.

Roughly 89 hours after landing in Buffalo, there Prater was, knocking the game-winning, walk-off 32-yard field goal through the uprights to beat the Baltimore Ravens 41-40 in what could be the NFL’s game of the year.

“He said today was the day he felt like he woke up and actually felt like a human after that red eye,” Robbins said after the game. “He was like, ‘I actually feel pretty good today.’”

Prater’s kick capped off a furious Bills comeback in which they trailed the Ravens by 15 points in the fourth quarter on two occasions. He hadn’t kicked for a team since Sept. 22 of last season, before being put on IR with left knee soreness by the Arizona Cardinals. He holds the NFL record with 81 field goals of 50 yards or longer and owns the league’s third-longest field goal at 64 yards, trailing Justin Tucker (66) and Brandon Aubrey (65).

Matt Prater’s kick capped the Bills’ comeback. (Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images)

Coming into the game, he had been nearly perfect in lead-changing, late-game situations. Lifetime, Prater was 23-of-24 on attempts that happened in the last two minutes of regulation or in overtime.

Make it 24-of-25, a cool 96 percent success rate, much to the Bills’ delight.

“I’m still on cloud nine,” Prater said after the game.

“Honestly, nothing short of incredible,” long snapper Reid Ferguson said of the moment.

“That was like almost a dream come true to be like, yeah, I get a game-winning, mayday field goal situation where I get to hold for one of the G.O.A.T.s of kicking, (it) was pretty surreal,” Robbins added.

But before Prater became one of the unlikeliest heroes of Bills lore, destined to be referenced for decades in one of the most memorable games in the history of what’s soon to be the old Highmark Stadium, his teammates had a sneaky feeling.

“His first practice on Friday, we got some kicks down here in the stadium, and I was like, I don’t know, I’m feeling a game winner on Sunday,” Ferguson said. “And they all heard me.”

“We talked about it probably three or four times throughout the week,” Robbins said. “I looked over at Reid with like six minutes left and was like, it could happen.”

Once Prater’s now-illustrious game-winning kick sailed through the uprights, Ferguson jubilantly reminded everyone of his late-week prognostication.

“After the game, I was like, ‘I told you so!’”

Even before the big moment, Robbins — a huge Prater fan from childhood — begged the Bills’ head of equipment for a favor.

“As soon as I found out he was here, I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t care what it takes, but can you make me a jersey? I’ll buy it off ya.’ I can have Prater sign it,” Robbins said. “A Prater Bills jersey is going to be like a rarity. It’ll be pretty sweet.”

Should this season progress in spectacular fashion for the Bills, Robbins may not be the only one in Buffalo sporting a custom No. 15 Prater Bills jersey before long.

Although the team wasn’t at its best on Sunday night, it turned around what seemed like a sure loss midway through the fourth quarter into a win that everyone in the country is talking about.

“This one will be one of those stories that are told for a long time,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “I’m sure people are gonna wake up, some Buffalonians maybe, and maybe people just around the country, and will be like, ‘Wait, did that happen?’”

Though none of it would have been possible without the play of their franchise leader.

---

Allen goes hero mode in a potentially season-defining victory​

The Bills led off the Ravens game with a statement drive, finishing a seven-play series with a touchdown. But after that moment, the Bills hit a massive lull.

The downfield passing attack just wasn’t working, as the Bills often settled for underneath throws to try to generate some yards after the catch to help move down the field. It didn’t work. One stalled drive after another resulted in not only surrendering the lead to the Ravens but also allowing Baltimore to pad its lead throughout the evening. The Ravens held a two-touchdown advantage on three occasions.

The Bills had only 19 points to their names entering the fourth quarter, and then, Allen showed the NFL why he is, quite possibly, the best quarterback in the world. Seemingly unshackled from what had been holding the Bills’ passing offense back previously, with the Bills down 34-19 at the end of the third quarter, Allen was practically perfect from that point forward.

He completed 17-of-22 passes for 259 yards from that drive through the end of the game. Jackson had only 209 passing yards the entire game. Two of the incompletions were drops, and another was the result of receiver Joshua Palmer seemingly stopping on a route that almost became a turnover. Palmer made up for it with the key 32-yard gain to help set up the game-winning kick from Prater.

