Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Baltimore Ravens
News sports reporter Katherine Fitzgerald lists four keys for the Bills to beat the Ravens, including the need to shut down running back Derrick Henry.
1. Get ready to rumble. The Bills open the season needing to shut down running back Derrick Henry. That’s no small task. “He’s a tough person to contain. Tough runner,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of Henry. “There’s very few who have been able to do that. You try and put a plan in place to do that. There’s a lot of people who have tried and haven’t been able to do it, so saying it is one thing and doing it is another. It takes all 11 guys on the field to be able to do it.” In Henry’s first season with the Ravens, he ran for 1,921 yards – second most in his career – on 325 carries with 16 touchdowns.
Ravens running back Derrick Henry runs the ball against Bills safety Damar Hamlin, left, last season.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
2. Be ready for anything. Henry can certainly run, but linebacker Terrel Bernard and the Bills' defense knows the Ravens are multidimensional. “We know they're a great team, physical, obviously, they got a bunch of playmakers in their skill positions, and then they're really good up front, too,” Bernard said. “So, they're a really well-rounded offense. They get the ball to a lot of different guys. … It’s really a couple of different styles of offenses that they can really get into. … And then leading into Sunday night is really understanding what type of offense we're playing, whether it's going to be old school downhill run game, or they're going to spread you out and throw the ball around.”
3. Trust your offense. The Bills will need to put up points to match the Ravens, especially with the Buffalo defense dealing with both injuries and suspensions. Quarterback Josh Allen is well equipped for any matchup, but he’ll be debuting some new wide receivers. A number of receivers missed time during camp – Khalil Shakir most notably – missing important time to build or re-up rapport with Allen. The good news? Running back James Cook has looked solid as of late, Allen thinks. “I think having Jimbo back and working the way that he's worked, he looks fantastic. I know he had a really good year last year, but I feel very confident in his game right now and how hard he practices,” Allen said.
4. Find any edge in special teams. The Bills have a new punter, a new special teams coordinator, and they will be without kicker Tyler Bass, who was placed on injured reserve with a left hip/groin injury on Friday. Kicker Matt Prater, signed to the practice squad just this week, is up next. With all those moving parts, the Bills will need to be sharp on special teams. Prater missed the bulk of last season with a torn meniscus in his planting foot – how quickly can he knock the rust off? In what could easily be a tight game, every point (and extra point) will count. Punter Brad Robbins will need to make an impact in his Bills debut.