The Baltimore Ravens rolled over the Buffalo Bills, 35-10, on Sunday to move to 2-2.
It was easily the best and most complete game the Ravens have played this season. Baltimore came roaring out of the gates on offense with an 87-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry on their first play on offense. The Ravens continued a potent rushing attack all night that Buffalo had no answers for.
On defense, the play-calling by new defensive coordinator Zach Orr must have given fans flashbacks to Mike Macdonald’s dominant defense last season. The Ravens were flying all over the field, blitzing on key passing downs, and flushing Josh Allen to the sidelines. Players were quick to the ball, made big tackles, ended the night with three sacks, a forced fumble, and some near-interceptions.
Here are four takeaways from a dominant victory.
1. Derrick Henry is really rolling
Any fears about Henry’s role and ability after a quiet Week 1 look silly. Henry is now rolling.
“King Henry” ran all over the Bills on Sunday to the tune of 199 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He also added three catches for 10 yards and a touchdown. Over his last three games, Henry has a combined 434 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 67 carries. So much for not force-feeding him..
Credit the Ravens’ offensive line, fullback Patrick Ricard, and tight ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely for blocking. All parties threw big, key blocks on Sunday that opened up running lanes for Henry. And when he gets a head of steam, he is still nearly impossible to bring down.
2. The Ravens survive a momentum shift
One of the key plot points of this season has been the Ravens’ inability to close out opponents smoothly.
They blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to the Raiders in Week 2. They nearly blew a 22-point lead to the Cowboys in Week 3 before making enough plays on offense to escape with the win. It's been a recurring theme in recent years.
That has led to some consternation within the organization, with Lamar Jackson publicly calling for the team to remain aggressive and keep their foot on the pedal.
Things nearly turned in this one. The Ravens went three-and-out twice to start the second half, while the Bills scored a touchdown to make it 21-10. The Bills got to the Ravens’ 44 on their ensuing drive before a trick play went poorly and ended in a Ravens strip sack.
Baltimore scored on the ensuing drive and flipped the momentum back their way again. Things never really got close thereafter.
The Ravens are too good and too experienced to need this type of win — they're potential Super Bowl contenders, not a young squad hoping to make the playoffs. But it also must feel good to put one away early, rather than having to sweat a tight fourth quarter.
3. The Kyle Hamilton game fans have been waiting for
Coming off an All-Pro season last year, it’s been a quiet(ish) start to the season for the Ravens versatile safety.
However, Hamilton made his presence felt on Sunday. Hamilton was like lightning to the ball early in the game, consistently getting in the backfield and pressuring Allen, tackling ball-carriers, or forcing Bills players into oncoming Ravens defenders. For the game, Hamilton finished with 7 tackles and a fumble recovery. But the final stats don't quite capture Hamilton's impact on the game.
Nonetheless, it must have been a relief for the Ravens to see their star defensive back look more like himself.
4. Another near-invisible outing for Mark Andrews
Once again, the Ravens offensive game plan didn’t feature a lot of passing. When Lamar Jackson did pass, he spread the ball around.
Even then, it didn’t include much Andrews. The 29-year-old tight end, who this past week vowed that his time would come, had just one target and no catches. That partially falls on him — Andrews dropped a wide-open catch in the first half that would have gone for a first down and then some. He shrugged it off as he ran back to the huddle.
Andrews was once again highly involved in blocking in the run game and did it well. He doesn’t seem to be pouting over his diminished offensive role.
But if the Ravens run into an opponent who can significantly slow down their run game, it’ll be worth seeing if Andrews takes on an increased role in the pass game, or if he’s been supplanted by other targets.
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