The Bills defense kept the Ravens offense from catching fire on Sunday and their offense found its footing with enough time left to give them a chance to tie in the final minutes, but the AFC’s top team held on.
Josh Allen threw three straight incompletions after the Bills moved the ball into the red zone and the Ravens were able to escape Buffalo with a 24-17 win. The victory bumps their record to 11-2 and clinches them a spot in the playoffs. Should the Steelers lose in Arizona on Sunday, it will also give them the AFC North title.
Lamar Jackson‘s numbers weren’t as gaudy as we’ve seen in some previous games, but he was effective when needed. He capped drives into the red zone with short touchdown passes to Nick Boyle and Willie Snead and also hooked up with Hayden Hurst for a 61-yard score early in the third quarter. Boyle and Hurst may become bigger pieces after Mark Andrews left Sunday’s game with a leg injury.
Jackson wasn’t able to pass Michael Vick for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season, but he did cross the 1,000-yard mark while picking up 40 yards on the ground. The Ravens had 78 other rushing yards and their 118 total yards are the lowest they’ve managed in a game this season.
The same is true of their 257 total yards, which is a testament to how well Buffalo’s defense played on Sunday. The offense was a very different story. Devin Singletary ran well in spurts, but Josh Allen had a miserable day. He was 17-of-39 for 146 yards while only running twice for nine yards and losing a fumble on one of Baltimore’s six sacks.
The loss drops the Bills to 9-4 and they’ll try to rebound against the Steelers in Pittsburgh next Sunday. Other results will determine how crucial that game is to their playoff chances, but they left the door open for others to tighten up the race.