‘In the end, this felt like too many other discouraging losses of the recent past— games in which the defense played its heart out, but the offense couldn’t keep its end of the bargain, when a heroic performance by the Buffalo D was wasted in defeat.’
Archives for December 2019
An encouraging result against one of the NFL’s best
‘Buffalo has shown so many sides of itself this season. The Bills can be the team that blows out the Cowboys on the national stage and the team that plays with New England and Baltimore. But, they could also be the team that plays down to teams like the Jets, Giants, Dolphins and Bengals, and gets blown out at home by the Eagles. If Sunday’s game with Baltimore is a sign of things to come, I think Bills fans should be optimistic. We’ll see if I feel the same way after playing a third-string quarterback with stakes attached next Sunday night.’
Buffalo Bills Week 14 Report Card: Josh Allen, Bills come up short in 24-17 loss to Ravens
‘A terrible showing for the offensive line. The Bills couldn’t run the ball effectively and Allen was sacked six times. Cody Ford has shown improvement at right tackle, but he had a rough day. The Ravens’ defensive front won the battle at the line of scrimmage.’
Ravens have nothing else to prove until playoffs
‘Both the Bills and Ravens clearly decided beforehand that the best way to slow down the other team’s hot, second-year dual-threat quarterback and his recently romping, run-based offence was to blitz like crazy. That is, to send extra rushers at the quarterback on expected pass plays, and to move up extra, attacking defenders on expected run plays. Boy, did it work.’
Monday’s Baltimore Coverage
Instant analysis: Ravens win ninth straight, clinch playoff berth with 24-17 victory over Bills (Baltimore Sun)
With relentless blitz, Ravens defense takes charge in win over Bills: ‘We want to be the heroes sometimes’ (Baltimore Sun)
Preston: Even when they’re not at their best, these Ravens still find a way to win (Baltimore Sun)
‘There’s a reason we got him No. 1’: Ravens TE Hayden Hurst delivers game-breaking play against Bills (Baltimore Sun)
Injuries to Ravens’ Mark Andrews, Anthony Levine Sr. ‘not serious’; both say they’ll play Thursday vs. Jets (Baltimore Sun)
Ravens’ Lamar Jackson joins Michael Vick as only NFL QBs to rush for 1,000 yards in single season (Baltimore Sun)
Ravens set single-season franchise record for points in second quarter vs. Bills (Baltimore Sun)
Thanks to swirling winds, Bills’ Tre’Davious White gets peek at notes from Ravens coaches (Baltimore Sun)
Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey, Marquise Brown active vs. Bills (Baltimore Sun)
Five Things We Learned from the Ravens’ 24-17 win over the Buffalo Bills (Baltimore Sun)
Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 24-17 win over Bills (Baltimore Sun)
The five games in Week 14 that mattered to Ravens: AFC playoff picture coming into focus (Baltimore Sun)
Baltimore Ravens win sloppy vs. Bills, clinch spot in playoffs: How it happened (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Baltimore Ravens’ pass rush revs up, offense experiments and more takeaways from win over Bills (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson hits 1,000 rushing yards, but Bills stay close: 1st half highlights (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Baltimore Ravens injury updates: Mark Andrews, Anthony Levine say they’ll play Thursday, per reports (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Baltimore Ravens injuries vs. Bills: Mark Andrews, 2 others head to locker room (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Baltimore Ravens break franchise record for points scored in a season (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Baltimore Ravens inactives vs. Bills: No players out with injuries, Justin Ellis among 7 sitting (Harrisburg Patriot News)
Ravens not celebrating ‘expected’ playoff berth (ESPN)
Lamar Jackson slowed by Bills, but Ravens prove they can win ugly with their dominant defense (CBS Sports)
Ravens win ninth straight game to clinch playoff spot in Buffalo (NBC Sports Washington)
Ravens have shown as much in close wins as in their blowouts (NBC Sports Washington)
Ravens bruised but hopeful after Buffalo win ahead of short week (NBC Sports Washington)
Stock up, stock down: Ravens clinch playoff berth with 24-17 win in Buffalo (NBC Sports Washington)
Bills defender eyes Ravens playsheet after it blows onto the field (NBC Sports Washington)
Watch: Marcus Peters crushes a beer after sealing Ravens’ ninth straight win (NBC Sports Washington)
Defense Leads Ravens in Playoff-Clinching Win over Bills (WJZ-FM)
