Baltimore Ravens vs Buffalo Bills
This was billed as the game with the most rushing yards between the two starting quarterbacks ever. It makes sense, then, that the result was 49 total rushing yards between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. This one was a slug from start to finish and the wind seemed to significantly slow down both passing attacks. Buffalo did a good job containing the Baltimore rushing attack, but the Ravens capitalized on a Buffalo fumble and took a 10-3 lead into the half. Baltimore scored on a huge pass play on their first possession of the second half to make it 17-3 and they never looked back. The final score was 24-17.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
- Lamar Jackson: 16/25, 145 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack | 9 carries, 43 yards
Don’t let the three touchdowns fool you: this was an ugly one. Lamar Jackson faced a defense that was ready to counter him, and he had a quiet day outside of two plays. Early on, Jackson broke free for a 16-yard scramble. Outside of that, he had 8 carries for 28 yards–well below his high standard. Buffalo was disciplined and didn’t let Jackson do too much damage on the ground. This could become a blueprint for other capable defenses in the playoffs as they attempt to contain Jackson on the ground.
As for passing, Jackson’s day was again saved by one big play: Early in the second half, Jackson hung in the pocket, watched pressure coming fast, and hit Hayden Hurst over the middle. Hurst broke coverage (there was no safety help) and he went 61 yards for the score. Jackson showed excellent composure on the throw. Outside of that play, however, Jackson struggled. He overthrew a couple of passes, left a receiver out to dry a couple times, and he almost threw 2 interceptions. I’ll chalk these struggles up to a tough matchup against a tough Buffalo defense and expect Jackson to bounce back next week against the Jets.
Running Backs
- Mark Ingram: 15 carries, 50 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 29 yards
- Gus Edwards: 4 carries, 20 yards
You know the drill by now: start Mark Ingram and hold Gus Edwards. Ingram started strong but was contained as the game went on. Early on, it felt like Ingram was regularly finding space and chipping off 5+ yards at a time. His day slowed in the second half as Baltimore nursed their lead. He caught all of his targets and he was the only back targeted for the Ravens. It hurt for Ingram not to find the endzone, but we knew the risk coming in: Baltimore has plenty of capable red-zone threats. The Jets make for a great matchup next week, and Ingram is a must-start.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Hayden Hurst: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD
- Mark Andrews: 3 targets, 1 reception, 14 yards
- Willie Snead IV: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 13 yards, 1 TD
- Marquise Brown: 3 targets, 3 receptions, -2 yards
The big news here is that Mark Andrews left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. He saw three targets during his limited action but his status is up in the air moving forward. If he is out next week, that would make things interesting for Hayden Hurst.
Speaking of, Hayden Hurst was the big winner today. Lamar Jackson loves his tight ends, and Andrews missing any time would make Hurst the defacto #1. If you own Andrews, you should be putting waiver priority on Hurst as your new option. I would consider him a TE1.
Marquise Brown was a non-factor as the Bills–plus the weather–took away the deep game. Brown could be an interesting option next week in a good matchup, but I’m not extremely confident here. Sure, he has three touchdowns in the last five weeks. However, he has only managed to put up 50 yards once in that span.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
- Josh Allen: 17/38, 146 yards, 1 TD, 6 sacks | 2 carries, 9 yards, 2 fumbles
Yikes. Josh Allen had a rough day today, though it certainly wasn’t all his fault. Allen was fighting the weather and his over-matched offensive line as he ran for his life in the backfield. He had John Brown and Robert Foster open deep early in the game, but he overthrew both guys. Either one of those passes being completed might have made this a different game. On both of Allen’s fumbles, he was blindsided and never had a chance to react. One of Allen’s best passes was a late deep shot while being chased to the sideline. Allen effortlessly flung the ball downfield and had his receiver. It looked like there was interference on the play by the defender, but the ref never fired his flag. Allen doesn’t inspire confidence with this outing, and Pittsburgh’s defense has been playing well.
Running Backs
- Devin Singletary: 18 carries, 89 yards | 8 targets, 6 receptions, 29 yards
- Frank Gore: 4 carries, 6 yards
Devin Singletary was fun to watch today, and he is a player that Bills fans should be excited about. I haven’t seen many Bills games this year, and I was excited to see Singletary cutting and spinning around defenders. He regularly made the first defender miss and this was against a strong defense. His passing game involvement is a bit inflated as Allen repeatedly threw passes to Singletary at the line of scrimmage…leaving him to figure out what to do. He showed solid hands, though he misplayed a ball late on what could have been a huge gain. Still, Singletary is looking like a great play next week.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- John Brown: 8 targets, 3 receptions, 26 yards
- Cole Beasley: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 29 yards, 1 TD
- Dawson Knox: 4 targets, 1 reception, 37 yards
There wasn’t much to go around today for the Bills’ receivers. The wind – combined with the Ravens pass rush – meant there wasn’t much time to develop anything. John Brown broke away early on a route and could have gone the distance if the ball got to him. He also had a chance to extend the game, but his defender made an excellent play on the ball and it fell incomplete. Brown has now had three quiet games in a row and is proving tough to trust.
Cole Beasley caught the lone touchdown as well as the subsequent 2-point conversion. He also drew a big pass interference call after he was tripped up by his defender. Beasley has been playing well lately and has seen 7+ targets and a touchdown catch in each of his last three games. He’s no more than a touchdown-dependent WR3/flex option against the Steelers this week.
- Mike Miklius