For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Buffalo Bills are back to the AFC Championship Game. Combined with the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night, the No. 2-seeded conference attendees were not perfect in the windy Orchard Park. Josh Allen and Co scored just three points in a volatile first half, and even after Ravens full-back Lamar Jackson went out in the fourth quarter due to a concussion, the bill nearly allowed rookie rugby player Tyler Huntley to enter Baltimore. to draw a count. Still, Buffalo grew big when it counted, with Allen finding Stefon Diggs for the only offensive score of the night and Taron Johnson making NFL history with a 101-intercept return for an offense – easily the most monumental play in a 17- 3 Section Round victory.
Jackson, who was designated as intentional on his last game after a bad turn forced him into his own end zone, struggled to pull the Ravens out of an offensive slump that was clear from the start. Allen, on the other hand, was not nearly as deadly through the air as he regularly was during an MVP Caliber 2020 campaign, but got the ball right well enough. The Bills defense, on the other hand, really showed at home by scoring two fourth backs and neutralizing one of the game’s top attacks to not just win.
Here are some immediate takeaways from the Bills’ historic victory Saturday night:
Why the Bills Won
That defense, man. It’s quite funny how Sean McDermott’s esteemed unit basically took in Josh Allen’s rocket-armed pretentious display this year, only to reappear here and almost literally win the Bills as their first AFC title game since 1993. Everyone’s fine played, from Micah Hyde pouring out in width to Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds with Lamar Jackson at Tre’Davious White and Taron Johnson (!) suffocating the passing windows. Allen was good enough to take the lead after contacting Diggs to catch one of the few seamless drives of the night, and both Diggs and John Brown showed up, but this one was all about Buffalo’s. D. Johnson will play a key role in Bills Lore for those six-pointers.
Why the Ravens lost
Their transgression was very one-dimensional – and not even good in its one dimension. Greg Roman may have taken the NFL by storm when he released Jackson in 2019 as the centerpiece of a relentless stormy attack, but the whole operation looked old and outdated. It didn’t help that Matt Skura apparently forgot to snap at different points in the game, but from Jackson onwards, the pizzazz were missing. Neither Jackson, Gus Edwards nor JK Dobbins hit 45 yards on the ground, and number 8’s occasional speed could not compensate for an air race, except for a few cameos from Marquise Brown. Jackson’s early departure was not as troublesome as it could have been, with backup Tyler Huntley at least hitting shots in the field, but make no mistake: this loss was entirely on Baltimore’s inability to do anything with to do the ball, especially during rides deep in Buffalo area.
Pivot point
None other than the choice-six. The entire first half was ugly for both sides, but the Ravens finally knocked on the door at the end of the third. Baltimore clocked nearly nine minutes during a 15-yard drive to Buffalo’s 9-yard line, and could not convert a third-and-goal finish, which would have tied the game. it went in for a TD. It also gave the Bills an unimaginable momentum swing, not to mention six points, when Jackson inexplicably threw in a triple cover and saw Taron Johnson chase the 101-yard pick to pay for dirt. 17-3 after the takeaway, the Bills never looked back.
Playing the game
You should already know this. Give it to Johnson, who has dug himself into the history books:
What’s next
The Bills tackle the winner of the game between Browns-Chiefs and Sunday in the AFC Championship, with the chance to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. The Ravens, meanwhile, will begin their off-season in 2021 with some key questions about the sustainability of Roman’s offense and / or Jackson’s pocket pass ability.