Baltimore, Md. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills began their three-game road trip on Sunday night in Baltimore with a dud against the Ravens.
The Bills fell short from the start, and failed to find a way to contain the Ravens on both sides of the football in a 35-10 loss at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
The opening kickoff was received by the Bills, but Buffalo failed to make anything happen right away. The offense advanced as far as midfield, but failed to convert on a 3rd-and-2 pass from Josh Allen to Dalton Kincaid for a first down. Buffalo elected to punt the ball to Baltimore, pinning the Ravens at their own 13-yard line.
In the Ravens' opening series on offense, the unit only needed one play to strike, as running back Derrick Henry burst through a hole and scampered 87 yards for a touchdown.
Looking to bounce back, Allen and the Buffalo offense drove down the field as far as the Ravens' 30-yard line, but a holding penalty killed any forward momentum for the Bills.
Tyler Bass was called on for a 50-yard field goal attempt for Buffalo, which he successfully converted on to put the Bills on the board.
Henry continued to be a force against the Bills defense, as the Ravens marched down the field again on Buffalo. The drive resulted in another seven points for Baltimore with quarterback Lamar Jackson throwing a quick five-yard pass to Henry for the score.
Now feeling the pressure and having little-to-no answer to stop the Ravens offense, the Buffalo offense fell short again, stalling on third down.
After a 3rd-and-1 pass from Allen to Dawson Knox for no gain at the Buffalo 39-yard line, the Bills elected to punt once again, giving the Ravens the chance to bust the game wide-open early in the second quarter.
The Ravens then proceeded to march down the field once again on a 10-play drive, spanning 81 yards in 5:16 of game action. It ended with Jackson connecting with running back Justice Hill for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
Following another three-and-out offensively, the Bills defense finally spurred some potential life with about two minutes remaining in the half, as linebacker Dorian Williams managed to jar the ball loose from Jackson while on the run. Fellow linebacker Baylon Spector was able to come up with the recovery at the Buffalo 39-yard line.
Despite getting a free set of downs thanks to a delay of game penalty against the Ravens, the Bills stalled again on third down at the Baltimore 48-yard line. That led to another Buffalo punt with one minute remaining in the half.
Right out of the gate to start the second half, the Buffalo defense made a statement, forcing a three-and-out of the Ravens after seemingly having no answer to their attack in the opening half.
On the opening drive of the third quarter for the Bills offense, Allen was finally able to get the ball into the Ravens' red zone thanks, in large part, to a 52-yard bomb while rolling out to his right to wide receiver Khalil Shakir.
On the very next play, the Bills finally found the end zone with running back Ty Johnson finding space to the outside for a three-yard touchdown run.
The Buffalo defense continued to breathe some life into the team on the next Baltimore drive, forcing another three-and-out and even coming up with a third down sack of Jackson.
However, all momentum was lost on the next Bills drive after a risky play call from offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
With Allen lined up as a wideout, wide receiver Curtis Samuel took the snap before pitching it over to his quarterback. However, the play was broken from the start, and eventually resulted in Allen being stripped of the football by Ravens pass rusher Kyle Van Noy and recovered by safety Kyle Hamilton.
The Ravens made the Bills pay on the ensuing drive, as Jackson found the end zone once again, this time on his legs from nine yards out, to make the score 28-10 in favor of the home team.
Despite the turnover, the Bills attempted to put together another scoring drive right away, and managed to get back into the Baltimore red zone. However, a sack on third down backed the Bills up 16 yards, and put more pressure on Bass to convert a field goal.
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Bass' attempt from 48 yards out was pushed too far to the left and missed.
That signaled the end for the Bills on Sunday night, as the Ravens, once again, took advantage of the opportunity and put up more points on the scoreboard.
Despite Henry fumbling the football as he attempted to power his way to the end zone once again, the Ravens still managed to recover as fullback Patrick Ricard picked up the touchdown to make it a 35-10 contest.
With the game out of reach, both teams ended up eventually playing a number of backups, while exchanging punts until the game clock hit 0:00, signaling Buffalo's first loss of the 2024 season.
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SCORING RECAP
First Quarter:
- 7-0 BALTIMORE: Ravens touchdown (11:02) - Derrick Henry rushes to the right for an 87-yard touchdown. (Justin Tucker's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 1 play, 87 yards, 0:12
- 7-3 BALTIMORE: Bills field goal (4:38) - Tyler Bass' 50-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 11 plays, 38 yards, 6:16
Second Quarter:
- 14-3 BALTIMORE: Ravens touchdown (15:00) - Lamar Jackson tosses a short pass to Derrick Henry for a 5-yard touchdown. (Justin Tucker's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:39
- 21-3 BALTIMORE: Ravens touchdown (7:40) - Lamar Jackson fires a strike to Justice Hill for a 19-yard touchdown. (Justin Tucker's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 10 plays, 81 yards, 5:16
Third Quarter:
- 21-10 BALTIMORE: Bills touchdown (11:31) - Ty Johnson finds space to the left for a 3-yard touchdown run. (Tyler Bass' extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 4 plays, 60 yards, 2:27
- 28-10 BALTIMORE: Ravens touchdown (2:51) - Lamar Jackson keeps it himself for a 9-yard touchdown run. (Justin Tucker's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 59 yards, 3:35
Fourth Quarter:
- 35-10 BALTIMORE: Ravens touchdown (11:31) - Derrick Henry fumbles into the end zone, but the football is recovered by Patrick Ricard for a touchdown. (Justin Tucker's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 62 yards, 3:32
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SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
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What's next:
The Bills continue their road trip next Sunday afternoon when they head to Houston to take on the Texans at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET with full play-by-play action on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.