https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7xET25GWmw
Orchard Park, NY – After Lamar Jackson set the Tennessee Titans on fire for 136 yards – including a sparkling 48-yard touchdown run – in an AFC Wild Card game, speakers realized that the Baltimore Ravens were prepared to throw the ball in the throat of the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills allowed 160 yards or more in seven games this season and were coming out of a 27-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts, where they gave up 165 yards on the ground.
Buffalo hasn’t been doing very well against the race all season, but a closer look has revealed improvements over his seven-game winning streak. In four of those games, Bills held his opponent within 100 yards of running and had already proven a year ago, when he faced Jackson for the first time, that he could limit him as a runner.
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The Ravens ran for 150 yards as a team, but Jackson was kept only 34 of those yards in nine loads. The Buffalo one-two, but without breaking the defense, gave up some long runs, but held on to their own side, keeping Baltimore with just 3 points and securing their place in the game for the AFC title with a 17-3 victory.
How did Bills do that?
Defensive side Jerry Hughes, who finished the game with two sacks, gave credit to this week’s scouting team’s quarterback: Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie.
“Throughout the week, we had Isaiah as a defender on the scouting team. I think it gave us a great look, ”said Hughes, who drew with Bruce Smith, Daryl Talley and Jeff Wright as the fourth Bills player since 1982 to pass five career heats. “Someone with the right speed, because he is probably just as fast, if not faster than Lamar.
“Throughout the practice week, this allowed us to assess how fast this defender will be and what he can do with his arm. I think Isaiah did a fantastic job doing what he does best, just being quick, quick and agile, and allowing us to get that speed. I think it helped tonight. “
Jackson was under pressure throughout the game. According to ESPN’s NextGen statistics, the Bills generated pressure in almost 37% of Jackson’s strokes. Hughes led the way with seven of his own. When the Bills sent six or more pass rushers, they generated QB pressure in almost 56% of those moves.
It was not just Hughes who was able to wreak havoc on the defensive line. Defensive tip Trent Murphy was activated only for the second time since Bills’ goodbye week in mid-November because of an injury in the second year of Darryl Johnson. Murphy helped set the limit and contain Jackson for all three quarters before departing with a concussion in the final play of the third quarter. Murphy had a tackle for a defeat, where he read Jackson’s fake in a goalkeeper’s reading zone and knocked him down. Murphy also struck Jackson, who ended his night after a bad snap.
Buffalo heard all the noise this week about how well the Ravens were playing and all the experts choosing them to win. But Bills was putting together a seven-game winning streak and faced that as a challenge.
“Many of us, just because we had this game at dawn, would sit, watch TV, like football. It’s our job. It is our passion. So when we see the guys on TV talking about how they don’t play defense in Buffalo, we’re going to give up 30 points. This is a challenge that we all see, ”said Hughes. “We went there and played as if we had something to prove, and that is how you should play football at home, especially in the playoffs.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott credited defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and the rest of the team’s defensive assistants for the good work in practicing a specific game plan they thought might work against Jackson.
“We just wanted to get on the field early on. We just knew those were really big, strong guys. We wanted to reach the limit early, show them the gap B and then counterattack, ”explained Hughes. “This is something that we worked on all week with the (defensive line) coach (Eric) Washington, is to turn this corner and be able to counterattack late because you know he will go up in his pocket and run.”
Jackson made one of these runs in a third and long time in the third quarter while the Ravens were trying to tie the game after Bills opened the third quarter with a touchdown. But on a 3rd and 9th near the goal line, Jackson intercepted and Bills’ cornerback Taron Johnson returned for a touchdown to put the game out of reach.
“I think that everyone in our defense, we knew what kind of race we were going to get,” said Hughes. “So, it all came down to being disciplined with our eyes. I think that was evident as everyone flew towards the ball. We had a population. We had guys doing body shots on ball carriers, and that’s what we want. “
Account security Micah Hyde said Buffalo knew the challenge he faced. Throughout the week, players focused their scheme on the Baltimore attack and the way they like to attack. That preparation was worth it.
“Nobody was really talking about our defense getting into this game. It was all about our attack on their defense, and not much was said about our defense, ”said Hyde. “We knew that we were trending in the right direction. We continue to play better. “
“We feel like we gave up on some things in this game that we shouldn’t have, but at the end of the day, we lost three points.”
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