Report Card: Ravens Can’t Overcome Ravens in Loss to Bills

I came out of this believing the Ravens were the better team, the Bills deserve some praise for taking advantage of mistakes while limiting their own and this one could haunt for a while, even while leaving you a bit impressed with their heart and near-heroic comeback.

So… we’re dealing with a lot of stuff here, Flock.

Let’s take a look at some grades.

Offense Overall: B

Three turnovers was just too much to overcome. As were some drops, two failed two-point conversions, a running game that didn’t show up in the first half and just some bang-your-head moments. But they did produce 416 yards of offense, scored 15 points in the second half (should have been 17 points), averaged 7.3 yards per play and ran for 176 yards.

Quarterback: B+

This was going to be a much lower score at halftime, strictly because of the two turnovers. The interception was Lamar Jackson’s worst pick of the season, and the fumble was an unforced error, after he had previously done a nice job bringing in a wild snap from Tyler Linderbaum. But he shook off everything, put the team on his back at times and brought them a dropped two-point conversion from having an opportunity to force overtime. He finished 18-25 for 254 yards and two touchdown passes, to go along with 39 yards on six carries.

This was not the result he wanted, but he showed up big time at the end.

Running Backs: B+

Derrick Henry found his footing in the second half, and made his presence felt. He finished with 84 yards and a touchdown on the day. Justice Hill was looking fast all night. He ran for 50 yards and added two more catches. He was even fast chasing down Von Miller to momentarily prevent a TD after Jackson’s first-half fumble. Patrick Ricard was finding some bodies in the third quarter.

Receivers: B-

There were too many drops, including by Mark Andrews, who made a couple big catches, but had a fumble and a couple of drops, including that two-point conversion. Isaiah Likely was really good, ending the season the same way he started — shining in a prime time game. He had 73 yards on four catches and made a nice diving touchdown late. Rashod Bateman had a touchdown to cap the opening drive and had 66 yards on four grabs, including a big 42-yarder. Tylan Wallace had another big moment, snagging a 27-yard catch after a classic Jackson scramble.

Offensive Line: B+

There were times that Jackson seemed to have all day to throw, and while rushing lanes were hard to find in the first half, they seemed to find some answers in the second. Linderbaum had that awful snap, but he also showed off some Pro Bowl tape on a second-level block on Henry’s 15-yard third-quarter run. Ronnie Stanley stood out on the edge a few times, and Roger Rosengarten was his typical fight-and-scrap-and-move-and-battle self.

Defense Overall: B

Mostly, they were good. They only gave up 273 yards of offense and held Buffalo to 5-11 on third down. But they got pushed around a bit more in the run game than we are used to seeing, and they couldn’t get much pass rush against Josh Allen, with one sack for one yard and only four quarterback hits. Also, no turnovers. Again.

Defensive Line: B-

Nnamdi Madubuike had another strong playoff game, with seven tackles and half a sack. He shared that with Kyle Van Noy, who also stood out when he and Marlon Humphrey combined to destroy a third-down screen. David Ojabo had a costly hands-to-the-face flag with about 8:00 left that put the Bills in scoring range. Travis Jones and Broderick Washington combined for a huge stuff of Allen on third-and-goal from the 2. Tavius Robinson was really good on the edge, making four run stops, and Michael Pierce was in on five tackles. They improved a ton in the second half, but it was odd watching the Bills push them around at times in the run game.

Linebackers: C+

Roquan Smith had eight tackles, but didn’t generate any “wow” plays of note. Malik Harrison was pretty good at different times. They had their hands full, but I don’t remember many missed tackles.

Secondary: B

Brandon Stephens got beat on a first-quarter pass, and later got absolutely erased on a juke by James Cook early in the fourth quarter. Tre’Davious White was flagged for pass interference on a rather-questionable call to set up a touchdown. Nate Wiggins got beaten on a third-down pass in the third quarter but also pressured an incompletion to end a Bills drive on the opening possession of the second half. Ar’Darius Washington and Kyle Hamilton both blew up screens on the same drive. It was rather beautiful, you know?

Sorry, I’m still a little emotional right now.

Special Teams: A-

One of their better performances of the season. Justin Tucker ended the season on a good note, after that tough stretch, and drilled a 47-yarder in difficult conditions. Tucker and Jordan Stout both did a nice job on kickoffs. Keaton Mitchell averaged 26.8 yards on five kickoff returns, and Steven Sims had a 16-yard punt return.

Coaching: B

I thought Buffalo had answers at the start of the game that the Ravens just didn’t have, particularly along both lines of scrimmage, but they definitely made adjustments as the game went on and nearly put the game into overtime despite being minus three in turnovers.  If you’d have told me they were minus three in turnovers, in Buffalo, I’d have said, “Pour me a drink.” Now that I say that…

Peace out, Flock.

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Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/01/19/report-card/bills-27-ravens-25/