What a comeback! Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have pulled off an unlikely comeback as they scored 17 unanswered points AT Baltimore to beat the Ravens 23-20 and stay atop the AFC.
Well, Buffalo has now proven that they not only have the ability to dominate teams, but also can overcome large deficits to win games they should have lost. And they should have lost today as the Ravens were all over them in that first half.
For all of the criticism the Ravens defense gets (which was well deserved later on), they were shutting down the Bills offense early on. Allen barely was able to string together two straight incompletions, let alone scoring drives.
Allen was throwing for 50% in that first half, and he only finished the game with 19/36, 213 passing yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Not a terrible stat line, but also not great either.
Plus, WRs Isaiah McKenzie and Jamison Crowder both went down with injuries and did not return, which is just another crack in the Bills foundation. This team may be a ‘super team’, so to speak, but if it sustains enough injuries, the Bills will struggle to keep their lead over the Dolphins in the AFC East.
Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson also didn’t have his best of games passing, as he went 20/29, 144 passing yards, 1 TD, and 2 INTS, but he was running all over Buffalo’s defense as he finished with 11 CAR for 77 yards and 1 TD.
Personally, I think John Harbough limits Jackson’s passing game with their short-passing scheme, while the receivers around him (aside from Mark Andrews) aren’t the best.
In order for Jackson to achieve his true potential, he needs guys like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle who can stretch the defense and run for as many yards after the catch as they would with the pass itself. It has worked for Tua so far, and he’s not even a fifth of the quarterback that Lamar Jackson is.
Anyway, all of the strides made by the Ravens defense in that first half was all for naught as they let up a sloppy passing touchdown in the dying seconds of the first half to make the game 20-10.
This Ravens defense needed to keep Allen and the Bills out of the endzone as all they did was give the best team in the NFL the motivation and determination to mount a 17-point comeback.
Starting with Allen’s 3rd Quarter TD run, the Bills added another field goal in the third as the Baltimore offense failed to score any points with the Bills secondary picking off Jackson twice in the final half.
Like I said earlier, Harbough was far too conservative with his play calls as the Bills defense was able to adapt and stop the running game. And, once that happened, instead of turning to Lamar’s passing skills, Harbough kept trying to run into gaps that no longer existed.
What’s that old saying about insanity? Doing the same thing and expecting a different result each time. I’m not saying that Harbough is insane, but the saying does fit…
As for Baltimore’s defense, they have proven me wrong as I thought their win over the Patriots last week would propel them into a Top-10 defense that we expect from a Baltimore team, but no.
No, they have proven the likes of Stephen A. Smith right as they were atrocious against the pass in the second half.
Out of Allen’s 19 completed passes, at least 15 of them were in the final two quarters.
Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but not that much of one. It was like the Buffalo players rubbed baby oil all over themselves during halftime as the Ravens just couldn’t bring them down. You’d have thought that Steffon Diggs, Dawson Knox, and Devin Singletary had Walter Payton and Barry Sanders morphed into them.
Still, the worst part to the Ravens second half gameplan was not their defense’s woes with tackling, or even their over reliance on running…but John Harbaugh himself.
Yup, John Harbaugh and his ‘analytical play calls’ cost the Ravens this game today.
With the game tied at 20 with about 4 minutes left, and on 4th down, Harbaugh decided to go for it from the 2-yard line instead of the chip-shot, go ahead field goal.
Obviously, the play completely blows up in Jackson and Harbaugh’s face as the Baltimore QB is forced to throw an INT to Jordan Pryor.
And, with the time remaining, Buffalo drives down the field and scores their own chip-shot, game-winning field goal from the 2-yard line to win the game and sink Baltimore to their 5th straight home loss.
As for Buffalo, this win was a great testament to their character and fortitude as a team as they not only overcame a 17-point deficient, but also multiple injuries on offense.
Reversely, this loss was a huge blow to Baltimore’s chances of a playoff spot as they may be 2-2 on the season, but they must feel winless in their minds. They have now blown yet another multiple-point lead at home, which has to have such detriment to the mentality of these Baltimore players.
Their seasons not over yet, but they need to start winning these close games or else they’ll suffer their second straight season out of the playoffs.
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