Plays that shaped the game: Ed Oliver's punch out begins Bills' unprecedented win
It was an inconsistent game for the Bills' defensive line, but Oliver was a bright spot.
Roger Rosengarten was in trouble as soon as the ball was snapped.
The Baltimore Ravens’ right tackle wrapped his right arm around Ed Oliver to try to stop the Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle from getting to Derrick Henry in the backfield, but Rosengarten didn’t stand a chance.
Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver tackles Ravens running back Derrick Henry during the third quarter Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Oliver barreled through the 6-foot-5, 316-pound lineman, collided with the 252-pound running back and ripped the ball away from Henry in the fourth quarter Sunday night at Highmark Stadium.
Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard recovered and their MVP quarterback, Josh Allen, used the turnover to complete a come-from-behind, 41-40, win over the Ravens to open the 2025 season.
“What we talked about before we went back out on the field was we need a takeaway,” Bernard said. “We knew what type of offense they were going to come out in and that was really going to be our only shot to get the ball back to our offense as fast as possible. Ed did it. He had a crazy game.”
Three plays later, Allen dove over the line for a 1-yard touchdown run. His defense forced another punt, and 41-year-old kicker Matt Prater kicked the game-winning 32-yard field goal to complete the comeback.
Oliver looked unstoppable at times. Earlier in the game, he used a vicious inside move to beat Rosengarten and tackle Henry in the backfield. Oliver had six tackles, including three for a loss. He and linebacker Matt Milano were the only Bills to sack Lamar Jackson. It was an inconsistent game for the Bills’ defensive line, but Oliver was a bright spot.
“It’s the culture here,” said Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa. “They’ve been in games like this before. They know it’s never over until it’s over and all we needed was one big play or one turnover. Ed came out and made an unbelievable play. It was on from there.”
Deep ball
Christian Benford had DeAndre Hopkins covered near the right sideline as Jackson dropped back to pass with the Ravens leading 27-19 and under two minutes to play in the third quarter.Benford, the Bills’ top cornerback, shadowed the Ravens receiver until Hopkins appeared to use his left hand to push off. The 12-year veteran created enough separation that he was able to use his right hand to haul in Jackson’s pass for a 29-yard touchdown that gave Baltimore a 15-point lead. Jackson completed passes of 13, 20, 15, 39, 23, 36 and 29 yards.
“Tell him do it again if we play them again,” said Benford.
The Bills were 24th in passing yards allowed per game in 2024, but they gave up the fifth-fewest passes of 20-plus yards.
Great escape
Bosa and Greg Rousseau almost had Jackson.The Ravens’ quarterback kept running to try to get away from the Bills’ edge rushers. Bosa dove at his legs and missed. Rousseau slid to avoid his teammate. Oliver took a bad angle and got pushed toward the sideline. Jackson scrambled for 19 yards to turn what could have been a fourth-and-25 into a first down. According to Next Gen Stats, Jackson traveled 75.9 yards on the scramble. He is responsible for four of the five longest scramble runs by total distance traveled over the last two seasons.
The third-down conversion move Baltimore past midfield and, on the next play, Henry ran 46 yards for a touchdown.
“I made one wrong step and he punished me for it,” said Bosa. “After that, I had a little negative reaction, but I realized we had time. … I’m proud of everybody. It’s 60 minutes and we played all 60.”
Finesse
Keon Coleman isn’t known for precise route running.He was a raw prospect with a basketball background who needed time to learn how to play wide receiver in the NFL. The 2024 second-round draft pick showed during training camp that he’s gotten much better at beating cornerbacks with a quick move near the line. Not only did Coleman show it in practice against teammates, but he burned multiple Chicago Bears cornerbacks at their joint practice last month.
“No one on our sideline blinked,” said Allen.
Ravens veteran cornerback Jaire Alexander was Coleman’s latest victim. Alexander played too far off the line, allowing Coleman to quickly cut to the middle of the field and catch a pass from Josh Allen on a slant route. Coleman nearly broke away for what could have been the game-winning touchdown, but Alexander tripped him up. Prater trotted onto the field and kicked the field goal to win it.
Coleman had eight catches for 112 yards and a 10-yard touchdown. He wasn’t the intended receiver, but Allen’s throw was tipped and Coleman dove to catch the ball.