A Few Thoughts About the Ravens Game, in no particular order

[GunnerBill]

Good call out for Harrison Phillips. Was his best game of the season for certain.

[Virgil]

1 minute ago, Kwai San said:

 

I think maybe one or two but damn if that #42 guy for Balt didn't have some crushing leveling blocks against Edmunds and a few other Bills on that first drive....he was a stud for awhile there......I sat in silence for that first drive but went thru the roof when the kick clanged off the post!!!

 

The D.....just wow.  The D.

 

Go BROWNS!!!!  I wanna watch next week at The Ralph with 7600 leather lunged crazies messing with Bakers HEAD.

 

The Mafia!  Oh man those fans were absolutely incredible!!!!!

 

Go BILLS!!!!!

It was crazy to me how effective the Ravens were rushing on that first drive and then not really again afterwards. 
 

I don’t know if that was scripted plays expiring or the Bills adjusting 

[Turf Toejam 34]

Besides Harrison, another player that did his 1/11 was Singletary----he was terrific on blitz pickup and helping out on double teams all night.     I know that Moss is also great in the skill, but Motor did what needed to be done.    

[Virgil]

4 minutes ago, Haslett_Stomp said:

 

I have a soon-to-be 21 year-old daughter who drops the F-bomb quite often.  I always point out that it makes her sound unintelligent since there are many other words that can be used to express an emotion.  After TJ got to the end zone and I saw that there were no flags thrown on the return I screamed "F#*K YEAH!"  I then looked at her and said "that is an appropriate time to drop the F-bomb."

Teaching your kids the appropriate use of the F Bomb is incredibly important. 
 

Well done dad

[Kwai San]

6 minutes ago, Virgil said:

It was crazy to me how effective the Ravens were rushing on that first drive and then not really again afterwards. 
 

I don’t know if that was scripted plays expiring or the Bills adjusting 

 

I really really want to Billieve it was the adjusting!!!!

[TroutDog]

17 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

To win a championship you need to be able to win games in all kinds of ways.  The Bills needed their defense to take a turn winning them a game.  This was a critical win in a critical way.

This is where I was last night and am even more so now. Bills have won with D and O and, for the vast majority of the season, Teams has played an important part as well. 
 

The Bills have won close games, defensive battles and blowouts. They’re on a mission and it shows. 

[CEN-CAL17]

Why fans didn’t think the Bills could win this game is beyond me. Cause of names on paper? Highlights?..... 

 

The Bills had a tough schedule this year, went 13-3. Won the AFCE championship. They are a super tight bunch, well coached with many pro bowlers this year.

 

This team, if they can execute and put themselves in the right position can beat any team in this league. Saying they will win or lose is silly. But this is easily a top 3 team and depending on which way the cookie crumbles can beat anyone, especially the Ravens.

 

And obviously with the Bills being a top 3 team, the other 2 being KC and GB..... so if we get both those team in the next 3 weeks, hopefully we do. No fans should say “I didn’t think we would win”, cause we can!

Edited January 17, 2021 by CEN-CAL17

[BaaadThingsMan]

42 minutes ago, bobblehead said:

I think Phillips was more instrumental to the win than the media is pointing out.  I haven’t seen him play like from him or in the middle  this year until now. 

I wonder if he is recovered, or nearly recovered fully now from injury?  His hard work in the training room is showing up on the field at the right time for this team.

[fergie's ire]

1 hour ago, Virgil said:

 

 

1 - The Play - Let me set the scene leading up to the pick six.  The game was tied at 3 going into the half, where most would argue the Bills should have been up by more.  It was the kind of first half where the BBFS reminded you of previous teams that couldn't take advantage of early opportunities and it would come back to bite them.  The Bills did come out of the half and drove downfield for a touchdown, continuing their 3rd quarter resurgence.  However, not to be outdone, the Ravens put together a drive of their own and made it into the Bills red zone.  On the play before, Marquise Brown was wide open on a crossing route and Lamar missed him as Hughes was right in his face.  The next snap occurs, Lamar drops back, and my eyes are all on Mark Andrews.  

 

You and Lamar both.  He completely locked onto him, setting up Taron's interception.

[ProcessTruster]

TL,DR

 

Lookin like a team of destiny.  Can't see 'em gettin past the Chiefs, but I've said that about 3 times this year and been wrong each time.  Go Bills.  Just enjoyin the ride at this point in the Process.   

 

 

 

[Big Turk]

The crazy thing to me was the entire 3rd quarter literally consisted of 2 drives. Johnson scores with 41 seconds left in the 3rd and that was the Ravens 1st possession of the 2nd half after the Bills scored on their first possession.  

[Nihilarian]

38 minutes ago, CEN-CAL17 said:

Why fans didn’t think the Bills could win this game is beyond me. Cause of names on paper? Highlights?..... 

