The Buffalo Bills, on the backs of a strong second half and dominant defensive performance, defeated the Baltimore Ravens 36-10 in Week 8 action. The victory moves the Bills to 6-1 on the season, keeping them firmly in contention for the top spot in the AFC playoff standings.
A 26-point victory should be a comfortable one. However, Buffalo found a way to make a game, one in which the final tally was decided by four scores, to be stressful for a time.
The Bills offense was sluggish and sloppy. Buffalo committed several miscues, whether it was penalties committed, turnovers lost, or poor execution, throughout the first half of the game.
The offense settled down in the second half, finding the end zone three times to expand their lead.
There wasn't
much pressure from the Ravens, as Baltimore's offense was stunted by injuries. Lamar Jackson left after the Ravens first offensive play of the game. Backup Tyler Huntley succumbed to an injury shortly later. Third-string emergency quarterback Joe Fagnano, an undrafted free agent, took his first snaps in an NFL uniform.
It was clear that Baltimore's offense could not generate anything that could compete in this game.
Buffalo's defense locked down the third-stringer, showing a greater efficiency and aggressiveness than previous games. The Bills defense shut out the Ravens in the second half.
Here's how Bills Wire graded the Week 8 win:
Pass offense: B+
The final stat line looks solid, but it took some effort to get to that point. Allen threw for 289 yards on a 21-of-34 passing day. He tossed second-half touchdowns to DJ Moore and Dalton Kincaid. Allen also suffered an unfortunate interception, a deflected pass behind intended receiver Jackson Hawes.
Kincaid and Moore each had explosive plays on the afternoon. In addition to their touchdowns, the duo each averaged over 20 yards per reception.
Allen nearly completed a massive play, as Keon Coleman found his way behind the Baltimore defense. Allen's pass was overthrown, falling harmlessly incomplete.
Struggles were present for Buffalo's offense in multiple ways. Allen struggled in the first half, going 8-of-19 for 112 yards. James Cook and Dalton Kincaid also drops that stalled the Bills offense.
Run offense: B
Cook had to battle for yards all afternoon. Cook ran 21 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. Cook was bottled up most of the afternoon, breaking out for a long of only 16 yards. Cook was evaluated for a head injury, which was worrisome in a game that the Bills were in complete control.
Allen added 30 yards on seven carries. Baltimore stuffed a tush push attempt early in the game, which was indicative of the battle in the trenches early in the game.
Overall, Buffalo gained 146 yards on the ground. Buffalo rushed for a mediocre 3.6 yards per rush on 41 carries.
Pass defense: A+
Buffalo's defense benefited from facing off against an emergency quarterback for most of this game. Joe Fagnano put a minor scare into the Bills, completing his first two passes accurately.
Outside of those two plays, though, Buffalo had their way with the Ravens offense. Baltimore's trio of quarterbacks could only muster 68 passing yards. Buffalo allowed only 12 completions on 26 attempts.
Lamar Jackson left the game after the first offensive play. Jackson's suffered a thumb injury when his hand hit Greg Rousseau's arm on the follow-through of a pass. Tyler Huntley was rolled up on a tackle, and he suffered a lower leg injury. Fagnano was overwhelmed throughout the game, making easy work for the Bills defense.
Davison Igbinosun jumped a Fagnano pass for an interception. TJ Parker, Greg Rousseau, Landon Jackson, and Cole Bishop recorded a sack.
Run defense: A-
The Bills earn a gold star for allowing only 53 yards to Derrick Henry. Yes, 4.8 yards per carry isn't great. However, the run defense didn't need to carry the load today. Henry rushed only 11 times, which was puzzling since the Ravens didn't have any sort of passing attack.
With the game slowly being pushed out of reach, Baltimore abandoned the run game.
Buffalo allowed 76 yards on 19 carries.
Special teams: A-
It was a good day for the unit. Tyler Bass was perfect on all three of his field goals. The good vibes are in his favor, as Bass pinged a 56-yard field goal off the goal post for three points.
Tommy Doman punted twice for an average of 47.5 yards. Doman is getting great hang time on his punts, allowing for good coverage from Buffalo's unit.
Greg Dortch was solid in the return game, averaging 13.3 yards on three punt returns.
The only blemish for the unit: Rasheen Ali returned a kick for 59 yards.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Report card: Bills beat Ravens, 36-10, in Week 8
