The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens will face off this weekend in the AFC Divisional Round playoffs. This is the second time these teams have met in the playoffs, the first being a 17-3 Bills victory in the same round of the playoffs in 2020.
However, this meeting is less relevant than the one these two teams had earlier this season. In Week 4, Baltimore trampled Buffalo, winning 35-10 in dominating fashion. The loss was Buffalo’s first this season, and it was the first time the Bills lost a regular season game by more than eight points since losing 41-15 to the Indianapolis Colts on November 21, 2021. .
Even though the Bills and Ravens met earlier this season, each team has undergone many changes since they met in October. Of course, most of the conversation around this game will focus on MVP quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, in both orders – but the players available for this game who weren’t last could be more important . time, and vice versa.
For the Bills, the team’s defense was in shambles the first time these teams met. Buffalo was behind both starting linebackers, as Matt Milano had not yet returned from injured reserve (IR) and Terrel Bernard was out with a pectoral injury. In their place, the Bills started Baylon Spector and Dorian Williams, and they also brought veteran Nicholas Morrow into the game at times for Williams.
Buffalo was also without Taron Johnson, their second-team All-Pro nickel corner who fills the role of the team’s pseudo-third linebacker. Johnson missed the game with a broken forearm. Cam Lewis started in his place. As if those injuries weren’t enough, starting safety Taylor Rapp left the game early in the second quarter with a concussion. He was replaced by rookie Cole Bishop in what was the latter’s first major professional action.
Of the players who missed that game against Buffalo, all should be available for this weekend’s rematch. Milano returned from injured reserve in Week 13, and he finally looked like himself against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He had five tackles and a sack. Bernard and Johnson are in good health. Of the players who replaced them, two are no longer on the active roster. Morrow was released Jan. 2 and remains a free agent, and Spector is on IR thanks to a calf injury. Williams and Bishop play on special teams, and Lewis has settled in as the team’s defender while also playing on special teams.
Buffalo also added reinforcements on the interior of the defensive line. In the first matchup, Buffalo used a four-man rotation at defensive tackle, with Ed Oliver (72%) and DaQuan Jones (63%) recording the vast majority of defensive snaps. DeWayne Carter finished third with just under half of the team’s snaps (46%). Buffalo added veteran defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson to the group, and Carter, the team’s third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, was a good scratch.
The Bills are also different on offense. While most of the personnel remains the same, the big change is veteran Amari Cooper. In the first matchup, Keon Coleman led all Buffalo receivers with 73% of the offensive snaps. Mack Hollins played 61% of the snaps, Khalil Shakir played 59% of the snaps, Marquez Valdes-Scantling appeared on 42% of the snaps and Curtis Samuel logged 37% of the snaps.
In the first game, Shakir injured his ankle on the Bills’ second possession. Although he was able to return for the remainder of the game, the injury caused him to miss the following week’s game – a 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans. Valdes-Scantling is not on the roster, and Samuel looked much more like the coverage-beating man he was hired to be against Denver. Cooper hasn’t posted big stats, but his presence paves the way for other Buffalo players.
While the Bills were dealing with injury issues in Game 1, it’s not like the Ravens were in perfect shape in October either. They were without their monstrous nose tackle, Michael Pierce, who missed the game with a shoulder injury. The starting left back at the time, Andrew Vorhees, was also out with an ankle injury. Rookie Roger Rosengarten started at right tackle and right tackle Patrick Mekari moved to left guard. Instead of Pierce, Baltimore went with Travis Jones.
Since then, the Ravens have kept their offensive line as it was for this game, with Vorhees relegated to a linebacker role. Pierce also played reserve snaps, although he had a highlight play with an interception in the regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns. Buffalo struggled to win either line of scrimmage in the first meeting, and Baltimore’s offensive and defensive lines have only improved since then.
On offense, a potentially huge problem looms for the Ravens. Wideout Zay Flowers, who made his first Pro Bowl this season (74 receptions, 1,059 receiving yards, four touchdowns), missed last week’s game after injuring his knee in the final week of the regular season. He made a 10-yard catch on two targets in the first meeting. Tylan Wallace, a fourth-year player from Oklahoma, started in his place last week and led all Baltimore players in the blink of an eye.
Baltimore also made a late-season addition to its defensive secondary, adding a player Bills fans will be familiar with: cornerback Tre’Davious White. Buffalo’s 2017 first-round pick signed with the Los Angeles Rams this offseason after the Bills released him, and after struggling in Los Angeles, he was traded to Baltimore on November 5.
White worked as a sub-package corner with the Ravens, and he had three pass breakups while allowing just five of 10 passes when he was the closest man in coverage. Given Buffalo’s offensive struggles in October against a Baltimore defense that had yet to take shape, it’s important to note that it won’t be any easier this time around.
Former Bills return specialist Deonte Harty is also currently on IR, meaning it’s possible that Steven Sims, who the Ravens claimed off waivers in December, could be the return man this week. Harty was designated to return from IR last week, but he has not yet been activated. Harty averaged 11 yards per punt return on his three attempts in the first meeting between these two clubs.
There are probably other changes I’m missing, but one thing is clear: both teams are different than they were at the start of the season.
Will this result in a different type of match on Sunday?