Probably because of the way they barely won against the Colts...who were the better team that day as they put up more yards, ToP and made the 13-3 Buffalo Bills look very vulnerable. Not to mention that fumble by Allen near the end of that game if recovered by the Colts would have given them the win.

 

The fact that the Bills lost the better looking RB Moss for the season, that the Bills don't even attempt to run the ball much. That the matchup for the Bills vs the Ravens looked like a loss for Buffalo because one team is a dominate running team and the other...has no real run game. 

 

The Buffalo defense was supposedly a mid pack defense this season and no where near as good as they were last season with the #3 overall defense. 

 

The Bills going against a Ravens team that pounded the Bills 47-3 in the season opener in 2018. Or the Ravens team that beat the Bills in 2019 17-24 by blitzing Josh Allen like crazy with 6 sacks and 12 QB hits.

 

Who knew... that the 2019 Buffalo Bills defense would show up against this seasons 2020 Ravens team. I know I didn't! 

 

Shocked the hell outta me with that 101 yard pick six and sacked Lamar Jackson 4x. What a turn of events! The Ravens out rushed Buffalo, out threw them, outgained them 340 yards to 220. 

 

That Bills defense...whew! Leslie Frazier deserves a man of the year game ball for that game plan, game day calls and getting his players ready to dominate. 

 

The 2020 Buffalo Bills are 15-3 and on their way to the AFC Championship game! 

 

What a time to be a Bills fan!

[Belgium_Bill]

Although I post virtually never on this board, I read it almost daily as it is basically the only real form of connection I can have with fellow Bills fans, as I don’t believe there are any other Bills fans living in a 100 mile radius of me 😉.

I always look forward to reading Virgil’s game report, probably because unlike the many gut reactions during and just after the games, he takes his time to mull over things and then gives a balanced observation, one that I usually tend to agree with on nearly all fronts.

I have the same tendency to highlight and appreciate the unexpected match heroes.  The way Harrison Phillips came from the bench and stepped in was big, Smoke taking over from Gabriel Davis as the toe tapping receiver, and good old Jerry Hughes of course. Not being mentioned is Diggs, probably because we have collectively almost taken his brilliance for granted now and see an 8 catch +100 yards game for him as a normal day at the office. He kind of reminds me more and more of the role Anquan Boldin played when the Ravens had their miraculous Superbowl run with Flacco.

[Virgil]

Just now, Belgium_Bill said:

Although I post virtually never on this board, I read it almost daily as it is basically the only real form of connection I can have with fellow Bills fans, as I don’t believe there are any other Bills fans living in a 100 mile radius of me 😉.

I always look forward to reading Virgil’s game report, probably because unlike the many gut reactions during and just after the games, he takes his time to mull over things and then gives a balanced observation, one that I usually tend to agree with on nearly all fronts.

I have the same tendency to highlight and appreciate the unexpected match heroes.  The way Harrison Phillips came from the bench and stepped in was big, Smoke taking over from Gabriel Davis as the toe tapping receiver, and good old Jerry Hughes of course. Not being mentioned is Diggs, probably because we have collectively almost taken his brilliance for granted now and see an 8 catch +100 yards game for him as a normal day at the office. He kind of reminds me more and more of the role Anquan Boldin played when the Ravens had their miraculous Superbowl run with Flacco.

Diggs was Diggs.  While I feel crazy for leaving our an 8 catch, 100+ yard, touchdown performance; that’s par for the course for him.  
 

I honestly almost left Allen out, but knew I’d get roasted. 

[Solomon Grundy]

1 hour ago, Heathcliff said:

Poyer made sure Brown, the only legitimate speed threat to catch Taron other than Jackson, was eliminated from the play. What a heads up play by Poyer. 
 

And how the he// did Justin Zimmer almost beat Taron to the EZ?

The block on Lamar was from Birthday Tre, not Poyer

Edited January 17, 2021 by Solomon Grundy

[Virgil]

This is the fastest to 50 likes post I’ve ever had.  It’s amazing what winning in the playoffs does for everyone 

[bills11]

2 hours ago, Virgil said:

If I'm being completely honest, I didn't expect the Bills to win this game for most of the week.  Like many others, I bought into the hype of the surging Ravens who were playing like the 14-2 team they were last season with the MVP at the helm.  With the playoff win monkey off their back, their defense back at full strength, and windy conditions that favored the running game, I expected a close game where the Bills game up just short.  However, when I woke up Saturday morning, all of that went away and for some reason, expected them to win.  I didn't care about their depth at defensive back or Lamar's scrambling ability.  I thought about the entire season from when we were able to contain Kyler Murray and what we've done against top rated defenses, and I found myself incredibly calm for the rest of the day.  Win or lose, I was incredibly proud of the season we've had.