Allen also added in some extra scrambles and runs that put the Bills in position to win the game. Allen averaging 11.8 yards per pass attempt over those five drives is a legendary performance, and one that won’t soon be forgotten — especially if this victory helps earn the Bills a tiebreaker in AFC seeding for critical playoff games.

As long as Allen is playing this way, anything is possible for the Bills. But they may need him to continue playing this way for a while, given the state of their defense at the moment. With so many questions about that side of the ball, particularly in the secondary, the Bills may need to resort to being a bit of a shootout team for the here and now.

Through his history with the Bills, McDermott has always seemingly found a way to put a bandage over the worst part of the defense, and he has his work cut out for him this year. But with Allen giving them the best quarterback performance of Week 1 in the NFL — an all-in 424-yard, four-touchdown showing without a single turnover — and no signs of him slowing down, the Bills should remain firmly atop the list of Super Bowl contenders this season.

 

[HipKat]

Josh Allen engineers stunning comeback over Ravens, Lamar Jackson in 41-40 win: Key takeaways

Allen carried the Bills to overcome a fourth-quarter 15-point deficit.

www.nytimes.com

The rematch of last season’s AFC divisional-round game between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills did not disappoint Sunday night, as quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills erased a fourth-quarter 15-point deficit to win 41-40.

The game shifted in Buffalo’s favor when Ravens running back Derrick Henry fumbled on Baltimore’s 38-yard line with 3:10 left in the game, and Buffalo recovered the ball. Allen got the Bills down the field in a four-play drive, capped off by the quarterback running in a touchdown with 1:58 remaining. However, Allen failed to connect with wide receiver Keon Coleman on the two-point conversion attempt, leaving Buffalo behind 40-38.

The Ravens didn’t score on their next possession, giving the Bills a chance to complete their comeback. Veteran kicker Matt Prater delivered with a 32-yard game-winning field goal, stunning the Ravens.

Prater’s heroics come after the Bills signed the 41-year-old to their practice squad Thursday amid injury concerns over Tyler Bass, whom they placed on injured reserve with a hip/groin injury a day later. Buffalo elevated Prater to the active roster Saturday.

Allen, the reigning NFL MVP, went 33 of 46 with 394 passing yards and two touchdowns, while adding 30 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished second behind Allen in MVP voting last season, was 14 of 19 with 209 passing yards and two touchdowns. He added 70 rushing yards and a score on the ground.

Here are some key takeaways from the game.

Allen leads Bills’ furious comeback​

After a fast start, the Bills’ offense had extreme difficulty getting things going downfield. The Ravens’ defense had them frustrated throughout the first half. However, once the Ravens were seemingly pulling away — or so they thought — the floodgates opened for the team’s passing attack. The Bills went with effectively the same five players, save a sub or two when someone needed a rest, in their furious comeback.

Allen was simply magnificent, engineering one of the most memorable comebacks in recent history, and starting the Bills’ season at 1-0. Along with a breakout game from Coleman, the Bills picked up one of the marquee victories of the 2025 NFL season in Week 1. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer

Stay in the know by selecting your interests on The Athletic:

Still, an underwhelming first impression​

Buffalo’s mission all offseason — in free agency, in the draft, over the summer — was to escalate its defense to championship proportions. First impressions were severely underwhelming.

Almost until the very end, Baltimore’s offense dominated however, whenever, wherever. Henry rushed for well over 100 yards on his first-down carries alone, and Jackson chopped Buffalo with his arm and legs.

The Bills’ pass rush rarely closed. Coverage was spotty. Tackling was sloppy.

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver gave them late hope when he forced the Henry fumble that linebacker Terrel Bernard recovered, setting up Allen to pull off the miracle victory, but giving up 40 points is unacceptable.

Henry ran 18 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns, including paydirt sprints of 30 yards (he stiff-armed safety Cole Bishop in comical fashion) and 46 yards. Henry had three runs of at least 30 yards for the first time in his career.

Jackson humiliated the Bills’ defense on a fourth-quarter scramble that should have been a 20-yard sack on third-and-10, but he slithered into the open field and somehow gained 19 yards.

