https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7xET25GWmw
ORCHARD PARK, NY – After Lamar Jackson pitched the Tennessee Titans for 136 yards – including a dazzling 48-yard run – in an AFC Wild Card game, the heads spoke that the Baltimore Ravens had the ball in their throats of the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills allowed 160 yards or more in seven games this season and scored a narrow 27-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, where they conceded 165 yards on the ground.
Buffalo have not been good against the run all season, but a closer look has shown improvement in their seven-game winning streak. In four of the games, the Bills chased their opponent under 100 yards and had already proved them a year ago when they first faced Jackson that they could restrict him as a runner.
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The Ravens ran for a team for 150 yards, but Jackson was held on nine carriers just 34 from those yards. Buffalo’s shrinking power, but do not break the defense, gave up some long runs but clung on in their own end, holding Baltimore to just 3 points to secure their place in the AFC title game with a 17-3 victory to ensure.
How did the Bills do that?
Defensive finisher Jerry Hughes, who ended the game with two bags, awarded this week’s shooter team: Isaiah McKenzie, the wide receiver.
‘Throughout the week, we ran Isaiah as our backer of the scout team. I think it gave us an excellent appearance, ‘said Hughes, who has joined Bruce Smith, Daryl Talley and Jeff Wright as the fourth Bills player since 1982 to surpass five playoffs. ‘Someone with the right speed, because he’s probably just as fast, if not faster than Lamar.
‘It really enabled us during the week of practice to set our sights on how fast this quarter will be and what he can do with his arm. I think Isaiah did a fantastic job of doing what he does best, just fast, fast and agile, and allowing us to get up to speed. I think it helped tonight. ‘
Jackson was under pressure the entire game. According to ESPN’s NextGen statistics, the Bills put pressure on nearly 37% of Jackson’s setback. Hughes took the lead with seven of his own. When the bills sent six or more pass-rushers, they generated QB pressure on nearly 56% of the plays.
It was not just Hughes who was able to destroy the defensive line. The defensive end, Trent Murphy, was activated in mid-November for the second time since Bill Week due to an injury to sophomore DE Darryl Johnson. Murphy helped put the lead and limit Jackson for all three quarters, before leaving with a concussion in the final game of the third quarter. Murphy had a loss with a loss, where he read Jackson’s falsehood on a zone reading guard and picked him up. Murphy also put the hit on Jackson who ended his night after a bad moment.
Buffalo heard all the noise this week about how well the Ravens played and all the experts they chose to win. But the Bills won seven games of their own and saw it as a challenge.
“A lot of us, just because we had this late night game, we sat around, watched TV, and we enjoyed football. This is our job. This is our passion. If we see the guys on TV talking about how they are not defending in Buffalo, we’re going to give up 30 points. This is a challenge we all see. ‘, Hughes said. “We went out there and we played like we had something to prove, and that’s how you should play football at home, especially in the playoffs.”
Bill Coach coach Sean McDermott credited defense coordinator Leslie Frazier, and the rest of the team’s defense assistants did a great job of practicing a specific game plan that they said would work against Jackson.
“We just wanted to get up in the field early with these tackles. We just knew they were very big, strong guys. We wanted to be on point early, show them the open B-gap and then let them counter, ”Hughes explained. “It’s something we’ve been working on all week with coach (Eric) Washington (defensive line), who makes the turn and can act late because you know he’s going to get in the bag and take off and run.”
Jackson made one of those runs in the third quarter on a 3rd and long run when the Ravens tried to level the game after the Bills opened the 3rd quarter with a touchdown. But on a 3rd and 9th level near the goal line, Jackson threw an interception and Tarons Johnson, the Bills corner line, returned it for an attack to put the game out of reach.
“I think everyone who defends us, we knew what kind of runs we were going to get,” Hughes said. ‘It means that we are disciplined with our eyes. I think it showed when everyone flew to the ball. We had population. There were guys putting bowling shots on ball carriers, and that’s what we want. ”
Safety bill Micah Hyde said Buffalo knows the challenge he faces. Throughout the week, the players focused their plan on the Baltimore offense and the way they would like to attack. That preparation bore fruit.
“Nobody really talked about our defense in this game. “It was all about our offense against their defense, and not much was said about our defense,” Hyde said. “We knew we were moving in the right direction. We continue to play better. ”
“We feel like we gave up a few things in this game that we shouldn’t have, but at the end of the day we gave up three points.”
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