ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills 35-10 loss against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium:
1. This was a disaster, plain and simple.
The Bills were overmatched and outclassed in every way possible. The Ravens beat them with sheer power and speed. They were better prepared. They were better coached.
In short, the Ravens showed up on a mission, which was to show the country they are, in fact, the serious Super Bowl contender they were widely touted to be before the season and not the club that had stumbled to a 1-2 start.
The Bills? They didn’t show up. At all. They were lifeless and reckless and clueless. They did nothing to demonstrate their 3-0 record was reflective of a team performing as one of the NFL’s best.
“It was evident right away they had more urgency than we did, something we’ll correct,” Josh Allen said. “A lot to learn from. I’m glad this happened early in the season, so we can correct things …. But make no mistake about it. They came out with urgency and they whipped our butt.”
Not that one game defines anything, good or bad. But this one felt as if it carried more weight in that regard because the Ravens are a likely challenger for AFC supremacy. That assumes, of course, the Bills will be in that conversation at the end of the season.
How bad was it? The Bills surrendered with 7:17 left when Mitch Trubisky replaced Allen. It was merciful, considering that Allen was sacked three times for minus-27 yards and hit eight times.
2. Just as the Bills were seemingly gaining some momentum, they found a way to self-destruct. How they did it will have fans lamenting for a very long time.
With 6:30 left in the third quarter, offensive coordinator Joe Brady decided it would be a good idea to inject some trickery. He called a direct snap to receiver Curtis Samuel, who then pitched to Allen, who was then supposed to throw a pass. Before Allen could get the ball out of his hands, linebacker Kyle Van Noy hit him, forcing a fumble that safety Kyle Hamilton recovered.
Everything about the play was bizarre. Having a receiver take a direct snap with Allen standing nearby fooled no one, particularly against a defense that was effectively blitzing. And Allen nearly sustained what easily could have been a serious injury in the process.
Had the Bills stuck to the methodical approach they were taking to moving the ball and slowing down the Ravens’ aggressive pass rush, they could very well have cut the margin to 21-17 and had the Ravens, who are notorious for blowing leads, on their heels.
Sean McDermott said he planned to discuss the call with Brady.
“That certainly was a momentum change,” the coach said.
3. The Ravens set their dominant tone on their first play from scrimmage when Derrick Henry ran 87 yards for a touchdown.
The play set a Ravens franchise record and was and second-longest against the Bills. It also was a gut punch from which the Bills never fully recovered.
The Ravens’ offense proceeded to simply punish the Bills’ defense the entire night as Henry ran for 199 yards. Lamar Jackson added 54 yards and a TD on the ground. The Ravens outgained the Bills, 427 to 236 yards. They had 22 first downs to the Bills’ 12.
This was a physical mismatch. The Ravens’ offensive line destroyed the Bills’ defensive front. Through three games, the middle of the Bills’ defense had been overcoming the loss of multiple players with injury. That all changed Sunday night.
Will it change once the Bills get healthier at linebacker, with the expected return of Terrel Bernard, or at nickel cornerback, Taron Johnson? Maybe. Perhaps the best news for the Bills is that they won’t see Henry or Jackson again in the regular season.
4. If it wasn’t already obvious, the Bills have a problem at kicker. A big problem.
Tyler Bass’ season-long struggles continued with a wide-left miss from 48 yards in the fourth quarter.
No team can afford to have an unreliable kicker, particularly with so many games (not counting Sunday night or the Bills’ back-to-back blowout wins against Miami and Jacksonville) being decided by slim margins.
The Bills already have been considering potential replacements for Bass. At the very least, they should add a kicker to the practice squad and prepare for what looks like the inevitable.
5. FYI ... the season isn’t over.
To some, it might have felt that way Sunday night. But the Bills aren’t going to play that way in most of their remaining games.
They still have enough talent to compete at a high level. At the very least, they remain the best club in their division. However, they do need to be realistic about what they are as a team. What they are is a franchise that must play efficiently and intelligently.
The Bills don’t have a great margin for error. They’re still finding their way with all the new pieces on both sides of the ball. They’re still building chemistry.
And they can’t afford to enter any game without being fully prepared to play their best. The good news about what happened Sunday night is that it reminded the Bills – with many young players – of how difficult it is to be successful, a notion that could have easily gotten away from them during their 3-0 start.
“We’re going to hit adversity throughout games throughout the season,” Allen said. “We’ve got to find a way to answer. We just didn’t do that (Sunday night).”
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