The Bills’ overmatched secondary was shorthanded. Veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White couldn’t play because of a groin injury, and first-round pick Max Hairston is on IR. That made sixth-round rookie Dorian Strong the next man up. Safeties Taylor Rapp and Bishop are supposed to be leaders back there, and, aside from being 1-0 in the win column part, each suffered nights to forget. — Tim Graham, Buffalo senior writer

Ravens haven’t learned from self-inflicted mistakes​

Ravens players and coaches talked for months about how they needed to learn their lesson from their playoff loss to the Bills in January. That lesson? Stop turning the ball over and shooting themselves in the foot with mistakes. Yet, they lost another game that they had no business losing.

The Ravens coughed up a 40-25 fourth-quarter lead. The biggest miscue was Henry’s fourth-quarter fumble, but it was just one of several mistakes the Ravens made that prevented them from putting the Bills away. Kicker Tyler Loop missed an extra point. A Jaire Alexander pass interference call on fourth down led to a Bills touchdown. And the Ravens completely botched a late second-quarter sequence that resulted in the Bills making a late field goal.

It was another complete meltdown, and it’s going to be tough to take the Ravens seriously until games like this stop happening with relative frequency. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer

Baltimore’s issues getting to QB​

One of the defensive questions coming into the season was whether the Ravens had enough of a pass rush to consistently impact a quarterback. On Sunday, that answer was no.

Allen consistently had time to scan the field and go through his progressions. And when the Ravens did get pressure, Allen had a pretty easy time avoiding it and getting out of the pocket. The Ravens’ first sack didn’t come until there were under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

As good as Baltimore’s offense was, Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr will have some things to fix this week. The team wants to be a swarming and turnover-forcing defense, and it had just one sack Sunday and no forced turnovers. — Zrebiec

Ravens still going to run the football​

With the Bills coming into the game with a banged-up secondary and the Ravens missing Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard and No. 2 tight end Isaiah Likely, there was plenty of talk that Baltimore would attack Buffalo through the air. However, Sunday night again proved that it is not what the Ravens do best.

Baltimore ran off 17 unanswered points spanning the first and second quarters by leaning heavily on its running game. The Ravens rushed for 160 yards on 17 carries in the first half alone, and Henry broke the 100-yard mark well before halftime. — Zrebiec

 

[HipKat]

http://[b]https://www.nfl.com/news/...t-we-learned-from-sunday-s-games#balvsbuf[/b]

Grant Gordon's takeaways:

1. There’s no counting out Josh. When Derrick Henry sprinted untouched for a 46-yard touchdown and a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Ravens looked to have flown away with a season-opening win. Josh Allen -- and defensive tackle Ed Oliver -- had other plans. Allen, perennially one of the game’s greatest and most entertaining one-man adventures, led a rally to remember, spurring Buffalo back from the dead to the 1-0 land of the living. This game flirted with being a blowout at times, particularly after Henry’s second TD buoyed Baltimore to a 40-25 lead. Allen wouldn’t have it, though, as he turned the Bills -- who had been held to back-to-back three-and-outs after an opening-drive score -- into an unstoppable comeback machine. The Bills scored on each of their final three drives, the first an Allen 2-yard run, the second an Allen-to-Keon Coleman 10-yard score and the last a Matt Prater field goal with zeroes on the clock. Allen had more than 400 yards of offense and four total TDs. The first Sunday night of the 2025 NFL season belonged to the 2024 MVP.
   
   
2. Ravens grow cold after three quarters of magnificence. For three quarters and change, Derrick Henry ran off a Week 1 masterpiece and Lamar Jackson wasn’t far behind in his brilliant ways. They had a hand or a leg in all five of Baltimore’s touchdowns. Then it all came crashing down when Henry fumbled in the fourth quarter, and the Jackson-led offense was unable to score a point over its last three drives after scoring 40 on its first eight. Rightly or wrongly, Jackson and his squad are saddled with the narrative that they can’t win the big one. This was a Week 1 game, it wasn’t a big one. But nonetheless, the Monday morning chatter will be about a victory squandered by the Ravens in a high-profile season opener. In many ways, it matches seasons past as Baltimore has met unfortunate ends in the playoffs after impressive regular-season runs. Henry was spectacular with 169 rushing yards and two scores before his fumble. Jackson was his usual brilliant self before it all slipped away. It’s imperative that a bounceback comes in Week 2 against the Browns.
   
