ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — With Josh Allen at quarterback, anything seems possible for the Buffalo Bills — including overcoming a sloppy first half.
“I mean, look, with Josh, we’re spoiled, right?” Bills coach Joe Brady said following a second half in which Allen oversaw three touchdown drives in a 36-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
“He literally is one of one. He’s incredible. And there’s a lot of football still ahead of him.”
In Baltimore,
the Ravens face the prospect of finishing their season without Lamar Jackson.
What was supposed to be a marquee matchup of two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks ended on Baltimore’s first snap from scrimmage when Jackson hurt the right thumb on his throwing hand by jamming it on the arm of Buffalo pass rusher Greg Rousseau.
Coach Jesse Minter revealed Jackson will require surgery and be placed on injured reserve with a possibility of him missing the remainder of the season.
“It’s tough. When it happened, I think at the time you’re just hoping that maybe it’s something small,” Minter said. “And then I think pretty quickly you kind of realize what had happened.”
Compounding the Ravens troubles is backup Tyler Huntley leaving the game with a toe injury in the second quarter, leading to emergency third-stringer Joe Fagnano finishing the game.
Allen and the Bills finally took advantage over the final 30 minutes. After settling for a touchdown and three field goals in the first half, Buffalo scored touchdowns on three of its first four second-half possessions.
“Just take a breath, settle down, settle the feet down, and just go through your progressions.” Allen said of what he told himself following a sloppy first half in which Buffalo turned the ball over twice and was undone by a series of penalties.
“We’re going into halftime, just saying, ‘Hey, we’re way better than this,’” Allen said. “I think early on I felt like I was pressing. So we can’t do that.”
Allen finished 21 of 34 for 289 yards with two touchdowns passing, another rushing and an interception. In doing so, he upped his career total (including playoffs) to 260 TDs passing to break the franchise record held by Hall of Famer Jim Kelly (258).
Allen also won his 102nd game (including playoffs) to move ahead of Tom Brady for third among players through their first nine seasons.
DJ Moore scored on an 11-yard catch in his return after missing two games with a shoulder injury. Dalton Kincaid also scored on a 23-yard catch.
The AFC East-leading Bills are off to their ninth 6-1 start in franchise history.
Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers plus a fourth down stop, added four sacks and limited the Ravens to 144 total yards.
Though the Ravens were short-handed at quarterback, the outing for Buffalo was considered a step forward for a much-criticized defense that was among the NFL’s statistically worst defense and had allowed 29 or more points in five of six outings.
The Ravens (4-4) have lost three straight with Jackson hurt in his return after missing three games with an ankle injury.
With Huntley’s status uncertain, the Ravens face difficult questions facing a short week with Baltimore hosting Jacksonville on Thursday night.
“Things happen. It’s how you respond,” Minter said.
“We’ll do everything in our power to keep rolling, to keep this thing going,” he added. “If it’s Joe, we got a lot of belief in Joe, whoever it is, but that’s what we’ll do.”
Fagnano, an undrafted rookie out of Connecticut, finished the game and went 10 of 21 for 91 yards with an interception and a lost fumble on a botched snap in his NFL debut. Derrick Henry scored Baltimore’s lone touchdown on a 2-yard run.
Zay Flowers, who entered the weekend fifth in the NFL with 608 yards receiving, was held without a catch on five targets.
The Bills defense finally showed some signs of playing with an attacking identity with Huntley hurt while being sacked and losing a fumble.
“I think our defense should look at today and understand that’s what the expectation is,” Brady said. “I thought that the way that they flew around today was the thing that really stood out to me.”
— Buffalo’s Tyler Bass was good on all three field-goal attempts, including a 56-yarder. He has now hit 21 straight attempts in breaking franchise record of 18 set by Rian Lindell in 2007. Bass missed all of last season with pelvis and groin injuries, with his most recent miss coming in December 2024.
— Henry’s touchdown was the 136th from scrimmage in his career, tying Marshall Faulk for fourth on the NFL list.
Ravens: CB Nate Wiggins was evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter.
Bills: WR Josh Palmer was ruled out after hurting his right hamstring. He pulled up while attempting to run down a deep pass in the first quarter.
Ravens: Host Jacksonville on Thursday night.
Bills: Travel for “Monday Night Football” matchup at the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 9.
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