 

1 - The Play - Let me set the scene leading up to the pick six.  The game was tied at 3 going into the half, where most would argue the Bills should have been up by more.  It was the kind of first half where the BBFS reminded you of previous teams that couldn't take advantage of early opportunities and it would come back to bite them.  The Bills did come out of the half and drove downfield for a touchdown, continuing their 3rd quarter resurgence.  However, not to be outdone, the Ravens put together a drive of their own and made it into the Bills red zone.  On the play before, Marquise Brown was wide open on a crossing route and Lamar missed him as Hughes was right in his face.  The next snap occurs, Lamar drops back, and my eyes are all on Mark Andrews.  Lamar slings it in his direction, and I honestly can't see who caught the ball, as Milano and Hyde were also anticipating the throw.  I jumped up and yelled, scaring my unsuspecting daughter, as I saw a blue jersey emerge from the crowd.  In that split second, before he crossed the goal line, my cowardliness mentally screamed out for him to take the knee so that we could get the ball at the 20 and not be pinned against the end zone.  However, this is a team that plays for each other, so Milano knocks Andrews out of the way, and Tre takes off downfield to block Lamar out of the way.  And just like that, we are up 17-3 on the pick six after Taron Johnson returns the interception 101 yards.  On the replay, TJ played this ball perfectly, sitting in the underneath zone, watching Lamar's eyes, knowing he could take off at any moment, and staying just out of his field of vision.  As Lamar released the pass, TJ broke on the ball immediately and cleanly picked it off.  While he had a lot of great pressures in the backfield and was solid in coverage, this may very well be the defining play of his career.

 

2 - Frazier - Besides the broken coverage play against Hurst last year, Frazier had a pretty good game plan against Lamar and the Ravens last season; enough to give you hope against them going into this game.  Even early in the week, the Bills defenders talked about how they had a good game plan and were ready for the Ravens.  But, this was a defense that turned over major components of their defensive line and a Ravens offense that finally got over the playoffs first round hump.  The result?  An absolute masterful performance in one of the most dominating defensive showings we've seen in a very long time.  The Bills defense completely shut down the Ravens high powered college-style (sorry, couldn't help myself) RPO offense in a way that I don't think anyone saw coming.  Frazier bunched 4 at the line to cover the gaps and had them rush from the inside out, taking away a scrambling lanes and creating pressure at the same time.  When he did send an extra rusher, it was a DB from the blindside who usually got home clean.  Outside of the two drives, the first and almost TD drive, the Ravens were only able to make gains on broken plays.  All week you kept hearing about how physical the Ravens played and how their defense was going to be the star of the show.  Frazier; he took that personally.

 

3 - Wind - The 3rd most important factor in this game had to be the wind.  Watching on TV, you could see some of the flags in the stadium not moving at all, while others were completely blowing sideways.  For those who weren't around in the earlier days when they talked about the swirling winds in January, this is what we were talking about.  The wind wreaked havoc on both kickers, leading to a 2 for 6 performance.  Both QB's missed wide open deep shots that are believed to have been lost in the jet stream.  There were even a few shotgun snaps that you could see the wind affect it's path.  The strong legged Bojo punted one into a wall of wind.  It affected both teams, so that advantage was neutralized, but it did make me think about one thing.  If this is going to be the Bills offense for the next 15 years, do I dare say we want a stadium that isn't going to slow us down?  We aren't a Thurman led team that can rely on our rushing attack in these conditions.  If it truly were the wind, wouldn't you rather have a dome and have Allen hit Diggs early on that touchdown bomb?

 

4 - Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to do.

Nothin' ain't worth nothin' but it's free.

Feelin' good was easy Lord, when Bobby sang the blues.

Feelin' good was good enough for me, good enough for me and Bobby McGee.

 

5 - Milano - Pay that man his money.  I have a lot of respect for Mark Andrews and thinks he will command a solid contract this off-season.  He's got the speed, hands, and physicality of an elite tight end and has been a focal point of this Ravens offense.  While all of that is true, Matt Milano beat the absolute ***** out of him.  Milano was a man possessed on the field in both run protection and pass coverage.  He didn't just cover Andrews, he leveled him the moment the ball touched his hands.  He played fast, he played hard, and he was consistent all game.  I've always been a Milano fan and really don't want to lose him in this cap-reduced off-season, and this game was a perfect resume for his extension.

 

6 - Hughes - Against the Chargers, I kept wondering what it would be like to have a Bosa on our team.  A guy that would absolutely dominate an opposing teams offensive line when only sending four.  Against the Ravens, Hughes answered that question.  I don't know if he was drinking a Code Red Mountain Dew while applying his Old Spice before the game, but Hughes was an absolute man on the field.  He was credited with 2 sacks, but was in on another and was chasing Lamar all over the field.   You want your stars to show up in the biggest games and that's exactly what Jerry did, he showed up and he shined bright.

