Adrian Kraus / Associated Press
Buffalo Bills will play the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 27 years, after beating the Baltimore Ravens 17-3 on Saturday in the divisional round.
The Bills, which hosted the Ravens at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, are now just two wins away from their first Super Bowl win.
The game’s turning point came near the end of the third quarter, when Bills defender Taron Johnson took a pass from Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and returned 101 yards for a touchdown and a Bills 16-3 lead.
Bills and Ravens ended the first half with a 3-3 draw. Stefon Diggs, who finished with eight receptions for 106 yards, scored the game’s only offensive touchdown in a three-yard pass from the quarterback Josh Allen with 9:29 remaining in the third quarter:
Jackson left the game at the end of the third quarter and did not return when entering concussion protocol.
The 2019 NFL MVP recovered a failed shotgun snap and launched an incomplete pass in the face of pressure from defensive players Trent Murphy and Tremaine Edmunds of the Bills.
Jackson hit his head in the final zone and went down before entering the locker room on his own.
The Ravens’ season ended in the divisional round for the second year in a row. They finished 11-5 in the regular season before defeating the Tennessee Titans 20-13 in the wild card round.
Notable performances
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson: 14 of 24, 162 passing yards, 1 INT; 9 loads, 34 running yards
Ravens WR Marquise Brown: 4 receptions, 87 reception yards
Ravens TE Mark Andrews: 4 receptions, 28 reception yards
Bills QB Josh Allen: 23 of 37, 206 passing yards, 1 TD
Bills WR Stefon Diggs: 8 receptions, 106 reception yards, 1 TD
Bills WR John Brown: 8 receptions, 62 reception yards
Bills Defense Dominates Ravens Attack
Allen, Diggs and a powerful and explosive attack received most of the stories during this magical Bills season, but Buffalo’s defense has also worked, with game creators like Tre’Davious White, Jerry Hughes and Jordan Poyer helping to lead a unit that ended in a respectable 12th place in the Football Outsiders category DVOA (value adjusted by defense over average) metric.
However, it was time for the defense to shine on a night when neither team could dedicate itself much to the attack. The responsibility fell on the Bills D to push Buffalo into the AFC title game, and he did just that by doubling (but not breaking) at the appropriate points, while making some crucially important plays as well.
Levi Wallace was the first Bill to make a great defensive move, dismissing Jackson with the Ravens facing a 1st and 10th on Buffalo’s 25-yard line in the first quarter:
This took the Ravens out of reach of field goal on a cold and windy night in western New York. Baltimore recovered with 13 yards in two moves, but Justin Tucker’s 41-yard field goal was not good.
The Ravens, then, were three and three on two direct drives, but a fourth drive was promising, with the team winning a 1st and 10th on Buffalo’s 35-yard line.
Once again, Buffalo appeared, preventing Baltimore from getting another first down. Matt Milano was the star here with a tackle from the running back Gus Edwards on the second down and a pass separation on the third.
Once again, Tucker missed another field goal, this time at 46 yards.
The bills kept doubling, but not breaking. Another attempt by Ravens saw the team go from 2nd to 29 on their own 1 yard line to 1st and 10 on their 46, but the effort ended without points. Hughes made the Ravens work harder with this bag for a nine-yard loss:
Eventually, the Ravens finally reached the red zone and seriously threatened to score a touchdown. Jackson skillfully navigated Baltimore through the field and reached the 10-yard line.
The quarterback then looked at his favorite target, Mark Andrews, to tie the game.
At that point, it was Murphy’s Law for the Ravens and euphoria for the accounts. Johnson took the pass and found a fold on the right side of a mass of players, making his way across the field, receiving a crucial block on Micah Hyde’s Jackson field and running the rest of the way for a huge pick-six:
The fourth quarter had more of the same, even with Tyler Huntley replacing Jackson. The Ravens had their chances, but the Bills held on to their own end. Baltimore had a first goal for Buffalo’s 8-yard line in the final minutes with 14 points, but Ravens came out empty, sealing Bills’ victory.
Numerous analysts have praised the defensive efforts of the Bills, and with good reason:
Buffalo is now in contention for the AFC title for the first time since January 1994, when Bills won their fourth consecutive AFC championship victory.
The Bills faced the Kansas City Chiefs to reach the Super Bowl at that time, and it is possible that the same will happen now if the Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
We’ll soon find out if the stars line up for the Bills, but whatever happens, Western New York is home to an NFL powerhouse capable of lasting and sustainable success.
Missed Doom Ravens Opportunities in Winning Game
Chances were that the Ravens would take the lead or at least keep pace with the Bills, but Baltimore was unable to capitalize on all of them.
Tucker, who missed just one field goal with less than 50 yards throughout the year, was off on two Saturdays. Yes, the wind certainly influenced Orchard Park, but it was still impressive to see the biggest kicker of all time miss two field goals that are normally automatic for him.
In addition, the Ravens fought almost every time they passed in midfield. They didn’t have a lot of trouble moving the ball in general and even outperformed the 340-220 Bills. The problem occurred when the Ravens invaded the reach of the field basket.
At that point, the top seven of the Bills proved to be oppressive, and Jackson was unable to connect with his receivers. The lost passes didn’t help, nor did the bad clicks of Patrick Mekari, who had a rough night against Bills.
Even so, the Ravens were not left out in the fourth period, although Jackson was forced to leave the game with the team losing 14 points. Huntley came in and impressed with his legs and arm, and the Ravens had a chance to pull in seven after the quarterback launched a pass to an open Marquise Brown.
The speedster could have run into the end zone with nothing but the green in front of him, but Huntley’s pass was a little long.
The Ravens had one more chance to get on the scoreboard, reaching the Bills’ 8-yard line before the two-minute warning. However, a pass from JK Dobbins fell and a badly missed connection from Huntley to Andrews sealed the fate of the Ravens.
In the end, the Ravens were their own worst enemies. Credit to the Bills and their excellent defense for setting the winning tone, but Baltimore had its moves throughout the night.
The Ravens did not take advantage of them, and now their season is over.
What is the next?
The Bills will travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs or host the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday at 6:40 pm ET.
Kansas City will host Cleveland in the AFC Divisional Round on Sunday at 3:05 pm Eastern Time.