The Ravens don’t get much room for error on Sunday. After back-to-back losses, Baltimore heads into a matchup with a 5-1 Bills team that can punish mistakes in a hurry.
Lamar Jackson is likely to return, and that gives the Ravens a needed jolt. But if Baltimore is going to leave with a win, the game may come down to a handful of individual battles.
The clearest one starts with Zay Flowers. Buffalo’s secondary has been the soft spot in an otherwise strong start, giving up the third most passing yards per game.
If Jackson is back, that should help stretch the field, but the Ravens still need to make Flowers the center of the passing plan. He’s been their most reliable weapon through the air, piling up 608 yards already, and his ability to move around the formation gives Baltimore a real chance to create problems.
There is also reason to believe Flowers can win this kind of game. Last season against Buffalo, he went off for 143 yards and a touchdown.
Still, this isn’t a clean matchup. Christian Benford gives the Bills a tough outside corner to deploy against him, so Baltimore can’t just assume the ball will find Flowers on its own.
Declan Doyle will have to get creative and manufacture chances.
The Ravens also need pressure, plain and simple. Trey Hendrickson is the player they are counting on to make Josh Allen uncomfortable, and that’s the reason Baltimore brought him in.
The pass-rush numbers are better than they were a year ago, but they’re still not where the Ravens need them to be for a game like this. Hendrickson’s sack total may not scream dominance, but the impact has shown up.
Dion Dawkins makes that assignment tougher. He’s rated sixth among qualifying tackles in Pro Football Focus grade, so Hendrickson won’t be handed anything. But if Hendrickson can win enough snaps against Dawkins and force Allen off his spot, Baltimore’s odds rise fast.
The other line battle to watch is Roger Rosengarten against Greg Rousseau. Rousseau has been a handful all season, with six sacks and 25 pressures to go with the kind of size and length that make him such a difficult rusher at 6-foot-6. The Ravens have already allowed the eighth most sacks, so this is not a matchup they can afford to lose.
Rosengarten has held up well in protection, giving up just one sack this year. If he can keep Rousseau under control, that buys Lamar time and helps open up the passing game. It would also matter in the run game, where the Ravens have struggled over the past two games and will need cleaner blocking against Rousseau, who is also a strong run defender.
Baltimore’s path is not mysterious. The Ravens need Flowers to stress the Buffalo secondary, Hendrickson to chase Allen, and Rosengarten to survive Rousseau. If those matchups tilt the right way, the game suddenly looks a lot more manageable.
In Other News...
Ravens Trade Deadline Need May Not Require A Splash Move
Baltimores trade-deadline conversation does not have to center on a blockbuster, and the fit with Tampa Bay defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson is a good example of why. Robinson brings the kind of run-stopping presence that could help deepen the Ravens defensive line rotation, and his contract status makes him the sort of player that can come up in deadline chatter when a team is weighing whether to buy or sell.
For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious enough: the Ravens do not have a ton of salary-cap room, but they do have enough draft capital to make a modest move if they decide the right veteran is worth adding. No trade has been reported, and the more interesting part may be whether Baltimore views this as a spot where a smaller, practical addition can matter just as much as a splashier name. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens May Need Ethan Burke Sooner Than Anyone Expected
Tavius Robinsons season-ending pectoral injury has forced the Ravens to reshuffle their edge rotation, and it may have opened a door for Ethan Burke sooner than expected. The undrafted rookie has flashed in limited work, giving Baltimore something useful on both passing downs and against the run at a position where depth suddenly matters a lot more.
Burkes early showing has been encouraging enough that the Ravens cant ignore him as they sort through Robinsons absence. His ability to affect the pocket and hold up physically gives the defense a workable next option, and the coming weeks should tell whether his role stays as a spot contributor or grows into something more substantial. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Are Still Paying For One Costly Maxx Crosby Decision
When the Ravens weighed a move for Maxx Crosby, the appeal was obvious: an edge rusher who could change the tone of a defense and bring a little more edge to a locker room that has needed it at times. Baltimores interest was real enough that the front office got deep into the process, and the decision ultimately came down to how comfortable the team felt with the risk attached to the deal versus the long-term value of its draft capital.
Now, with the defense still searching for answers, the choice looks more consequential by the week. Crosbys impact elsewhere has only sharpened the what-if conversation around Eric DeCostas judgment, especially after Baltimore turned in a different direction to address the pass rush. It is the kind of front-office fork in the road that can linger for a while, because the Ravens did not just pass on a player, they passed on a player who might have altered both the production and the personality of this defense. [Read more 🡒]