by Not much went right for the Buffalo Bills in their ugly Week 4 Sunday night football loss to the Baltimore Ravens, who lost by double digits for the first time in years as they dropped the battle 35-10.
The Bills defense couldn’t stop Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Baltimore’s rushing attack from the start of the game, as Baltimore finished with 271 rushing yards and two touchdowns while averaging eight yards per carry. Buffalo’s offense totaled 236 yards and only averaged 4.1 yards per play. The loss was the Bills’ first of the season and left the team with more questions than expected from a previously undefeated team.
Here’s a look at the studs and duds from the Bills’ loss to the Ravens on Sunday night.
This position has been hit hard by the injury bug, with starters Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano currently sidelined with chest and biceps issues respectively, but for the first time this season their supplements have not been sufficient. Baylon Spector and Dorian Williams were bullied in the first half, both were consistently attacked and targeted and had no answer as Baltimore built a sizable lead that Buffalo was never able to capitalize on. The position group struggled against the tackles and often looked out of place in coverage, with the Ravens racking up nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half alone.
Related: Four insights from the Bills’ embarrassing Week 4 loss to the Ravens
Yes, it’s strange to call Williams both a stud and a dud, but because he looked out of place in the first half, he had a big impact in the second. He forced a fumble just before halftime and applied impressive pressure early in the third quarter, generally looking more comfortable against both the run and the pass as he finished the game with a team-high 12 tackles, one quarterback hit and one tackle for loss. . It was encouraging to see the young defender bounce back after a rocky start, suggesting this poor performance was more of an outlier than anything else.
Josh Allen took a lot of heat from the Ravens defense all night as he was sacked three times in the game. His stats could have been better, but he made some great throws. His 52-yard completion against Khalil Shakir in the second half was the highlight of the game for the Bills. He finished with 201 yards and a fumble recovery, but with a lack of a running game and the offensive line struggling to pick up protection, Allen did as much as he could, even looking like he was going to lead a comeback in several spots. points.
Related: Nightmarish early numbers show how poorly Ravens outplayed Bills
It’s a shame that the Bills went from allowing 20 points in the last two games to putting up a season-high 35 points. Henry finished with 199 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and the defense had no answers to stop him. The execution wasn’t great, but where Baltimore would attack Buffalo coming into this game was clear given its strengths and the Bills’ injuries; Buffalo still had no answers. The team’s relaxed coverage of a third-and-14 in the second quarter, in which Justice Hill picked up a first down on a screen pass, was particularly inexcusable.
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