   
3. Keon’s coming out party? Josh Allen wasn’t the only clutch performer for the Bills. Ed Oliver had a massive forced fumble against Derrick Henry that made the comeback possible and was the highlight of a stellar evening (six tackles, sack, two QB pressures, two run stuffs). Running back James Cook had some big plays, especially in the second half. But Keon Coleman began his second season with a sterling effort, recording a career-best eight receptions for 112 yards and 10-yard fourth-quarter touchdown off a tipped pass. Coleman emerged as Allen’s go-to target in the second half to help steer the comeback. He had just one catch for 17 yards in the first half, but he came alive in the final 30 minutes.

Next Gen Stats Insights for Ravens-Bills (via NFL Pro): The Ravens had a 98% win probability with a 40-32 lead and 3:10 to go before Derrick Henry lost a fumble. Even with the takeaway, the Bills took possession and had just a 17% win probability.

NFL Research: Josh Allen led his 11th-game-winning drive since 2022 (including playoffs). Only Patrick Mahomes (18th) and Geno Smith (12) have more in that span.

 

[sukie]

What are the complaints on clock management? We won on a walk off

 

[seandelevan]

Balls
Josh Allen…end of list

Goats
Everyone else

Seriously thank god for fucking Josh Allen….without him this team might be borderline trash.

 

[Victor7]

Balls.

I mean. Really? The GOAT Josh Allen. What else is there to say? I love that man more than any man should love another that he doesn't even know. What an absolute beast. Let that be a reminder that this team is Josh Allen and 52 more dudes.

Ed Oliver. Kinda weird to mention a guy that was part of a DL that allowed 3 billion rushing yards but Mr. Oliver was a wrecking ball. A one man show.

Cook. Solid game.

Keon. Clutch, reliable

Palmer. See above

Prater. Did anyone feel confident in him more than ever than with Bass? I did.

OL. Allen kept mostly upright.

Rookie TE. What a clutch grab man.

Drive before the half. A thing of beauty.

The absolute beauty of annoying Ravens fans having to live with that after an entire off season of their whining and crying about the damn MVP. To all the Ravens players that all game long shit talked Allen with MVP trash talk. Fuck you all. Bend the knee to the best fucking player in the world. Did I say fuck you all already?



Goats.

Sean Michael McDermott. Another brutal showing from the "defensive guru" and his "elite defense". He's lucky he was saved by the only man that matters. You send Josh and Hailee something nice Sean. You are nothing without him. You cant stop anyone that matters. Resign. Please. I beg you.

Joe Brady at times. Hard to call out a guy after scoring 41. But really that was Josh being Josh. Did it not feel like they were playing ultra conservative after the 1st drive? .... screens galore (the ones that have never worked), 3 straight runs, the play calling on all 2pt conversions was iffy as well. Who else is tired of the play they always go to on a big down? .. you know the one where Shakir or Ty go in motion and sort of circle around Allen at the snap. I know I am.

Rapp - Bishop. Hot damn what garbage. I mean. Good lord what a performance.

Bosa. Got better as the night went by but the man lost contain all night long.

Refs the weekly mandatory goat for the 2pt conversion where Keon is PUSHED oob and then gets flagged for "going" oob. Spotting Allen short on a slide that was nowhere near short also cost us a drive. Its amazing how bad they can be.

ST. Saw so many people praising them for the fire drill FG. You don't get a pat in the back from me. That was 30 seconds. More than enough. In fact you get a GOAT for allowing Humphrey (was it Hamilton?) to go untouched and come about 1 foot from blocking that kick and ruining an Allen masterpiece. Do better jerkoffs.

 

[HipKat]

The Buffalo Bills gave Joey Bosa plenty of run in his debut with the team Sunday.

Bosa played 35 of 51 defensive snaps (69%) in the team’s 41-40 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium. Bosa joined fellow edge rusher Greg Rousseau in playing 35 defensive snaps, the same number as starting defensive tackles Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones.

That was bit more of a reliance on the starting unit than the Bills have desired to use in the past. The second defensive line of edge rushers Javon Solomon and A.J. Epenesa and rookie tackles T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker played an almost identical snap count. Solomon, Epenesa and Sanders played 16 snaps, while Walker played 13.

Here are four more observations from the snap counts following the Bills’ Week 1 win:

1. James Cook topped 50% of the offensive snaps. The team’s No. 1 running back played 48 offensive snaps, which was 56% of the team’s total of 85 offensive snaps. Plenty was made of Cook’s snap count heading into the season, so it will be interesting to monitor that number on a weekly basis.

