Bills beat Ravens, 17-3: Instant analysis

I think most Baltimore Ravens fans understood the team might get beat, ending their season prematurely. But very few would have expected the Ravens to go out the way they did. Unfortunately, if it could have gone against Baltimore tonight, it did. And in the end, the Buffalo Bills emerged victorious, 17-3.

Things started out well enough. The Ravens came out physical, making their presence felt on offense to the tune of 31 rushing yards on the first three plays of the game. But Lamar Jackson took an 11-yard sack just a few plays later in what was the best instance of foreshadowing not in the fiction section of your local library. The end of that first drive looked like automatic points when kicker Justin Tucker trotted onto the field. But his kick doinked off the upright, falling into the end zone. It wasn’t Tucker’s last miss of the night, but again, it set the tone for the hell that awaited the Ravens all evening.

Ultimately, that was the story of the game. Even when the Ravens were able to move the ball, they shot themselves in the foot and failed to finish drives. Baltimore was able to get into scoring range five separate times, including three instances in the red zone. But two missed field goals and a pick-six completely took them out of contention despite Buffalo looking far from perfect themselves.

Miscue after miscue slapped Baltimore’s offense in the face every time things went well. Where the defense came up big against a very talented passing attack, the NFL’s seventh-ranked scoring offense seemingly never got off the plane.

Center Patrick Mekari’s snaps were all over the place, and though he’ll get the most flak for his performance, the rest of the offensive line wasn’t much better. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman was slow to make adjustments in the first half. Baltimore’s pass-catchers struggled to get open, while Jackson missed wide-open targets. Even the running backs were off as J.K. Dobbins dropped what would have been two huge completions while Gus Edwards fumbled.

Had the Ravens been able to finish drives with points, they very well could have won this game. But, credit to the Bills’ defense and coordinator Leslie Frazier. Buffalo did a great job of dialing up blitzes but staying disciplined on the edges, harassing Jackson every time he dropped back or went to run. The Bills bet that stopping the run and blitzing Jackson was the key to victory and they were absolutely right.

This is a loss Baltimore will have months to reflect on. Hopefully, it’s one that forces a stagnant passing attack to improve.