ORCHARD PARK – Sean McDermott refuses to get bogged down in the past, so while he clearly is disappointed by the fact that his Buffalo Bills have not qualified for a Super Bowl, let alone won one, he’s not going to let outside noise affect him, or his team.
The Bills enter the 2025 season as one of three legitimate candidates to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 60 on Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi Stadium outside San Francisco. They are right there with the Kansas City Chiefs and their opening opponent Sunday night at Highmark Stadium, the Baltimore Ravens.
Having won a franchise-record five straight AFC East titles has been great, but reaching only two AFC Championship Games and losing both in Kansas City obviously has not, and there is an inherent pressure on the Bills this year to get over the hump, especially since they have reigning MVP Josh Allen right smack in the middle of what should be a yearslong football prime.
Just don’t tell McDermott that.
“We take a lot of pride in what we’ve done here, and nobody has more internal drive and internal expectations than I do or we do,” he said. “I’m very confident in who we are, very confident in what we’ve done and what we are able to do, and our ability overall.
“We’re always pushing as hard as we can to get to where we’re trying to get to. We’ve done a lot of good things here – there’s one thing that remains, we know what that is. But you can’t get there tomorrow. We got to take it one day at a time, and we’ve got an opponent coming up in the Baltimore Ravens … so that’s really where our focus is.”
And that’s where it needs to be because the Ravens are going to provide a massive test for Buffalo. This is a team that blew out the Bills last year in Week 4 at Baltimore, and nearly came into Orchard Park last January and eliminated Buffalo in the divisional round. Had Mark Andrews not dropped a tying two-point conversion in the final seconds, the Ravens might have pulled it off.
“They’re really good,” Allen said earlier this week. “Obviously, we played them in the playoffs and we understand there’s gonna be a lot of heightened emotions on both sides.”
Here’s my prediction and preview of the gam:
Sal’s prediction: Ravens 30, Bills 28
These are two of the best teams in the NFL and there’s almost no separation. As the home team, the Bills are slightly favored, but this is essentially a coin flip and it might come down to which team forces the other into a game-losing mistake. In last January’s playoff game, that team was the Bills as they forced three Baltimore turnovers which ultimately proved to be the difference.
Both sides can rightfully say they have been given an incredibly difficult opener, and it’s actually a little tougher for the Ravens because they have to go on the road. But I have some real concerns about the Buffalo defense given its youth up front and uncertainty in the back end and that’s just enough for me to lean Baltimore’s way.
The QB Matchup: Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson
Patrick Mahomes is always going to be in the conversation because when you win three Super Bowls and two MVP awards, there’s no way around it. But in 2025, a strong case can be made that Allen (2024 MVP) and Jackson (2019, 2023 MVP plus 2024 runner-up) are the two best quarterbacks in the NFL and that’s one big reason why this opener is so magnificent.
Allen and Jackson came into the NFL in 2018, Allen as the No. 7 overall draft pick, Jackson at No. 32. They made their debuts in Week 1 that year, both coming off the bench, Allen to replace the horrid Nathan Peterman, Jackson to mop up for Joe Flacco with the Ravens on the way to a 47-3 laugher.
Since then, they have shared the field five times as starters, Allen holds a 3-2 lead including 2-0 in the playoffs, but what’s interesting is that neither man has played to their MVP pedigree in any of the games. Jackson has thrown for 156, 144, 145, 162 and 254 yards while averaging 41.6 yards rushing. Allen has thrown for 180, 213, 146, 206 and 127 yards and averaged 24.6 yards rushing.
As great as they are, it’s rather strange that they have not had major impacts in their meetings. But that could obviously change Sunday night. “To win, you’ve got to play at your best,” Allen said. “When you’re going against another quarterback that’s great, you talk about Lamar, he’s one of the best players to touch the grass, honestly. You can’t give him more opportunities than he needs. We’re on the opposite side, we don’t play the quarterback, we play the defense and the defensive coordinator, and just doing everything that we can to really help our defense out.”
Buffalo Bills who should impact the game
RB James Cook: He got paid, and with two very good seasons he earned it, but now Cook needs to take his game to the next level and it would start by becoming more of a factor on third down. Cook led the Bills running backs with 32 receptions last year, but not many of those came on third down because he typically ceded the field to Ty Johnson. However, while Johnson is the better pass protector, he hasn’t exactly been a key target as he has just seven catches on 11 third-down targets since the start of 2023. Cook needs to be more involved in those situations.
RT Spencer Brown: He’s so important to the success of the Bills’ running game, but his pass protection will get a severe test. The Ravens top sacker with 12.5 last year was Kyle Van Noy and he typically lined up on the left side of the defense. Odafe Oweh was next with 10 sacks and he lined up about a third of his 636 snaps over there, so Brown is going to see them both, and he may also get a peak at rookie Mike Green, the Ravens’ 2025 second-round pick who was the leading sacker in college football last season and who had an impressive camp and preseason.
LB Matt Milano: He’s finally healthy and he looked like the Milano of old over the summer, showing off athleticism and a nose for the ball. He needs to play well in the run, but he’ll also play a key role in pass coverage against players like TE Mark Andrews and Ravens’ third-down RB Justice Hill. Last year, Hill’s 15 receptions on third down tied for the most among all RBs in the NFL, but in the playoff game against the Bills, he had just two catches for seven yards and Milano was not targeted in the game, an indication that he handled whatever pass coverage assignments he had.
S Taylor Rapp: There’s a heavy burden on Rapp as the most experienced starter in the secondary. His safety partner, Cole Bishop, is a huge question mark, and the CB2 in this game might be Ja’Marcus Ingram or rookie Dorian Strong, so Rapp may have to shade their way. Last season, the Bills were terrible on third down as they allowed a conversion 43.7% of the time while the Ravens ranked third in the NFL on offense, converting 48.2% on third down, so obviously, that’s going to be key area to watch.
Baltimore Ravens who should impact the game
RB Derrick Henry: Now 31 years old, the 252-pound tank does not seem to have slowed down one bit. In his first season with the Ravens in 2024 he rushed for 1,921 yards and tied for the league lead with 16 rushing TDs, nearly becoming the first player in history with two seasons of at least 2,000 yards. With Henry and Jackson, the Ravens led the league with 187 rushing yards per game.
WR Zay Flowers: He has been Baltimore’s leading receiver in each of his first two seasons with a total of 151 catches for 1,917 yards and nine TDs, but an injury forced him out of the postseason and the Ravens clearly missed him in the loss to Buffalo. Last year, his 19 receptions of at least 20 yards tied for fourth-most in the league, and part of that success came from his ability to break tackles after the catch.
LB Roquan Smith: Last season he earned first-team All-Pro honors for the third time in his career and second time with the Ravens as he led the team (fifth in the NFL) with 154 tackles and his missed tackle percentage of 5.8 was the best among all qualified LBs. He also had an interception, a forced fumble, a recovery and 1.5 sacks. He’s an every-down defender who is strong against the run but can occasionally be taken advantage of in pass coverage.
FS Kyle Hamilton: One of the best in the NFL, a player who can play anywhere in coverage as he lines up deep, in the box, and once in a while in the slot. The Ravens basically find the best matchups for him and deploy him to that spot. He’s outstanding in coverage, but can also handle himself against the run.
Buffalo Bills 2025 schedule
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Ravens prediction: Clash hinges on defense in battle of MVP quarterbacks
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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