There’s no way on earth the Baltimore Ravens should’ve lost to the Buffalo Bills. But Josh Allen might not hail from earth.
Baltimore led 40–25 with the ball in the fourth quarter.
The Ravens had scored on seven of their first eight possessions, rolling up 133 yards and two touchdowns on their last seven plays. The game looked over.
Then Buffalo ripped off 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes for a stunning 41–40 win on Sunday Night Football.
Here are three key reasons the Ravens collapsed in Week 1.
Ravens waste chance to pin Bills at 1-yard line
Baltimore went three-and-out with a chance to go up three scores. Jordan Stout boomed a 59-yard punt. Instead of calling for a fair catch at about the 10-yard line, Bills returner Brandon Codrington let the ball bounce in front of him at the 9-yard line.
The ball bounced up, hit the ground at the 5-yard line and started to settle at the 2-yard line. Instead of grabbing the ball or tapping it in play, Baltimore’s Trenton Simpson sprinted in and dove on the ball. Simpson’s momentum kept going, he slid holding the ball and his finger touched the goal line. A slow-motion replay on the NBC broadcast showed Simpson’s finger a blade or grass or two on the white line. It resulted in a touchback since any part of Simpson’s body touched the goal line.
Instead of starting pinned deep, Buffalo began at its own 20. Allen hit Keon Coleman for 21 yards on the next snap and drove 80 yards for a tipped-ball touchdown from Allen to Coleman that cut the deficit to one score.
Henry’s costly fumble flips momentum
Oh, Henry. Derrick Henry was ferocious in the first half, bulldozing the Bills for 123 yards and a touchdown on nine carries (13.7 yards per carry).
Then he ran into defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
Henry took a handoff on first-and-10, with just more than three minutes left. Oliver bulled his way into the backfield and the two titans met three yards behind the line of scrimmage. Henry reached his right hand up for a stiff-arm but Oliver wouldn’t let go, dragging his right arm down on the football as he fell to the ground. Linebacker Terrel Bernard jumped on the fumble.
Buffalo capitalized on the game’s only turnover, with Josh Allen going up and over for a 1-yard touchdown plunge. The Bills didn’t convert the 2-point conversion but only trailed 40-38 with 1:58 remaining.
Henry broke free for a 46-yard touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter — rookie Tyler Loop missed the extra point —but totaled zero yards on his other second-half eight carries.
Offense stalls when it mattered most
The Ravens still had the lead and the ball with under two minutes left. One first down would’ve ended it. Baltimore played conservatively and got 7 yards.
Henry opened with a 1-yard run and then wide receiver Zay Flowers, who had nine carries all of 2024, took a handoff. The Bills weren’t fooled. Flowers went right end and was staring at linebacker Matt Milano so he slid inbounds. On third-and-9, Lamar Jackson threw short of the sticks to DeAndre Hopkins for 6 yards.
Jordan Stout punted and the ball went out of bounds at the 20, allowing no extra time to come off the clock. The three-and-out burned just 32 seconds.
You can’t give the ball back to Josh Allen with the game on the line.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: 3 reasons the Ravens blew it against the Bills
Reporting by Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
