BALTIMORE — The Buffalo Bills came to Baltimore as an undefeated team with the trendy early favorite for the league’s Most Valuable Player honor in quarterback Josh Allen.
They left Baltimore as a bruised, beaten team, and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson looked as if he was not ready to relinquish his reigning MVP crown to Allen or anyone else just yet.
On the national stage of “Sunday Night Football,” Jackson and the Ravens ran over the Bills in a 35-10 rout at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 29. Jackson threw for two touchdowns and ran for one, and Ravens running back Derrick Henry ran for 199 yards and a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass.
The Ravens’ defense, meanwhile, completely shut down a Bills offense that had come in averaging a league-best 37.3 points a game through three weeks.
Playing in their all-black uniforms before a raucous “Sunday Night Football” crowd, it took exactly one offensive snap for the Ravens (2-2) to make a statement.
On the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage, Henry ran off right tackle, got key blocks from rookie tackle Roger Rosengarten and tight end Mark Andrews, and outran everyone in the Bills’ secondary for an 87-yard touchdown, the longest run from scrimmage in Ravens history.
Henry later caught a swing pass from Jackson and cruised in for a 5-yard touchdown.
From the outset, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken seemed a step ahead of Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, as the Ravens scored touchdowns on their first three drives. A fumble by Jackson derailed the fourth.
If Henry wasn’t running through gaping holes, Jackson was finding an open receiver, or running himself. Jackson finished 13-for-18 for 156 yards and two touchdowns passing, and he ran for 54 yards on six carries.
When Jackson floated a 19-yard touchdown pass to Justice Hill midway through the second quarter, the Ravens had opened up a 21-3 lead against a Bills team that looked shell-shocked and nothing like a team that had risen to the top of many pundits’ power rankings.
The Bills were held to three points in the first half and never even got inside the Ravens’ 30-yard line in the first 30 minutes.
The Ravens have been here before, though; just a week earlier, the Ravens had opened a commanding 28-6 lead at Dallas, only to see it nearly completely vanish before they held on for a 28-25 win.
This game had hints of that again when the Ravens had a quick three-and-out to begin the second half and Allen led the Bills on a quick touchdown drive, aided by his spectacular 52-yard, cross-body throw from the right sideline to Khalil Shakir to the Ravens’ 3-yard line.
That set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Ty Johnson that cut the Ravens lead to 21-10, and the Bills quickly got the ball back after another Ravens three-and-out.
“Everybody was like, ‘All right, we don’t need to do this again,'” safety Kyle Hamilton said, “so I think everybody locked in at that point.”
Unlike last week at Dallas, though, the Ravens didn’t falter, and in fact, the momentum shifted back in their favor after the Bills opted for a trick play in which wide receiver Curtis Samuel took a direct snap and pitched the ball back to Allen, who had lined up wide to the left. But Kyle Van Noy got quick pressure on Samuel to disrupt the timing, then made a diving play to force the ball from Allen’s hand. Hamilton recovered.
“I’m sure [offensive coordinator Joe Brady] wants that call back,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I do as well. We’ll learn from that and move forward.”
The Ravens quickly went 59 yards in six plays, and Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown run upped the Ravens’ lead to 28-10.
Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard, who had cleared the way for many of Henry’s 199 yards, earned a just reward late in the game when Henry fumbled going into the end zone, and Ricard pounced on the loose ball for a touchdown and a 35-10 lead.
“Hey, they call him King Henry for a reason,” Ricard said. “He’s one of one.”
As for his touchdown, he said, “Sometimes the football gods smile on you. I have to thank Derrick. I guess he didn’t want three touchdowns.”
Here are five quick observations of the game, which improves the Ravens to 21-3 in home primetime games under John Harbaugh:
1. The Ravens’ defense won with its physicality.
On the Bills’ second offensive play, wide receiver Khalil Shakir caught a pass, but safety Kyle Hamilton quickly closed and wrapped him up for no gain. Later in the first half, linebacker David Ojabo forced Josh Allen from the pocket and Hamilton drilled tight end Dawson Knox with a textbook tackle on the sideline for no gain on third-and-1.
Hamilton led the Ravens with seven tackles, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey had six, as their physical play set the tone. The Ravens’ open-field tackling on the perimeter was superb, and they played more aggressively with a lead than they did last week in their win at Dallas.
In the second half, Humphrey came as a free runner on a blitz, which blew up the play and led to a sack for Kyle Van Noy. Late in the game, safety Eddie Jackson came on a blitz, and good coverage downfield forced Allen to throw the ball away.
Allen and the Bills had piled up 34, 31 and 47 points in their first three games, but they managed just one touchdown in Baltimore. And Allen felt the pain, as he was hammered by defensive lineman Travis Jones after fumbling on an ill-timed trick play recovered by Hamilton.
From start to finish the Ravens were the more physical team, and by the middle of the fourth quarter, Allen was on the bench and the Bills looked ready to get out of town.
2. Age is just a number for Kyle Van Noy.
It’s not supposed to work like this for 30-something edge rushers. The career track is supposed to slow down for players at a position where speed, power and strength are at a premium, and those physical skills naturally diminish over time.
