BALTIMORE — After three weeks, the Bills seemed like they were atop the NFL world. Three straight wins — including two in a row on a national stage in primetime — the Bills looked like one of the best teams in the league.
But the Ravens, fresh off a near collapse against the Cowboys the week prior, were game for the moment. They dominated the first half and then, after a brief lull, did so again in the second en route to a 35-10 thrashing of the Bills.
“They came out with urgency and they whooped our butt,” quarterback Josh Allen said.
The loss pushed the Bills to 3-1 on the year and opened up a host of questions heading into another big matchup in Week 5.
Why the trick play was a disaster from the start
The Bills had plenty of problems on offense. They came in knowing that it would be tough to run against the stout Ravens defensive line and linebackers. With some reliance on the passing game needed, the Bills had trouble protecting Allen all night and it led to a lot of poor situations for the offense to get out of. But even through those troubles early in the game, they were in a position to make it a one-possession game with plenty of time on the clock. And then, the trick play happened. Although it wasn’t the reason the sole reason for the Bills’ loss, it zapped them of all of the progress the team had built up to begin the second half. The play was the worst call offensive coordinator Joe Brady has made to date, and it was a catastrophe as soon as the ball was snapped.
The Ravens were not fooled by all the pre-snap movement to put Allen out wide, with Samuel in shotgun behind the center. The Ravens calmly communicated with one another and stayed within their principles as the ball was snapped. For the Bills, chaos ensued. Tight end Dalton Kincaid was lined up just to the outside of left tackle Dion Dawkins. Dawkins’ likely responsibility was to get just enough of a block on the edge rusher to allow Allen to get back between the hash marks with some protection in front of him. But because the play had Kincaid going from left to right after the snap behind the offensive line, it prevented Dawkins from getting enough of a hit on the rusher Kyle Van Noy, and that threw off the timing of the entire play.
.@KVN_03 gets the ball out and @kyledhamilton_ recovers!!!
Tune in on NBC! pic.twitter.com/joofwJAxEw
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 30, 2024
Van Noy careened off Dawkins’ half block and into Samuel after his pitch to Allen, knocking the receiver right into Allen’s face. It forced Allen to head back out wide, susceptible to every hit imaginable, with multiple defenders bearing down on him as the offensive line had walled off the area between the hash marks. There was nothing the linemen could do in that moment. Then Allen went into hero mode, tried to fling it down the field and took the biggest hit he’s taken all year as defensive tackle Travis Jones decked him just after Van Noy stripped the ball.
But the call was borderline asinine for several reasons, even before knowing the result of the play. For one, the Bills had finally found some offensive success after an entire first half of frustration. They scored on their previous drive to make it 21-10, and in the early stages of the next, found some real success as a multi-dimensional offense. Allen hit Keon Coleman for a big gain. Running back James Cook had a few good rushes to help put them in Ravens territory and seemingly closing in on field goal range at the very least. Then on 2nd-and-7, Brady made that call.
Plus, the offensive line had difficulties with the Ravens’ defensive pressure for a lot of the game, forcing Allen off his spot more than they would like. To take him out of the pocket where he initially got the ball in the first place and open him up to that kind of hit was shortsighted at best. And then the topper of it all, knowing Allen’s tendency to try to play hero and put him at risk of an open-season hit while he’s already nursing a hand injury just made it an all-time bad call from Brady. The offensive coordinator has been good for much of the season, and this one call doesn’t undo that, but it was forced and just poorly timed due to the situation. After the game, head coach Sean McDermott was relatively tame in what he had to say about the play.
“That’s something that Joe and I will discuss at length, and I’m sure he wants that call back. I do as well,” McDermott said. “And we’ll learn from that and move forward.”
But having translated McDermott for the past seven-plus seasons, there was some real, ‘we’re in a public place right now but we’ll discuss this when we get home’ dad energy infused in the answer. As it happened, McDermott intently watched the play, and Allen barely hit the ground from the Jones hit. Basically, as Allen’s lower back touched the earth, McDermott appeared to be reaching down to his waist to the controller for his headset. Given his answer after the game and overall disappointment in the call, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he opened up the communication line.
But McDermott is justified in his frustration. It wasn’t the reason they lost the game, but it was the reason that prevented them from getting back into it when they finally seemed to be turning the corner. That play call likely won’t see the light of day for a long, long time. And for good reason.
How the backup magic on defense finally ran out
Through the first three weeks, the Bills had done their best to convince the football world that any loss to a starter — whether it was through the offseason or to an injury over the last two months — they could make it work. And to their credit, they were flying around over their last ten quarters, playing to their whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts style that helped mask some of those individual weaknesses. They deserve a ton of credit for those first three weeks. But this game against the Ravens was a reality check in every sense.
The Ravens set out to attack those principles by wanting the Bills to prove that they could be physical enough to get through one-on-one blocks to get to the ball carriers and make tackles in the open field. The Bills struggled mightily in both of those categories. If the Bills were going to sit back as they had been over their last two games, the Ravens utilized the quick passing game to prove that those individuals in that area of the zone could skate through blockers and then execute the tackle. All too often, it led to big play after big play.
And that was where having three backups be the entire second level of the defense came back to bite them. Whether it was through Baylon Spector’s inability to get off blocks, Dorian Williams taking the bait on some misdirection plays, or Cam Lewis showing to be a clear downgrade in the run game from their starting nickel, that trio was exposed in a way they hadn’t been since taking over for their respective starters. But having them on the field brought on a subset of problems for this specific opponent.
Because Lewis struggled more in run defending and is smaller than usual starter Taron Johnson, it forced the Bills’ hand to switch up their personnel a bit more than they usually would and out of nickel entirely. That, coupled with the two injuries to Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard meant that Nicholas Morrow — primarily signed for his special teams abilities — was the third linebacker against heavier personnel packages. It was just another small detail that led to a bigger problem, and the Bills were found in some mismatched situations. On top of that, it put more pressure on the team’s safeties to make plays than they had to before this game, and it showed some of the limitations of Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin. The Ravens didn’t even have to test the perimeter of the Bills’ defense all that often, because all the success they needed was right in the middle of the field.
In the second half, the defense began to show a little bit of life, forcing the Ravens to punt quickly on their first two possessions. Part of that was the adjustments the Bills made to come off that low blitz rate style that had been so successful while leaving the backend covered. Once they began to send some additional pressure, they briefly found a few more positive results. They deserve some credit for how they pivoted, and when tasked with giving the offense a chance in the second half, they did so. But after that trick play, it deflated everything, they went back to giving up big plays and that’s all the Ravens needed to put the game away. The Bills desperately need Bernard and Johnson back in the lineup in short order, because the blueprint is now out on how to attack this injury-depleted unit.
Bills MVP: WR Khalil Shakir — Once again, regardless of the situation, Shakir found a way to make the 52-yard play that almost got the Bills right back in the contest.
Bills LVP: Run defense — It was tough to pick with so many candidates. Ultimately, allowing an 87-yard rushing touchdown on the first snap and then another 184 yards on 33 attempts after that one is a pretty big reason the Bills couldn’t find their footing.
Up Next: The 3-1 Bills continue with the second of their three-game road stretch, taking on the 3-1 Texans in Houston on Sunday afternoon.
(Top photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