2. Tyrell Shavers carved out a role. The receiver was not targeted in playing 17 offensive snaps (20%), but he played 22 snaps on special teams (63%), including every one on punt coverage, punt return, kick coverage and kick return.

3. Dawson Knox played more than Dalton Kincaid. The Bills’ top two tight ends saw their snaps distributed this way: Knox played 48 snaps (56%) to 43 snaps for Kincaid (51%).

4. Dorian Williams had a busy night. In addition to playing 17 defensive snaps (33%), Williams tied for the team lead with fellow linebacker Joe Andreessen by playing 28 snaps on special teams (80%).

Player of the game: Josh Allen​

Could there be any other choice? Offensive coordinator Joe Brady raved Monday afternoon about Allen’s performance against the Ravens. Brady sounded just as impressed with Allen’s mental processing of the game than anything he did physically – which should be terrifying to defenses across the NFL. Allen threw for 251 yards … in the fourth quarter! It feels like every week, he’s setting another NFL record.

Stat of the game: 277-1​

That is now the record of teams who have rushed for 235 yards and scored 40 points. The Ravens became the first team in NFL history to lose a game doing so.

Quote of the game​

“It took everybody there. I'm just proud of our team for staying in it. No one on the sideline blinked. I mean, down 15 points … fans leaving the stadium, you got to play this game for 60 minutes, and that's a really good outfit that we just played.” – Bills quarterback Josh Allen

 

[Banshee_Sioux]

Make your own threads.
Copy pasting is lazy.

 

[HipKat]

Make your own threads.
Copy pasting is lazy.

STFU. Posting news articles is what I do.
Don't like it?? Delete your account

 

[HipKat]

What’s going on with Bills defense and where do they go from here?

The Bills defense has a lot to work on before meeting another opponent with a powerful offense.

www.nytimes.com

​

After a full offseason of waiting, the Bills delivered an instant classic-type victory over the Ravens. The 41-40 primetime win yielded a lot of offense, and the national stage for quarterback Josh Allen to re-announce the Bills as contenders in 2025.​

​

Even though the Bills won the game and were facing one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, it also signaled to upcoming opponents that their defense could be a work in progress this season. So, as the Bills prepare for another daunting rushing opponent in the Jets in Week 2, what can we learn from the first game that can influence trends to look for this weekend?​

​

After studying the All-22 from their first game of the season, let’s dig into the defense and where they go from here.​

What the heck happened to the defense on Sunday night?​

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If the Bills didn’t have Allen putting together one outstanding fourth-quarter drive after another, the conversation around the entire game would definitely be far different. It’s not that the defense is getting a pass, but the sometimes intense spotlight the NFL provides isn’t shone directly on them. But inside the building, make no mistake, the Bills are in all-hands-on-deck mode to get themselves situated on defense this week. Head coach Sean McDermott said Monday that he started his weekly film study with special teams and offense so he could spend the rest of his time dicing up what happened on defense. They are fully aware that surrendering points, yardage, and explosive plays can be debilitating for a roster that isn’t commanded by the reigning NFL MVP — and even he had to pull a rabbit out of a hat with long odds just to get the victory.​

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The Bills knew there would be some growing pains with some of their youth on defense, but what made matters worse were the regrettable plays from some of their most trusted defenders. The safeties took the brunt of some of the social media ire, and for the most part, the criticism was deserved. But in some ways, they are the scapegoats of a much bigger problem. The middle of the defense was a massive weakness throughout the game. You can point to specific problems at all three levels of the middle of the defense to see why the Ravens had no issues moving the ball down the field in whatever way they wanted.​

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It started with the defensive line, particularly at defensive tackle, with everyone not named Ed Oliver. The film revealed Oliver as a high-impact defender who played a critical role in the victory regardless of the situation. Even on some of the big Ravens plays, Oliver was closing in and would have made a play had there been a bit more resistance in front of the ball carrier. The trio of DaQuan Jones, T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker had some difficulties. Jones was far more of a hold-in-place player than someone who made a play. Sanders struggled against the run in his first game without many pass-rushing chances to show the strength of his game. And Walker played sparingly, though the offensive line walled him off a pair of times, forcing him to lunge at a runner on one occasion.​