Instead, Van Noy has found the fountain of youth along the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, and he was a 33-year-old wrecking ball against the Bills.
His biggest play came when the Bills got tricky, snapping the ball to wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Samuel was supposed to then pitch the ball to quarterback Josh Allen, who presumably would take a deep shot downfield. Except Van Noy fired off the right edge and got to Samuel in a hurry. Samuel rushed a pitch to Allen, and Van Noy quickly changed direction and pursued the quarterback. Before Allen could throw, Van Noy made a flying dive and knocked the ball from Allen’s hand, and Kyle Hamilton recovered for the Ravens.
The strip-sack led to a Ravens touchdown and effectively ended any Bills comeback bid.
Van Noy finished with two sacks, tying the franchise record with his third straight multi-sack game. In his first nine NFL seasons, Van Noy had never recorded more than 6.5 sacks in a season.
Now at age 33, he has six sacks in his last three games. And that comes off a 2023 season in which he set a career high with nine sacks — despite not even joining the Ravens until the middle of September.
Earlier in the game. Van Noy might have had another sack, but he drew a holding penalty as he chased Allen toward the sideline. After the play, Van Noy walked toward the center of the field and gave the holding indication as if he were the referee. He’s having a lot of fun these days.
When Van Noy was first signed by the Ravens last year, he said his age wouldn’t be a detriment, and his experience could win out at times against young offensive linemen. He is showing that over and over again.
3. Justice Hill showed why his extension matters.
Derrick Henry rightfully is going to garner most of the headlines after this Ravens win, but No. 2 back Justice Hill again showed how intrinsic he is to everything the Ravens want to do on offense.
Hill finished with four carries for 18 yards, and he also led the Ravens with six catches for a career-high 78 yards. Hill set up the Ravens’ second touchdown with a 14-yard catch to the Bills’ 4-yard line, and then in the middle of the second quarter, Hill caught a short pass on third-and-14 and worked his way for 15 yards and a first down.
It was fitting, then, that two plays later Jackson floated a 19-yard touchdown pass to Hill for his first touchdown of the season.
From the minute the Ravens signed Henry, they knew the All-Pro back would be the focal point of their running game. But Hill is a tenacious pass blocker, a good receiver and a shifty back who presents a different look and challenge than Henry. Hill has also been a core special teams player throughout his six-year Ravens career.
General manager Eric DeCosta has called Hill one of the most underrated players on the Ravens, and he rewarded Hill with a new contract extension last week. Against the Bills, Hill again showed that is money well spent.
“Justice Hill has been very integral,” Harbaugh said, adding with a smile, “I’m just really glad we got him re-signed before he broke out in the last two games. That was nice.”
4. Patrick Mekari again showed his singular dimension.
With starting left guard Andrew Vorhees out of the lineup, the Ravens turned to Patrick Mekari to play left guard. Mekari had made 39 starts across four offensive line positions in his six-year NFL career, but none before at left guard. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, before this game, he had played only 10 career snaps at left guard.
But the Ravens know his versatility and his consistency can translate anywhere up front.
After starting the first three games this season at right tackle, Mekari jumped in for Vorhees at left guard against Buffalo, and rookie Roger Rosengarten made his first career start at right tackle.
The holes for Derrick Henry were massive much of the night, maybe none moreso than on his 87-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring. The Ravens’ offensive line, maligned after two season-opening losses, again won at the point of attack all night.
The Ravens averaged 8.0 yards a carry, and even subtracting the 87-yard run by Henry, they averaged better than 5.5 yards on their other 33 runs.
To be sure, it was a group effort. Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard was a road grader who flattened two Bills on one of Henry’s long runs. Tight end Mark Andrews, who has been shockingly quiet as a receiver this year (no catches against the Bills) had a key block on the 87-yard score, and the perimeter blocking from the tight ends was strong all night.
But it’s hard to overstate the value the Ravens have in Mekari, who originally joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of Cal in 2019. If any starter gets hurt up front, they know they can tap Mekari to go play there, and they can be confident there won’t be much dropoff. It’s a rare breed to be such a super-utility player, and it’s a role that Mekari has taken on for years. It’s not glamorous, but it’s inherently valuable in a sport where there are only 53 roster spots. There simply aren’t many players like him.
5. The Ravens look the part of contender again.
With a convincing win against the Bills, some of the angst of the 0-2 start has surely faded, and coupled with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens are right back in the mix for the AFC North lead at what amounts to the end of the season’s first quarter.
Next week, the Ravens visit the Cincinnati Bengals, who at 1-3 will be the more desperate team, and then they will host the suddenly formidable Washington Commanders and red-hot rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
After losing to the Las Vegas Raiders to fall to 0-2, the Ravens’ season was teetering, but now it feels on a little more firm footing. A win at Cincinnati next week could deal a massive blow to a Bengals team that figured to be in the mix as well.
The Ravens will rightfully bask in this win for 24 hours, but they know this result would be somewhat undone if they stumble in Cincinnati next week.
“We didn’t win a Super Bowl today,” Kyle Hamilton said. “… It’s only Week 4. … We have a long road ahead of us, but I think we’re on a good path.”
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