ORCHARD PARK, NY — The Buffalo Bills are well aware of the noise outside.
Leading up to the Bills’ divisional round game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, there were question marks and discussions online and on TV about how this defense would perform against quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Derrick Henry and the rest of the Ravens’ offense. .
The Bills’ defensive players took advantage of this to improve their performance. While the Ravens’ offense was able to get home in the second half, a few mistakes by the Ravens were enough for the Bills to secure a 27-25 win to advance to the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be the team’s second AFC Championship appearance in the last 30 seasons.
“Our guys heard it all. They heard it all week. We’re not big enough, we’re not strong enough, we’re not talented enough. Whatever it is, they heard it,” coach Sean McDermott said. “I don’t do social media stuff, but I think most people do. And look, I think we did a pretty good job in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, we did a pretty good job. [Henry] It rolled around a bit. And he’ll do some running. I mean, once he gets that momentum, he’s hard to stop. So, we could have done a little better there too, but I think fundamentally, if you just look at this game, it comes down to fundamentalism in football. And we talked a lot about it.”
The Bills held Henry to 84 rushing yards compared to 199 yards in the Ravens’ 35-10 Week 3 win, and the availability of linebackers Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano and nickel cornerback Taron Johnson after all three missed the first meeting has helped the unit. It was important to. The Ravens’ offense rushed for 176 yards on 20 carries, and the Ravens ran for 10 or more yards nine times.
The Bills were helped by several drops and fumbles by the Baltimore offense, most notably Mark Andrews’ dropped two-point conversion attempt, but the defense also took advantage, posting three takeaways against a team that had 11 turnovers in regulation. Recorded. season. The Bills’ offense was then able to put themselves in a position to score touchdowns on three of their four possessions in the first half, in addition to the unit not turning the ball over.
The Bills went 21 straight games, including the playoffs, without losing a turnover battle, tying the longest streak in NFL history (the Rams also did it from 1952 to 1953).
“We don’t listen to the outside noise, but everyone says this about us, we’re not talented enough, we’re not good enough for this position, and our guys keep working hard. We’re driven internally.” Quarterback Josh Allen said. “We love each other, and I think you saw there how much we played for each other.”
In the first half, the Bills held Baltimore to just 10 points despite the Ravens outscoring the Bills in a variety of areas. Turnovers were key for the unit, with safety Taylor Rapp (who left the game with a hip injury) intercepting Jackson and safety Damar Hamlin sacking Jackson and defensive end Von Miller picking up the ensuing fumble.
The Bills’ defense hit Jackson on 13 of 31 dropbacks (42%) and successfully pressured him on eight of those dropbacks (62% pressure rate when the Bills sent the blitz).
“We take a lot of pride in what we do as a defense,” defensive end AJ Epenesa said. “In our defense, we’ve been hearing all week how they’re going to do this, how they’re going to do it, and I’d say it’s given us a little bit of a boost. We’ve come into this game a little bit hotter than we’ve been in the past. , that’s what we’ve been emphasizing, and now we’ve got to do that in the second half, start the second half hot and do those things, and I think it’s good to start the way we did.”
The Ravens were able to score on three of their four possessions in the second half. Bernard had the team motivated all week, forcing them to fumble on another drive and coming back to within two from an 11-point halftime deficit. . But the Bills eventually had enough.
“Some of it was ugly, some of it looked good, but in the end we got the win and I think we had a little extra motivation,” Dawson Knox said. “I think this is especially my first time with the Bills. [being] “Being an underdog at home in the playoffs… adds a little more can of worms, or whatever you want to call it.”
The next step for the Bills is getting past their most familiar foe. They will have a chance to avenge a past loss, this time against the No. 1 seed Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, a team that has beaten Buffalo in the postseason in all three meetings with Allen and Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, including the 2020 AFC no see. Championship game. Allen and Mahomes are currently tied for the second-most meetings between two starting quarterbacks in NFL postseason history (Tom Brady and Peyton Manning lead the way with five).
The Bills beat the Chiefs 30-21 in Orchard Park earlier this season.
“Yeah, it’s really exciting,” Hamlin said. “Playing for an AFC Championship is crazy to think about, and it feels right to go there and play against them. They’re two-time Super Bowl champions, back-to-back. They’re the No. 1 seed this year. It’s the best record in the NFL, so I It’s no wonder we passed by one of our favorite places to play.
