Bills @ Ravens
Final Score: Ravens 35, Bills 10
Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan on Twitter)
The Buffalo Bills came to Baltimore looking to maintain an unbeaten record while the Baltimore Ravens sought to build momentum after earning their first win on the road in Dallas last week. From the first snap, the Ravens’ offense looked dominant and showed flashes of what things might look like moving forward with Derrick Henry running through and Lamar Jackson running around opposing defenses. Josh Allen and the Bills did all they could to stay in this one but the Ravens were just too aggressive and too powerful at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Baltimore ended up running away with this one to hand the Bills their first loss of the year in what could be a preview of an AFC playoff game. Let’s dig in.
Three Up
- Derrick Henry – Sheeeeesh. When a 250-lb superhuman is the fastest player on the field, it’s going to be good for his fantasy managers.
- Lamar Jackson – The addition of Henry to this offense has opened so much up for Jackson in terms of both the running and passing game. It showed on Sunday night.
- Justice Hill – Even though Justice Hill is a clear backup running back, his role is super valuable to this Ravens team. He’ll continue to get opportunities this season.
Two Down
- James Cook – Scripted out of this one from the jump, James Cook had his only touchdown opportunity vultured by Ty Johnson.
- Mark Andrews – He’s been reduced to basically a fullback. It hurts to watch.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 16/29, 180 Yards | 5 Carries, 21 Yards, Fumble (Lost)
Allen had a poor first half but made one of the most amazing throws we’ve seen all season to open the third quarter, escaping the rush and dropping a dime to Khalil Shakir downfield. The play set up a Bills touchdown and turned the momentum in this game.
JOSH ALLEN MAGIC.
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/iPg4JHp2RI
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 30, 2024
On the Bills’ next drive, the team was driving and looking successful again until they called a weirdly timed reverse pass play where Allen was stripped and smashed, with his arm ripped backward awkwardly for a strip sack. His first throw of the next drive was a high miss, but he slung it just fine after that.
Running Back
James Cook: 9 Carries, 39 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Cook nearly broke his second carry of the game for a massive run but was caught from behind by Kyle Hamilton just before he reached daylight. That was the most exciting play of his night as the Bills struggled to get things going on the ground and were trailing throughout.
Ray Davis: 6 Carries, 9 Yards
Basically benched until garbage time. The entire Buffalo running game was scripted out of this one which meant that Ray Davis didn’t get much love on Sunday night.
Ty Johnson: 1 Carry, 3 Yards, TD
With the one touch he got, he raced to the pylon for a score from inside the five-yard line. Classic touchdown vulture.
The Bills finally get to the goal line and give the TD carry to Ty Johnson with James Cook on the sideline 🙃pic.twitter.com/QbyLv8iNAG
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 30, 2024
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Khalil Shakir: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 62 Yards
Shakir went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, but he returned before halftime. He showed an excellent chemistry with Allen, especially on the incredible throw that Allen made from the right sideline. You know the one. Shakir kept the route going, never gave up on his guy, and made a deep catch to bail out the offense and set up a score.
Dalton Kincaid: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 47 Yards
Dalton Kincaid running a quick out is almost a cheat code at this point. Used almost exclusively in the short areas of the field, Kincaid has mastered the art of catching, turning, and getting upfield against linebackers.
Curtis Samuel: 1 Carry, 7 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
Curtis Samuel was involved in a few plays, especially with Shakir on the sideline. His most notable play was his lateral to Allen, setting his quarterback up to get pummeled by the Baltimore defense for a strip sack.
Keon Coleman: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 51 Yards
Keon Coleman ran a great vertical route up the sideline in the second quarter and Allen hit him in the hands, but he couldn’t hold on. Had he caught that pass, he would have been flirting with 100 yards receiving. Coleman and Allen hooked up on a pair of back-shoulder throws along the sideline for chunk plays. It showed Coleman’s ceiling as a downfield pass catcher, but he still seems incomplete as a receiver and route runner.