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Because there was such an emphasis to slow down what was happening up the middle on these rushing attempts, all four of the defensive ends — Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa and Javon Solomon — got caught cheating toward the middle to stop the run between the tackles, only for Lamar Jackson to pull the ball and run outside with the vacated space.​

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The linebackers were a pretty big letdown, perhaps the biggest of all the defending levels on Sunday. Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano got caught well away from where the ball was going on several occasions. That problem was exacerbated by an overall failure to get themselves off blocks. Sometimes those blocks would hold in place, but far too often, Bernard and Milano would get pushed around by those block attempts, freeing up more space for the ball carrier to roam — whether it was to the inside or outside of the tackles. The combination of struggles by the defensive tackles and linebackers put pressure far too often on the safeties to bail out the rest of the defense.​

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That doesn’t excuse the safety play, however. Cole Bishop and Taylor Rapp had far too many issues with securing a tackle and in the angles they took to ball carriers on occasion. Rapp also took the bait a bit too often when in the deep middle, which might be part of a bigger conversation down the line, considering both Rapp and Bishop seem at their most comfortable when they’re closer to the line of scrimmage. Regardless, the safety position is clearly going to be a work in progress this season, so the Bills need the rest of their trusted defense to help that starting duo as much as possible.​

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It’s one thing just to write what the problems were, but it’s best to show a couple of prime examples about how the middle of the Bills; defense let them down so consistently on Sunday. The first was on the 49-yard run by Derrick Henry in the first half.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

As the play starts, the Bills look perfectly set up to contain the oncoming Henry run. Rousseau had the edge contained, Jones peeked toward the outside shoulder of the guard that even forced Henry to look at an inside cutback, which Oliver took away. On top of that, Bernard had the inside track, while both safeties were closing in to hem in Henry from whichever way he chose to go. If you look at this image, the instant thought would be good defense, and a minimal gain for Henry. That’s when it all went up in flames.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Just a few frames later, Henry decides to run Jones’ way because Oliver was ready to bring him down, but Jones could not get off the block — even with the leverage — to slow down Henry. At the same time, Rousseau gets knocked down on the edge, creating more space, Bernard gets decked to the ground by a block and Bishop changes his direction to help outside the numbers, despite having both Milano and Christian Benford in support out there. The seas are about to part.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

At this point, both Rousseau and Jones are effectively out of the play. Bernard got up, but his blocker is about to push him further out of the way. Bishop’s move to the outside gave receiver Rashod Bateman the leverage to shield him from the inside, and the free offensive linemen were there to take on the hard-charging Benford. Even still, Rapp, coming from the right side, has a free run to meet Henry, which would effectively be their last chance to keep it hemmed in.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Rapp went after Henry’s ankles and Henry predictably bounced off the attempted tackle without losing any speed whatsoever. By this point, Bernard and Bishop are well out of the play, meaning it’s off to the races for Henry.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Even on a bad rep, it is worth giving some credit. Rookie cornerback Dorian Strong raced over from the other side of the field as the last line of defense. Rather than lunging at Henry’s legs or trying to get immediately physical with the most physical, punishing runner in the league, Strong let his game prep do the talking. Henry is a serial stiff arm enthusiast, so rather than leading with his body, Strong waited for Henry to make a move and then swatted Henry’s arm away.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Now with Henry off balance, Strong closed in and brought the runner down 15 yards shy of the end zone. Despite that positive piece, the Bills were in an initially perfect position to not let that play get to that point, and it all went haywire.​

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Let’s head to the next example — a long Henry touchdown run later in the game.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

The play begins as a normal handoff to Henry, but the Bills were off to a bad start this time. Jones was getting moved toward the left too easily, while Sanders was a quarter of a second slow reacting to the snap, which led him to have no chance to get through the wall of blockers. It effectively left Bernard on an island to beat the blocker to the spot and to force Henry wide toward the sea of four defenders.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Instead, Bernard gets caught and turned by the Ravens’ offensive lineman. That, along with neither defensive tackle in shouting distance, gave Henry a ridiculously large rushing lane by NFL standards. The last hope on the play was Rapp, who quickly shifted his weight and was ready to attack.​

(Courtesy: NFL

At this point of the rep, Rapp thought he had Henry where he wanted him, with the safety coming downhill to initiate physical contact. If Rapp made that contact, it likely results in either a tackle or slowing Henry down enough to allow for help to get there.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Rapp, after initially running downhill, misjudged Henry’s acceleration and overall speed, which turned it into a mad dash. At this point, he was not committed to trying to beat Henry to the spot.​

