Baltimore vs. Buffalo
Ravens Pound Buffalo 47-3, as Baltimore Hopes to Set the Tone for the 2018 Season
It took more than eight months, but the Baltimore Ravens were able to get out their frustrations over how the 2017 season ended against the team that benefited from that failure—the Buffalo Bills.
The Ravens (1-0) took it to the Bills (0-1) from the first play from scrimmage and for the 59 minutes that followed, starting off the 2018 NFL season in the best way possible with a 47-3 win in front of the home faithful of 70,507 at a rainy M&T Bank Stadiumv on Sunday.
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After three decidedly average-at-best seasons, Joe Flacco began his 11th season under center with the Ravens in impressive fashion, going 25-for-34 with 236 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was relieved in the third quarter by rookie Lamar Jackson with the score at 40-0.
"Any time you go and get a win in Week 1, it’s great," Flacco said, speaking like the veteran he is. "Any time you can go out there and have a performance like we did, it’s great. But we have to make sure we carry it over to next week.”
Baltimore was on-point from the very first drive, as Flacco began the opening drive of the season with a short pass to Nick Boyle that turned into a 25-yard gain. On the 10th play of the drive, Alex Collins punched it into the end zone from eight yards out to give the Ravens a 7-0 lead.
You may remember that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was the toast of Buffalo after he led his team to a 31-27 win after he threw the game-winning touchdown in the final minute at M&T Stadium on New Year’s Eve. That upset sent Buffalo to the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years.
Despite reaching the postseason, Bills head coach Sean McDermott went in another direction at quarterback, drafting Josh Allen out of Wyoming in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and parting ways with Tyrod Taylor.
Allen did play in this game, but Nathan Peterman was the starter. The Ravens made sure that his day was not a success, and it didn’t last long either. Peterman was 5-for-18 for only 24 yards passing with two interceptions when he was pulled in favor of Allen when the score was 40-0 as well.
The Ravens defense has the distinction of holding Peterman to a 0.0 quarterback rating. Not a bad way for new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s tenure to begin, as the vaunted Baltimore defense held Buffalo to 33 yards and no first downs in the first half, which ended 26-0 in favor of the home team. Overall, the Bills were kept to just 153 yards, with the Ravens holding LeSean McCoy to just 22 on the ground.
"LeSean McCoy is a threat. You have to start with that," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "Then you have to get to the quarterback and make him throw quick. That's what our guys were able to do today."
Ravens fans had to be happy to see the offense explode, especially after picking up three wide receivers during the offseason—all three having productive days and scoring touchdowns today. Willie Snead led the team with 49 receiving yards and a score, John Brown had 44 yards and a touchdown, and Michael Crabtree had 38 yards and a TD.
In addition, Brown had a key grab on second-and-26 during the opening drive that helped keep the momentum building, leading to the first touchdown and the opening of the flood gates after that.
“Without that, I don’t know if we would’ve set the tone in quite the same way,” Flacco said, in reference to that 29-yard reception on second-and-26.
In addition to Collins’ touchdown in the opening drive, Kenneth Dixon and Javorius Allen each had rushing touchdowns, and Dixon led the team with 44 yards on the ground. Jackson, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback out of Louisville, rushed the ball seven times for 39 yards during mop-up time.
Back to the defense, the superlatives for the six-sack, two-turnover, no-touchdowns-allowed performance are nearly endless. Among the highlights:
- The 33 first-half yards were the fewest allowed by a Baltimore defense since the Super Bowl-winning team in 2000.
- Buffalo was held without a first down in a half for the first time since at least 2001, and the 33-yard output was the fewest for the franchise in nearly 15 years.
- It was the second year in a row that Baltimore held an opponent without a touchdown, as the Ravens beat Cincinnati 20-0 to open the season in 2017.
Terrell Suggs was pleased with the effort, but did temper the mood and expectations a bit after the game.
"It's a good start," Suggs said. "It's one game. We've got 15 more. You can't tell anything by the first game. The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. Nobody's going to the Super Bowl, playoffs, anything after this game. We got one in the can. It's a good win."
Suggs makes a good point. Whether it’s a 47-3 win or 21-20, it just counts as one win in the 16 one-game seasons that is the NFL schedule. If they weren’t aware already, the Ravens learned that harsh reality on Dec. 31, 2017, which marked the third-straight season with Birds making a trip to the playoffs—the longest postseason drought for the franchise since they made the playoffs (and won the Super Bowl) for the first time in 2000, which was the team’s fifth season since moving from Cleveland.
Up next for Baltimore, it’s the second half of the 2017 Week 17 revenge daily double. After dispatching of Buffalo in Week 1, the Ravens now embark on a short week of preparation before playing at Cincinnati on Thursday night.
“It’s going to be a quick week,” Flacco said. “I think we’re ready for it. We always are, but we just have to make sure we build on this.”
The Bengals are also 1-0 after winning 34-23 at Indianapolis today.
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