The Ravens head into Week 8 at 4-3, and the trip to the new Highmark Stadium comes with some clear trends worth watching against the Bills after back-to-back AFC North losses to the Browns and Bengals.
The biggest Baltimore storyline is the split between what this offense does before halftime and what happens after it. Through the first two quarters, the Ravens have been one of the league’s most efficient attacks, ranking third in EPA per play behind only the 49ers and Bills. They also own the NFL’s top first-half scoring total at 118 points and the best first-half point differential at +65, per Warren Sharp.
After the break, though, everything changes. Baltimore’s second-half EPA per play drops to 29th in the league, and the production crash is just as stark on the scoreboard.
The Ravens have scored the second-fewest points in the league after halftime and carry the worst second-half point differential at -70. That’s a pattern worth tracking closely in a game like this.
Baltimore has also had trouble in a very specific area: third downs inside opponents’ 35-yard line. The Ravens have struggled there, even while finding success on third downs when they’re outside that part of the field.
Personnel-wise, the Ravens continue to lean heavily on multiple tight end looks. Baltimore ranks seventh in the league in 12 personnel usage at 32%, and it is fifth in 13 personnel at 14%.
Mark Andrews is still the top tight end in the room, while Matthew Hibner and Durham Smythe have each logged meaningful snaps this season - 167 and 126, respectively. Josh Cuevas has also been involved, with 102 snaps.
Then there’s Lamar Jackson. Before the ankle injury that kept him out the last three games, he was rolling.
In his first four appearances, Jackson completed 70.8% of his passes at 10.1 yards per attempt, threw six touchdowns against one interception, and added 19 carries for 144 yards and a rushing score. His 80.9% adjusted completion rate at that point ranked fifth among qualified quarterbacks.
He appears set to return Sunday, and while his exact level of health remains unknown, Buffalo should expect him to be fully operational once he’s out there.
On the other side of the ball, Baltimore has built its defense around sub-packages. Only the Browns and Seahawks have played a higher share of snaps in sub defense than the Ravens, who are at 80.6%. That setup makes sense with Kyle Hamilton and Malaki Starks in the mix, along with Jaylinn Hawkins, whom Baltimore added in free agency.
At linebacker, it has mostly been Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson, and Simpson has taken a clear step forward in his fourth season. He has become a bigger part of the Ravens’ defensive picture in the first half of the 2026 campaign.
Up front, Trey Hendrickson is the name that jumps out. Baltimore made him the big offseason addition after bringing him over from the Bengals following the Maxx Crosby fiasco.
Hendrickson is currently seventh among qualifying edge rushers in pressure rate at 16.9%, one spot behind Greg Rousseau, though he ranks 18th in pass-rush win rate. Even so, he still bends the edge well and lines up mostly on the right side of the Ravens front, which sets up a steady matchup with Dion Dawkins.
In Other News...
Bills Face One Big Question On A Maxx Crosby Trade
The Bills have spent enough time dealing with defensive inconsistency this season that any proven pass-rush help will naturally draw attention, and Maxx Crosby sits near the top of that conversation. A fit between Buffalo and the Raiders star has already been floated by CBS Sports Jordan Dajani, which makes sense on the surface for a team looking to lift its pressure off the edge and steady a unit that has had its share of issues.
Crosbys name carries obvious weight because of what he has meant to Las Vegas in recent years, even with the Raiders also trending in the wrong direction overall. The wrinkle for Buffalo is that interest is one thing and an actual deal is another, and right now there is no confirmation that the Bills have moved beyond the speculative stage, even as the idea keeps hanging over the market. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Trade Deadline Focus Is Narrowing Around One Real Roster Decision
With the trade deadline approaching, the Bills are doing what contenders usually do at this time of year: weighing whether a small roster tweak could help them keep pace in the AFC without disrupting what is already working. Lloyd Cushenberry, Mike Danna and Josh Palmer have all come up in the conversation as possible trade candidates, but the idea is less about chasing a splash and more about making one clean, targeted decision.
Palmer is the name to watch most closely because his role has been limited, which naturally makes him easier to imagine in a deal if Buffalo chooses to reshape the bottom of the roster. No trade has been reported yet, and the Bills still have time to let the market come to them, but the sense is that this is narrowing toward one real question rather than a wide-open deadline chase. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Head Into Ravens Test With One Massive Problem Behind Josh Allen
Buffalo heads into its meeting with Baltimore at 5-1 and sitting atop the AFC East, which is exactly where a contender wants to be this late in October. Josh Allen has been the driving force, giving the offense the kind of week-to-week punch that keeps the Bills in control of games and capable of surviving stretches when things get loose.
But there is a bigger concern lurking beneath that start, and it does not have anything to do with the scoreboard on offense. A statistic shared by Anthony Dabbundo paints an uncomfortable picture of the Bills through the first seven weeks, one that suggests the team is living in an unusually rare kind of imbalance as the Ravens loom on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]