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(Courtesy: NFL+)

Rapp didn’t beat Henry to the spot. The poor angle, along with the bad rep from Jones, Sanders and Bernard gave Henry an untouched path to the end zone.​

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Those examples, along with plenty of others, show that there are many things the Bills need to clean up ahead of Week 2.​

Ok, so how to fix it for Week 2?​

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In many ways, the only other time they are going to see a collection of offensive talent, along with the blocking up front, will be later in the season when they play the Eagles, and possibly in the playoffs if they have to take on the Ravens again. That’s the good news. And by then, their inexperienced players will have a double-digit amount of starts, barring injury, which will help in trying to make sure there isn’t another performance like this.​

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But make no mistake, the Bills are not just chalking up what happened on Sunday night to facing a talented offense and it just being ‘one of those days.’ Some of those schematic and game situation things will have to be ironed out over time with more experience. The emphasis for Bernard and the linebackers will be to trust what they’re seeing rather than overthinking the play — especially against an opponent that challenges the defense up the middle, to the edges and vertically like the Ravens.​

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McDermott has long stressed fundamentals, and if there was a specific game — maybe a two-game stretch — in which those defensive fundamentals weren’t where they needed to be, he would dedicate a good amount of practice time to reinforcing them. In this instance, the team must be better at block shedding and wrap-up tackling. Block shedding and getting tied up in traffic have been issues for Bernard at different stages of his career, but he was able to improve near the end of last season. The missed tackles are a non-starter. There were too many instances of big plays that could have been prevented had the initial tackle attempt been successful, and at the very least, a more thorough attempt would have helped slow the ball carrier down.​

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But if there’s one comforting thing for Bills fans after that defensive performance, it’s a regression to the mean. Many of the worst defensive showings on Sunday came from players who have an established baseline of ability, over multiple seasons, that put them somewhere between average-to-good starters. Most notably, that includes Jones, Bernard, Milano and Rapp, who were three of the more common players that struggled against the Ravens. Although Rapp has had games where he has struggled in the past, he progressed in the second half of the 2024 season. On the flip side, with players like Bishop, Sanders, Walker and Solomon, getting experience and evolving will need to be the keys for them to access similar baselines. There may be more growing pains ahead, but the hope is they’re playing their best football by the playoffs.​

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Players with 15 or fewer snaps:​

DT Deone Walker (13), WR Elijah Moore (12), FB Reggie Gilliam (12), RB Ray Davis (10), NCB Cam Lewis (9), IOL Alec Anderson (3), QB Mitchell Trubisky (0), OT Ryan Van Demark (0), IOL Kendrick Green (0), LB Joe Andreessen (0), LB Shaq Thompson (0), CB Ja’Marcus Ingram (0), S Damar Hamlin (0)​

Season Grades will be added after Week 3​

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How the standards work​

When the All-22 film becomes available, we’ll go through and watch every player on every play as many times as necessary to assess letter grades. It is a subjective analysis, and it’s important to note we do not know the play calls and full responsibilities. The grades stem from technique, effort and presumed liability.​

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The study accounts only for players who take a snap on offense or defense. Players with fewer than 15 snaps — unless they significantly impact the game — will not factor into weekly rankings. The grades range from an ‘A’ (a perfect 4.00 GPA) to ‘F’ (0.00 GPA). There is no ‘A+’ in this grading system. Season-long grades will be tallied and documented, with a single game’s grade weighted based on how much the player was on the field in a given week.​

 

[Banshee_Sioux]

STFU. Posting news articles is what I do.
Don't like it?? Delete your account

In order to attract anyone, you need to give it personality and interaction. Posting an article is just cold and lazy.

 

[Flan]

I have to put Bosa on the list - He kept collapsing to the interior and let lamar run end around several times. I have got to believe h has contain on the play.

 

[Flan]

can't disagree to much, but I might have lowered the special teams a bit (B+) with the poor punting. I am guessing if we graded on just the 4th quarter the grades would be much higher.

 

[sukie]

So glad to get that Dub. That game caused so much anxiety

 

[herodotus]

 

[HipKat]

In order to attract anyone, you need to give it personality and interaction. Posting an article is just cold and lazy.

Don't tell me how to run my site. You want original posts?? Start making your own.