Baltimore Ravens 30, Buffalo Bills 28
8:15 pm Eastern Time (NBC) | Bills Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
This is the best game of the week because of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, two defenders backed by two squads ready to win the Super Bowl now.
Although the recency bias may be at play here, my slight advantage goes to the Ravens because the Bills defense that appeared in the Wild Card round looked a lot like the Bills defense of the first half of the season. The Bills have given up more than 200 run yards twice this year and seven times since Sean McDermott took over. Indianapolis had a chance to win last week because Buffalo’s defense was dominated by a fast, cohesive attack that hit the outside at important moments.
Baltimore’s defense, however, is at its peak. The Ravens will not be able to get Allen through to submission as they did at the end of last regular season, but even a handful of negative moves and a turnaround would be sufficient in a game that probably wouldn’t have many defensive stops. Buffalo’s race of passes shouldn’t bother Jackson either, putting a lot of pressure on linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano to constantly save the day.
Allen is the X factor. In a quarterback league, no one is playing better. Even if the Ravens have the right game plan, they can make plays impossible to defend out of pocket. The same can be said about Jackson, even though the Ravens’ passing game is more sporadic. This may be the best confrontation between young and mobile quarterbacks in the history of the NFL playoffs, and I am very happy to see it, no matter what.
- Josh Allen will have more combined passing and running yards than Lamar Jackson. I love Jackson, but Allen had more than 1,000 combined yards more than he did in the regular season. Allen’s legs are also a big factor in the playoffs, like last week.
- The total points scored in the game will exceed 50.5. Bizarre number, which should be close to 56. Great attack surpasses good defense in 2021.