Ravens-Bills: Inactives and Pre-Game notes (WNST-AM)
Ravens Clinch Playoff Spot, But Eyes Are on Home-Field Advantage (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Marcus Peters Closes Attacking Day for Ravens DefenseHayden Hurst Steps Up With Mark Andrews Injured (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Matthew Judon Continues a Career Year in Buffalo (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Eisenberg Breakdown: Five Thoughts on Ravens vs. Bills (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Lamar Jackson Becomes Second Quarterback to Hit 1,000 Rushing Yards (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Mark Andrews Among Several Injured Against Bills (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Healthy Ravens Activate Brynden Trawick for Special Teams (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Photo gallery (BaltimoreRavens.com)
Photo gallery 1 (BuffaloBills.com)
Photo gallery 2 (BuffaloBills.com)
Photo gallery 3 (BuffaloBills.com)
Photo gallery 1 (Buffalo News)
Photo gallery 2 (Buffalo News)
Photo gallery 3 (Buffalo News)
Photo gallery (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Ravens Clinch AFC Playoff Berth With 24-17 Win Over Bills
‘“I’m frustrated by the loss,” rookie defensive tackle Ed Oliver sad. “Forget hanging with the team. If we wanted to just hang with the team, we could lose every game. But ultimately, we’re here to win and that’s the most frustrating part.”’
Bills Offense Comes Up Short In 24-17 Loss To Ravens
‘“We were right there,” guard Jon Feliciano said. “We need to learn from it, but we’ve got to play better. That’s really it. We have three more games, still fighting for a playoff spot.” While the win helped the Ravens (11-2) become the AFC’s first team to clinch a playoff berth, the Bills (9-4) were unable to build off a three-game winning streak and following a convincing win on Thanksgiving Day over the Dallas Cowboys.’
Bills player gets look at Ravens coach’s notes
‘White only got a few seconds to look through the notes before they were taken by a referee.’
Bills fall to Ravens, 24-17, after final pass falls short
‘Baltimore got careless in Buffalo’s last gasp, with three critical penalties that totaled 56 yards and gave the Bills a trip to the red zone and advancing as far as the Baltimore 16 yard line. After heavy pressure applied by the Ravens defense, Allen and company were left with 4th and 8 on the 16 yard line looking for a first down to keep their hopes alive, but the pass to John Brown fell incomplete and sealed the loss for Buffalo.’
Slugfest
‘I know every week is different and the individual matchups within a given game will likely determine your winner. But I feel like what I learned today is that no matter who the Bills draw in a likely Wild Card matchup, they’ll be in the game. Need it be said, if you’re in the game then you’ve got a chance to win the game. They’ll need some combination of better throws from Allen and his receivers doing a better job of catching the good passes. But I’m heading into the final 3 games of the year feeling like the Bills have the potential to be a factor in the NFL Playoffs, not just get in.’
Bills give NFL’s best all they could handle
‘Despite the loss I think this game should leave with you a couple of thoughts. One, the Bills won’t have any trouble winning at least one more game which should be enough to get them in the playoffs. This Bills team is good enough to go on the road in the wild card round and win a game.’
One win and the Bills are in
‘Winning the division is still a tough road for the Bills as they would need an upset win from the Miami Dolphins or Cincinnati Bengals over the Patriots, and win-out including their own win against New England at Gillette Stadium in two weeks.’
Arrow Up/Arrow Down – Ravens at Bills
‘The Ravens brought more pressure than the Bills had seen all season, and they didn’t handle it well. Running backs had to stay in and protect a lot, giving Allen fewer options, but he also was under duress a lot of the afternoon. Baltimore wound up sacking him 6 times and Ravens defenders were credited with 12 QB hurries!’
Bills come up short against Baltimore Ravens 24-17 at home
‘Neither offense was eye-popping in the victory; both the Bills and the Ravens had under 100 yards of offense at halftime. Baltimore led 10-6 at the break.’
Josh Allen struggles as Bills offense takes a step back
‘”I have to find more completions early on,” Allen said after the loss. “Take what they give us. Maybe [I] felt like I was pressing a little bit when they were bringing some good pressures that we maybe hadn’t seen, or they brought it, and they brought a good game plan.”‘