Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - After back-to-back prime-time joy rides, the Buffalo Bills and their fans were catapulted earthward by the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
The Bills went from demolisher to demolishee, and it definitely was no fun, duh.
How bad was it? Super bad.
How meaningful and/or damaging was it? Those answers are more nuanced.
The Bills did drop a game behind the Kansas City Chiefs, who remain the only undefeated team in the AFC. They also dropped their head-to-head meeting with the Ravens, who despite only improving to 2-2 on the season, I’d anticipate being a team you could be battling for playoff seeding as well.
Those things could be damaging, and therefore meaningful.
Getting thrashed 35-10 is the sort of result that could get lots of fans to start questioning exactly how good the Bills' wins were in the first place.
It's almost inarguable that Baltimore was the best opponent the Bills have seen, though it’s easy to dismiss the Miami Dolphins now that their quarterback is hurt. But I certainly thought of them as a playoff contender prior to the injury to Tua Tagovailoa.
Looking so overmatched on both sides of the ball is certainly damaging to the fans morale. I’d bet the team just chalks it up to a bad night and keeps moving.
I’d be more worried about it if the NFL was full of teams capable of playing the way Baltimore does. Sure, lots of teams might be interested in establishing the run, but only one can sledgehammer you with 550 pounds of dudes lined up in the backfield.
While it stings to get smacked around like the Bills were on Sunday night, it’s still just one loss.
The offense will have to prove they can beat competent man coverage. A week after bludgeoning the Jacksonville Jaguars in man coverage, the Bills had no answers against the Ravens.
A couple of back-shoulder throws to rookie Keon Coleman and a scramble drill bomb to Khalil Shakir accounted for half of the Bills' passing yardage. It’s good to have the option to hit Coleman on those back-shoulder plays, but it’s not an example of a healthy passing game when that’s the only thing working.
How the Bills respond here will obviously tell the story.
Two more tough road games await: First in Houston this coming Sunday against the Texans, and then the Monday after that against the New York Jets.
We’ll see just how much Stefon Diggs talk there is this week, and how the Bills handle it. I’d expect they stay out of the ditch on the subject, but you never know.
