Orchard Park, New York (WGR Sports Radio 550) – The Buffalo Bills advanced to the AFC Championship Game on Sunday with a 27-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round at Highmark Stadium.
Here are my up and down arrows from the game, starting with Up after a huge win:
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UP ARROW:
Terrel Bernard forced fumble
Leading 24-19 in the fourth quarter, Bernard made the play of the game by stripping Ravens tight end Mark Andrews of the ball and recovering it himself, stopping Baltimore at the Buffalo 44-yard line and setting up the Bills for the possible land. aim to make it an eight-point game.
Turnover
The Bills defense forced three Ravens turnovers, including an interception and two fumbles.
Cole Bishop and Damar Hamlin
Bishop, a rookie, had to replace starter Taylor Rapp and play most of the game after Rapp injured his hip. The timing wasn’t too big and the communication was good. He finished with three total tackles.
Hamlin led the Bills with 8 tackles, including a sack and forced fumble on Lamar Jackson that Von Miller returned 39 yards to help set up a touchdown.
QB – Josh Allen
Allen didn’t have a spectacular day statistically, but he was in complete control and efficient, completing 72.7% of his passes, completing 16 of 22 for 127 yards and running for 20 yards and two touchdowns.
WR-Khalil Shakir
Shakir was really the only receiver who did anything significant for the Bills. He caught 6 of 7 targets for 67 yards.
Pass Protection
Josh Allen was sacked just once and the Ravens were credited with just four quarterback hits.
Defense on Derrick Henry in the first half
The Bills really focused on Henry to start the game and managed to hold him to just 21 yards on 8 carries, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry, in the first half.
K-Tyler Bass
Bass was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points, and also connected on both of his field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder. These points made the difference in the match.
Red zone offense
The Bills went 3 of 4 touchdowns once inside the Ravens 20 yard line.
Penalties
The Bills were called for just one accepted 10-yard penalty.
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DOWN ARROW:
Lots of Ravens offense
The Ravens gained a total of 416 offensive yards. They averaged 7.3 yards per play.
No forced punts
The Bills did not force the Ravens to punt once in the game.
Third down defense
One of the main reasons Baltimore didn’t score is because they converted 7 out of 10 third down chances. Far too many.
Lack of reception outside of Shakir
After Khalil Shakir’s 67 yards, the Bills’ second-best receiving totals were 15, 12 and 11 yards. Only running back James Cook caught more than two passes. He had three catches.
Derrick Henry in the second half
Despite the great job the Bills defense did on Derrick Henry in the first half, he ran 8 times for 67 yards in the 2nd half, and averaged 8.37 yards per carry.
Two punts to start the second half
Leading 21-10 at halftime and receiving the ball, the Bills had a chance to bury the Ravens, but they punted on their first two possessions, gaining just 19 yards on 9 plays.
Rushed passage
Some of it was intentional to keep him in the pocket, but the Bills didn’t generate much of a pass rush against the Ravens. Their only two sacks came on sloppy plays and they only had five quarterback hits.
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