Keon Coleman with a huge drop in this game pic.twitter.com/Fz4KByFXfl
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 30, 2024
Mack Hollins: 6 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
Although Mack Hollins has been a regular on the field for the Bills, he had limited involvement in this game, giving way to Coleman and Shakir in this contest as the Bills faced a negative game script for the entire game.
Baltimore Ravens
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson: 13/18, 156 Yards, 2 TDs | 6 Carries, 54 Yards, TD, Fumble (Lost)
Jackson completed each of his first six passes and eight for his first nine with his only incompletion being a WIDE OPEN drop by Andrews that hit him directly in the hands. He flipped a touchdown pass to Henry and then dropped one in the bucket for Hill out of the backfield. He was extremely accurate, even on his misses, and was hardly pressured in the backfield as the Ravens seem to have found a way to prevent defenses from teeing off on their below-average offensive line.
Later in the game, Jackson reminded football fans why he’s just so gosh darn dangerous, keeping on an option and finding the pylon for a rushing score. This Ravens offense seems to have figured some things out – or at the very least matched up ridiculously well against the Bills’ defense.
Words can’t describe how thankful I am that Lamar Jackson is Baltimore’s QB. pic.twitter.com/Z9tbOH77ua
— The Ravens Realm (@RealmRavens) September 30, 2024
Running Back
Derrick Henry: 24 Carries, 199 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 10 Yards, TD
Could this night have started any better for King Henry? It’s insane to me that Henry at 250 pounds or so, is the fastest man on the football field.
KING HENRY IS GONE 👑
🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/uvCxjgOIFn
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) September 30, 2024
And it kept getting better. Not only was he dominant on the ground, but Henry also CAUGHT his first touchdown since 2019. Even though Henry split snaps with Hill in a positive game script, he was extremely involved when he was in the formation. There isn’t a single fantasy manager out there worried about Henry’s snaps. And if there is, I’m sure anyone would happily take him off their hands.
Justice Hill: 4 Carries, 18 Yards | 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 78 Yards, TD
Hill was extremely explosive out of the backfield, both in the passing game and on the ground when the Ravens felt a light box on the opposite side. Hill made a Buffalo linebacker look silly on his touchdown catch, running an incredible route to get very open for the score.
Justice Hill appreciation post.
pic.twitter.com/n9CeDUQFlq— Zach Bollinger (@zachbollinger18) September 30, 2024
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Zay Flowers: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Zay Flowers was mostly game-scripted out of this one as the Ravens took an early lead and held it for the entirety of the game. The Ravens appeared to be targeting the Bills’ linebackers with their offensive game plan – not an area that Flowers really impacts. Early in the third quarter, Flowers dropped a third-and-long pass that Jackson placed perfectly on the sideline that would have resulted in a big play first down.
Mark Andrews: 1 Target
He’s the most athletic pulling tackle in the NFL! The problem is that fantasy managers don’t get points for great blocks. He was on the field in a bunch of different sets, including most 11-personnel sets, but was targeted just once and made a bad drop. He’s getting to the point where he’s droppable in shallow leagues.
Rashod Bateman: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 23 Yards
A defensive holding call kept Rashod Bateman from securing a touchdown catch for the second consecutive week.
Isaiah Likely: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 26 Yards
Well, he was more involved than Andrews was. Isaiah Likely may never get back to the transcendent levels he showed off in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs, but fantasy managers will be pleased to know he was on the field for nearly every 12-personnel snap and 22-personnel snap the Ravens had on the night. The hope is that as teams stack the box, Likely will create matchup problems against single coverage in the coming games. He appears to be the Ravens’ top pass-catching tight end, though the whole tight end room in Baltimore is looking sad.
Nelson Agholor: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 10 Yards
Patrick Ricard: Fumble Recovery TD
After blocking for Henry and Jackson all night, Patrick Ricard got his due with a fumble recovery touchdown in the fourth quarter as Henry coughed it up at the goal line. Right place, right time for the big man.