Sometimes the better team does not always win.
The Buffalo Bills are headed back to the AFC Championship game as their nail-biting 27-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday set up another win-or-go-home date with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. This divisional-round contest was a battle of the two favorites for NFL MVP this season with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, and it was Allen who came away from the prize fight victorious.
“What a complete win,” Allen said. “All year, this team has heard we’ve got no talent, we’re too small, we can’t stop the run, we’re not good enough to compete. We’ve just put our heads down and worked hard. I’m so proud of our defense. I’m so proud of our offense and special teams.”
In the first half, Allen depended on his athleticism and used his legs to score two rushing touchdowns while Jackson uncharacteristically turned the ball over twice. It allowed the Bills to jump out to a double-digit lead. Jackson did a complete 180 and turned his play around in the second half, and even engineered an eight-play, 88-yard touchdown drive that gave the Ravens a golden opportunity to tie the game at 27 apiece, with a two-point conversion with 1:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the normally sure handed Mark Andrews dropped a wide-open catch, piling on to what was a nightmare quarter for him, as the tight end also fumbled away possession on the previous series.
“We know what they are. They’re the perennial of what you want to be in the NFL,” Allen said. “You’ve got to beat them to get past them. So, you know, we’re going to enjoy this one tonight.”
Jackson completed 18 of 25 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns and one pick, but also lost a fumble. Although Derrick Henry was Baltimore’s leading rusher with 84 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, he did not receive enough touches, while wide receivers Isaiah Likely and Rashod Bateman did their job, catching a touchdown apiece. Allen did not have his best statistical game, completing 16 of 22 passes for 127 yards. However, he did rush for 20 yards and two touchdowns. Also, he played mistake-free ball. James Cook added 67 yards rushing on 17 carries, while Khalil Shakir caught six passes for a team-high 67 yards.
“We got to get over this, because we’re right there,” said Jackson, who dropped to a head scratching 1-5 when committing a turnover in the postseason. “I’m tired of being right there. We need to punch in that ticket.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Ravens outgained the Bills in total yards, 416 to 273, but the critical stat had to do with mistakes, as the Ravens lost the all-important turnover battle, 3-0.
“It was uncharacteristic to have turnovers like that. There were opportunities for us to not have those, but we had them,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “You try to bounce back from them in the course of the game. You can’t take them back.”
Defensively, the Bills attacked Jackson with exotic blitzes that proved to be effective, especially in the first half when they built up a double-digit lead. Over the first two quarters, the Bills blitzed Jackson on 46.7% of his drop backs and were able to sack him twice. That stifled a large portion of Baltimore’s explosiveness on offense. When blitzed, Jackson only completed 8 of his 14 passes for 132 yards and an interception. When he was not blitzed, he was 10 of 11 for 122 yards and two touchdowns. On top of applying pressure onto Jackson, they contained Henry for the most part, holding him to 21 yards rushing in the first half and 84 yards overall.
They also were able to force three turnovers in the game, including back-to-back takeaways in the first half. Those three turnovers resulted in 10 total points scored by Buffalo, proving to be a huge factor in what was a two-point victory. That uncanny ability to take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes and play a clean game themselves is the defining stat of this playoff showdown.
“The mindset is what it’s all about,” coach Sean McDermott said. “These guys believed, played to win, and you find a way, right?”
As for Allen, he did not do anything spectacular in this game but executed at an elite level. He led methodical scoring drives throughout the evening and did most of his damage with his legs (two touchdowns).
As stated previously, Baltimore outgained the Bills 416-273, converted seven of its 10 third-down situations and averaged 7.3 yards per play. Each one of those stats overwhelmed the Bills. However, where the Ravens failed to take care of business and why they are ultimately going home was giveaways. They surrendered the ball to the Bills three times in the playoff matchup and could not create any turnovers of their own.
After a fantastic opening drive that resulted in a touchdown, Jackson gave the ball to the Bills on consecutive possessions, throwing an interception after some miscommunication with Bateman and then fumbling the ball after a botched snap. That second turnover led to Allen’s second rushing touchdown of the day and put Buffalo out in front for the rest of the game.
While Jackson’s turnovers were the glaring story in the first half, Andrews’ horrendous struggles headlined the second. He committed the Ravens third and final turnover of the night after catching a 16-yard pass midway through the fourth quarter. After turning upfield, he had the ball punched out by linebacker Terrel Bernard. At the time, Buffalo held a tenuous five-point lead, 24-19, so instead of cutting into that deficit, the Ravens gave the ball away. The Bills went on to add to their lead with a Tyler Bass field goal.
“We were motivated all week, man,” said linebacker Bernard.” “We put a lot of work into it. And to see the results start to pay off right now, I can’t say enough about this team.”
When Baltimore marched down the field late and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to two, Jackson looked in Andrews’ direction for what would have been the game-tying two-point conversion. Andrew was wide open, got both hands on the rock, but dropped it, effectively clinching the game for Buffalo.
The Buffalo Bills will advance to the AFC Championship game and will face their nemesis, the Kansas City Chiefs, next Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens will attempt to pick up the pieces and head into their long offseason.