 

7 - Tip of the Cap - There's two players I've been incredibly hard on this season and mainly because of the expectations I have of them due to their draft status.  Edmunds and Oliver are guys far enough in their careers where they should be making a consistent impact on the field being top 15 picks.  In this game, both of them made significant contributions and had a strong impact on the game.  Oliver was fast this game and made some great pursuit tackles.  Edmunds was fast with his decision making and wrapped up all of his tackles.  He played his role in the defense exactly how he should have.  Both were fundamentally sound and allowed others to play more aggressive because of it

 

8 - Smoke - After the game against the Colts, I was curious was Brown's role in this offense was going to be.  With Humphries and Peters covering Diggs and Davis (right?!) most of the game, Smoke stepped up in a big way by becoming the safety net Allen needed and used in the first half of the season.  I'm not sure if Beasley was hobbled out there, but Smoke was our clear number two in this game and contributed on numerous first downs.  Brown also gave us our traditional "Allen scramble and finding a toe tapping receiver downfield" play.  If nothing else, any team planning for the Bills have four legitimize receivers they need to plan for.  Good luck with that.

 

9 - Allen - How would Allen handle the cold, windy conditions against a often-blitzing Ravens defense?  First off, the ice in Allen's veins makes the cold air seem like a warm ocean breeze.  The Blitzing Ravens dropped 4 into coverage on most plays trying to keep Allen underneath only to find Allen taking shot after shot downfield.  When they did blitz, they got to him a few times, but it didn't shake him at all.  Unlike the opposing QB on the other sideline who didn't know what to do when his gimmick was shut down, Allen kept his focus on the game, took what was given to him, and walked off the field a winner.  Allen didn't have a flashy game, but he also didn't make any mistakes.  He made adjustments and worked through his progressions.  Just an overall solid game, but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the flops.  I hate them in the NBA and MLS.

 

10 - McD - Coach has been the butt of many jokes for his sideline clapping, cliche' post-game speeches, and overall vanilla personality to the media.  However, if you haven't been paying attention the past few weeks, we are seeing a very different side of McD lately.  If one thing's been made clear to me, it's that McD had a very specific goal in mind with this team and he wasn't going to celebrate the little victories along the way.  When they won the division, he got emotional in the locker room.  When they won last week, he got loud in his post-game speech. In this game, you could see him bursting on the sidelines.   McD was going to be happy until he had a Super Bowl contending squad, and as that vision has started to become a reality, I think we are finally seeing the real McD.   With a 17-3 win, it's a beautiful thing. 

 

**Notable Call-outs:

--Harrison Phillips was great against the run and in penetration

--Trent Murphy is the Lamar's scrambling kryptonite.  His containment in this game was masterful and worth all the cap space sitting on the bench in recent games

--Knox wasn't flashy in his catches, but also didn't make any mistakes.  He was great in pass protection

--Wallace with some great pressure on DB blitzes

--6700 fans really did sound like 75,000 strong

 

 

With that, we are off to the AFC championship game.  It feels surreal to even type that.  We heard people call us Super Bowl contenders, but now that we are in the final four, it's starting to become real.  No matter what happens going forward, this team has proven everyone wrong this year.  Well, except one man.  In the 90's we had Chris Berman.  This Bills team has Kyle Brandt.  The hype and support this man has put towards the Bills has been absolutely amazing and he's created a fan out of me.

 

This one’s for you @Gugny  Go Bills!!!

Agree completely on your point about the wind ..while it does neutralize the opponent..it neutralizes us just as much or more ..we have an explosive passing attack and are probably going to be a volume passing team for the next decade probably ....when they are building they should probably take that into deep consideration.

[Success]

Great write-up.  I look forward to these posts.

 

Yes on the dome.  YES.  With Allen and this offense, it will always be on my mind as we're going through seasons and trying to secure homefield advantage.  It is strange to think that homefield could work against us in certain circumstances - and when we do get it, I'll always start thinking about the weather first, and just hoping that it will be a relatively calm day.

 

Had we lost that game, it's probably all we would be talking about today.  That wind grounded our offense.

 

[Logic]

Thanks for the writeup.

Just wanted to point out that Adam Schein has been just as vocal in his support of the Bills -- if note more so -- than Kyle Brandt. 

He said matter-of-factly that the Bills would make the playoffs last year. They did.

He said matter-of-factly that the Bills would win the division and win a home playoff game this year. They did.

He jumped through a table a week ago!

Actually, between Kyle Brandt, Adam Schein, Chris Simms, and Michael Robinson, this Bills squad has quite a few vocal supporters in the media!

[BaaadThingsMan]

Tremaine Edmunds was amazing in this game. On rewatch he is flashing all over the field. This may be close to what the team has been expecting from him.