Buffalo is one of five 3-0 teams in the NFL, while the Baltimore Ravens are hungry to prove they are still on par with teams like the Bills in the AFC.
When the teams meet on Sunday night in Baltimore, the Ravens will have at least one thing going for them: They are hosting their second annual “Darkness Falls” game, a college-style stadium blackout that has Lamar Jackson pumped.
“Hearing the ‘Flock,’ just seeing all black throughout the crowd, it’s like you can’t escape,” the quarterback said with a grin. “It’s something about it, man, I can’t really describe it. Like the dark side.”
The Ravens (1-2) didn’t need home cooking to defeat the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, though they let a 22-point lead dwindle in the fourth quarter before winning 28-25. Baltimore has been outscored 32-7 in the fourth quarter of its past two games.
Derrick Henry racked up 151 of the Ravens’ 274 rushing yards vs. the Cowboys and scored the third and fourth touchdowns of his debut season in Baltimore. Jackson ran for 87 yards and a score, and Justice Hill added 33 yards on five carries.
“They are kind of a good 1-2 punch,” coach John Harbaugh said of Henry and Hill. “They play off each other really well. They run the same plays, too, but they also run different plays at times. I just think it’s a good change of pace for the defense.”
The Ravens continue to tweak their defense, adding pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue to their practice squad earlier this week. Ngakoue has totaled 69 career sacks for six teams, including nine games for Baltimore in 2020. Baltimore’s Kyle Van Noy is tied for third in the league with four sacks.
As for the Bills, there has been little to nitpick this year.
After creaming the Jacksonville Jaguars 47-10 on Monday night, the Bills have a plus-64 scoring differential, tops in the league. Their turnover differential is plus-5 — only Green Bay’s is better — and they rank in the top 10 in total defense (286.7 yards allowed per game), passing defense (168.3) and scoring defense (16 points per game).
Josh Allen leads an offense that is scoring 37.3 points per game, another league high. He picked apart the Jaguars for four passing touchdowns before halftime on Monday night.
Allen won AFC Offensive Player of the Week, one week after running back James Cook won the honor for his three-touchdown game against the Miami Dolphins. Buffalo’s Gregory Rousseau won AFC Defensive Player of the Week for a three-sack game in Week 1.
“It’s a shame our O-line can’t win Offensive Player of the Week,” Allen quipped, “because they play their tails off. And even going back to Week 2, James was able to win that because of what our O-line’s doing.”
Damar Hamlin grabbed his first career interception in the Jacksonville blowout. It was an emotional moment for Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals less than 20 months ago.
“We keep it simple and everybody’s keeping the team first,” Hamlin said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday. “Buffalo is a special place to be.”
The Bills have ruled out linebacker Terrel Bernard (pec) and cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm) for Sunday, and rookie offensive lineman Tylan Grable (groin) will be out for multiple weeks. Cornerback Kaiir Elam (neck) was limited in Wednesday’s walkthrough.
The Ravens are dealing with a banged-up offensive line. Center Tyler Linderbaum (knee), left guard Andrew Vorhees (ankle) and right tackle Patrick Mekari (neck) missed Wednesday’s practice after they played every snap of the Dallas game. Nose tackle Michael Pierce (shoulder) and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) also sat out Wednesday, while linebacker Roquan Smith (ankle) was limited.
The Bills have won two straight meetings with the Ravens, including a victory in the divisional round of the 2020-21 playoffs.
