The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens will face off this weekend in the AFC divisional round playoffs. This is the second time these teams have met in the postseason, the first being in the same round of the 2020 playoffs when the Bills won 17-3.
However, this meeting is not as important as the one these two teams had earlier this season. In Week 4, Baltimore dominated Buffalo with a commanding 35-10 victory. The loss was Buffalo’s first of the season and the last time the Bills lost a regular-season game by more than eight points since a 41-15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 21, 2021. It was the first time.
The Bills and Ravens met earlier this season, but each team has made a number of roster changes since they met in October. Of course, most of the talk about this game will center around quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, who are the MVP frontrunners in either order, but more importantly, who missed the last These may be players who can participate in this matchup. time and vice versa.
For the Bills, the first time these teams met, the team’s defense was a disaster. Buffalo was without two of its starting linebackers as Matt Milano had not yet returned from Injured Reserve (IR) and Terrell Bernard was out with a pectoral injury. Instead, the Bills started Bayron Specter and Dorian Williams, sometimes rotating veteran Nicholas Morrow into games in Williams’ place.
Buffalo also was without second-team All-Pro nickel corner Taron Johnson, who serves as the team’s pseudo-third linebacker. Johnson missed the game with a broken forearm. Cam Lewis started in his place. As if those injuries weren’t enough, starting safety Taylor Rupp left the game early in the second quarter with a concussion. He was replaced by rookie Cole Bishop, and this was his first major professional action.
All of Buffalo’s players who missed that game are expected to be available for this weekend’s rematch. Milano returned from injured reserve in Week 13 and finally showed his true form Sunday against the Denver Broncos. He recorded five tackles and one sack. Bernard and Johnson are healthy. Two of the players who replaced them are no longer on the active roster. Morrow was released on Jan. 2 and remains a free agent, while Specter is on IR with a calf injury. Williams and Bishop have played on special teams, and Lewis has settled in as the team’s defensive back while also playing on special teams.
Buffalo also added reinforcements to the interior of its defensive line. In the first matchup, Buffalo used a four-man rotation at defensive tackle, with Ed Oliver (72%) and Daquan Jones (63%) taking the majority of the defensive snaps. Dwayne Carter was third on the team with just under half of the snaps (46%). Buffalo added veteran defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson to the team, and Carter, the team’s third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has been healthy.
The Bills are different offensively as well. Most personnel remain the same, but the big change is veteran wideout Amari Cooper. In the first matchup, Keon Coleman led all Buffalo receivers with 73% of the offensive snaps. Mack Hollins played 61% of the snaps, Khalil Shakir played 59% of the snaps, Marquez Valdes-Scantling played 42% of the snaps, and Curtis Samuel played 37% of the snaps.
In the first matchup, Shaquill injured his ankle on the Bills’ second possession. He was able to return for the remainder of the game, but the injury forced him to miss the following week’s contest, a 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans. Valdes-Scantling is off the roster, and Samuel looked much more like the coverage beater signed against Denver. Cooper hasn’t put up any big stats, but his presence opens things up for Buffalo’s other wideouts.
While the Bills were dealing with injury issues in their first matchup, the Ravens weren’t in perfect shape in October either. They were without monster nose tackle Michael Pierce, who missed the game with a shoulder injury. Andrew Voorhees, then the starting left guard, was also sidelined with an ankle injury. Rookie Roger Rosengarten started at right tackle, while right tackle Patrick Mekaru moved to left guard. In Pierce’s place, Baltimore selected Travis Jones.
Since then, the Ravens have kept the same offensive line from that game as Voorhees has been relegated to second-team. Pierce also played some reserve snaps, but had a highlight-reel play with an interception in the regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns. Buffalo struggled to win at either line of scrimmage in the first game, but Baltimore’s offensive and defensive lines have only improved since then.
Offensively, there is one potentially big problem looming for the Ravens. Wideout Zai Flowers (74 receptions, 1,059 yards, four touchdowns), making his first Pro Bowl appearance this season, suffered a knee injury in the final week of the regular season and missed last week’s game. He had one catch for 10 yards on two targets in the first meeting. Tyrann Wallace, a fourth-year player from Oklahoma State, started in his place last week and quickly led all Baltimore wideouts.
Baltimore also added to its defensive secondary late in the season, adding cornerback Tre’Davious White, a player well known to Bills fans. Buffalo, a 2017 first-round draft pick, signed with the Los Angeles Rams this offseason after being released by the Bills and struggled in Los Angeles before being traded to Baltimore on Nov. 5.
White works as a sub-package corner for the Ravens and has three pass breakups, but only completed 5 of 10 passes when closest in coverage. . It’s important to note that it won’t be as easy this time around, considering Buffalo struggled offensively in October against a Baltimore defense that hasn’t yet gelled.
Former Bills return specialist Deonte Harty is also currently on IR, meaning Steven Sims, who the Ravens claimed off waivers in December, could return this week. Harty was scheduled to return from IR last week but has not yet been activated. In the first meeting between the two clubs, Harty averaged 11 yards per punt return on three attempts.
There are probably some other changes I’m missing, but one thing is clear: both teams are different than they were earlier in the season.
If that happens, will it be a different type of game on Sunday?
