[Baltimore Sun] Instant analysis from Ravens’ 35-10 win over Buffalo Bills in Week 4
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Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 35-10 win over the Buffalo Bills in Sunday night’s Week 4 game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
Brian Wacker, reporter: John Harbaugh said last week that the Ravens found their identity in running all over the Dallas Cowboys for their first win of the season. Sunday night, they leaned into it.
Derrick Henry might not get the ball 30 times a game, but against teams that are prone to getting gashed on the ground, it made all the sense in the world to tap the bruising, speedy back again. Doing so allowed quarterback Lamar Jackson to be efficient in the passing game, and a big lead allowed the defense, which played a ton of dime against Josh Allen, to lock in on the quarterback.
Childs Walker, reporter: Finally, the Ravens dropped the hammer all the way on a top opponent, mixing brilliantly balanced offense with tenacious coverage on defense. Derrick Henry put his stamp on Ravens history in style, taking his first carry a team-record 87 yards. His opening touchdown kicked off a near-perfect first half of offense in which the Ravens kept the Bills off-balance with play-action and motion. Lamar Jackson was sharp, completing 11 of 13 passes before halftime and floating a beautiful 19-yard touchdown strike to put the Ravens up 21-3. Jackson’s fumble that cut short another potential scoring drive was the only blemish.
On defense, the Ravens did a brilliant job getting Josh Allen off the field, holding Buffalo to 1 of 8 on third down in the first half. Their dime packages in passing situations worked beautifully, leaving Allen with few targets as he scurried away from pressure. The Ravens seemed in danger of losing momentum after Allen completed a remarkable 52-yard throw on the run to set up a touchdown that cut the lead to 21-10. But the Ravens kept chasing him, stripping Allen to set up a touchdown drive late in the third quarter. Hill’s twisting, spinning 17-yard gain on third down was the key play on that march, and he played a spectacular game of his own in Henry’s substantial shadow.
Mike Preston, columnist: For the second straight week, the Ravens physically dominated an opponent with a strong running game, and that’s a major plus for a team in search of an offensive identity. Does this mean the offensive line has become a strength? No, not yet, but at least the group has improved. That opens up the play-action passing game, as well as the run-pass option plays off the corner.
Defensively, the Ravens didn’t collapse like they had in the previous two weeks. Against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Ravens allowed two field goals and a touchdown in a 12-minute span during the fourth quarter, and last week they allowed three touchdowns during a six-minute stretch in the final period against Dallas. Despite major concerns because of two straight losses to open the season, the Ravens still have a good shot at winning the AFC North. The Pittsburgh Steelers will eventually falter and both Cleveland and Cincinnati will continue to lose. Original thoughts about this team have not changed.
There are no super teams in the AFC, and the championship still goes through Kansas City and the Chiefs. But few teams can match the Ravens physically.
Sam Cohn, reporter: With about 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Ravens holding a commanding 25-point lead, the M&T Bank Stadium speakers started blaring, “every little thing, is gonna be all right.” That’s a pretty good indication of the how fan base was feeling. No lead seems entirely safe with the 2024 Ravens, but their performance in prime-time against one of the best teams in football was a statement.
Derrick Henry was masterful, highlighted by his record-setting 87-yard touchdown run on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage. Fellow running back Justice Hill continues to prove he’s a more-than-serviceable backup, Lamar Jackson got MVP chants and the defense played a clean game. The lone Bills touchdown came after an improbable throw from Josh Allen in which he scrambled for 32.7 yards before flinging the ball downfield for a 52-yard pickup. In other words, they got one the hard way. Above all, it was exactly the type of win Baltimore needed in crawling back to .500.
C.J. Doon, editor: Tom Brady called Lamar Jackson “The Eraser” for the star quarterback’s ability to overcome a negative play with his unique talent. Tonight, that nickname should apply to outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy and running back Justice Hill after their key plays helped erase what was shaping up to be another second-half collapse.
With Buffalo threatening to turn what was once a 21-3 deficit into a one-score game, Van Noy forced a fumble by Josh Allen that Baltimore recovered and turned into a touchdown six plays later. But that score probably doesn’t happen if Hill doesn’t shake out of a tackle on a short pass on third-and-7 and turn it into a 17-yard gain. If he falls behind the sticks, maybe Justin Tucker kicks a field goal to make it 24-10, or coach John Harbaugh elects to go for it deep in Buffalo territory and the Ravens are stopped. Neither outcome is the end of the world, given the score at the time. But momentum is a tricky thing to measure, and those two plays felt like a big swing back in Baltimore’s favor.
This win is a bit of a Rorschach test for your feelings about the Ravens. Look at the box score and the YouTube highlights, and you’re going to think Baltimore is a juggernaut and a sure-fire Super Bowl contender — and you might not be wrong. Derrick Henry looked incredible, the offensive line was magnificent with rookie Roger Rosengarten at right tackle and Jackson was efficient and explosive again. First-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr stifled counterpart Joe Brady, who was the talk of the league for what his “everybody eats” offense did through three weeks.
But until the Ravens went ahead 28-10 late in the third quarter, the game still felt in the balance. Maybe that’s just because Allen was on the opposing sideline, or maybe it’s the scattered penalties and mistakes. Even Henry’s goal-line plunge early in the fourth quarter to seal the victory resulted in a fumble that fullback Patrick Ricard fortunately recovered for a touchdown. Why did Jackson find the need to flip head over heels on a run and lose the ball with a 21-3 lead? Will tight end Mark Andrews ever make another catch? And, oh yeah, does Harbaugh know how timeouts work? Maybe it’s too harsh, but this team is still hard to trust with a big lead after all those fourth-quarter collapses over the past few years.
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Tim Schwartz, editor: That looked like the Ravens team we saw dominate good teams down the stretch last season. We really weren’t sure how Derrick Henry would fit in this scheme when they signed him in the offseason and with the offensive line in flux, and it really wasn’t clear after a lackluster season opener, but, man, that guy fits like a glove in the backfield with Lamar Jackson. What is a defense to do? Jackson is too explosive around the edges, and you can’t load the box with the playmakers the Ravens have at tight end and out wide. Teams will have to pick their poison. Then there’s Baltimore’s defense, which is the first this season to hold Buffalo under 30 points. Kyle Hamilton was all over the field. Marlon Humphrey is back to his Pro Bowl level. Kyle Van Noy won’t stop sacking quarterbacks at age 33. This team is dangerous.
Bennett Conlin, editor: These are the Ravens I expected to see this season. After a strange opening three weeks that featured late-game meltdowns against Las Vegas and Dallas, Baltimore finally looked more like last year’s juggernaut. The Ravens dismantled a good Buffalo team, jumping out to a hot start and not letting up.
John Harbaugh’s team maintaining a double-digit lead might be the most noteworthy aspect of a game filled with plenty of positive notes. Running back Derrick Henry topped 200 total yards and found the end zone twice, and his backfield mate Justice Hill led the Ravens with 78 receiving yards. How’s that for a 1-2 punch?
Defensively, the Ravens strung together their most complete performance of the season, stifling an offense averaging an NFL-best 37.3 points per game entering Sunday. The Ravens’ defensive front terrorized Buffalo’s offensive line, while the linebackers and secondary delivered punishing hits fitting of Baltimore’s identity. The Ravens played well from start to finish, not allowing Josh Allen and Buffalo to mount a serious comeback.
Sunday night’s version of the Ravens can win a Super Bowl.
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