(Photo: Toronto Sun)
AFC Game Of The Week
Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens
Bills: “They lost Stefon Diggs”. “Josh can’t manage without him”. What’s next? I’m not sure about you all, but I love what I’ve seen from them through the first three games. Dare I say it, trading Stefon may have been the best thing for them. The offense looks more free-flowing and now, defenses won’t know who to zoom in on or game plan for which I’ve been saying they can use to their advantage. The adage in football is true: When you take care of the ball and don’t turn it over, good things will happen. Josh Allen unfortunately led the league in turnovers a season ago, but so far in 2024, he hasn’t turned the ball over once. He’s still one of the best Quarterbacks in the league. For years, I’ve been bashing the Buffalo Bills about the over usage of the Quarterback meaning they were asking too much of him. Hero ball as I refer to it will never get you anywhere. When they were up by a few touchdowns, he’s still throwing the ball and even when they were down, they’d ask him to put the cape on to save the day. Now, I’ve seen more of an effort to run the football and until this core of Wide Receivers are all on the same page with Josh, this offense needs to be built around three people and that’s Khalil Shakir, Dawson Knox, and James Cook. They were dominant against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night. Also, that was the best I’ve ever seen Allen look since the Wild Card win over the Patriots a few years ago. He didn’t force the ball which I felt was his problem most of the time in 2023, he trusted his receivers and most importantly, no turnovers. This Sunday night, and the Bills will make their way to Baltimore.
Ravens: I don’t necessarily care to use the term “must win” this early, but I felt it was appropriate for them as they entered week three. They were an inch away from taking the defending Super Bowl champions to overtime and in week two, they reverted to their 2022 ways with having a double-digit lead and blowing it. There was no excuse for them to lose that game to the Las Vegas Raiders, but this is the NFL where “wild happens”. Before their game against the Dallas Cowboys, I said Lamar Jackson would have to show why he was named MVP for the second time in his career last season the numbers weren’t the flashiest, but they were efficient. 12/15, 182 yards passing and one touchdown pass. The Ravens didn’t sign Derrick Henry to have him on the roster and on the radio, I called them out for their misuse of him. In week one, he had 13 carries and in week two, 19 carries. Derrick needs at least 21-25 carries to have the impact and against the Cowboys, they fed him the ball 25 times! This is the formula for this football team! I can’t say this enough. But again, they almost blew it. There’s no way the Cowboys should’ve climbed back into this game, especially when Baltimore was up by 22 points. You keep your foot on the gas and you close out, with no excuses. That win in Arlington saved their season as far as I’m concerned and they’re in a much better position now than they would’ve been if they were 0-3. When you’re 1-2, you can climb out of that hole, but 0-3, you’ve dug yourself a deeper hole if you ask me. The Ravens return home for some primetime football on Sunday night.
Bills X-Factor: Khalil Shakir– I said at the top of the writing the Bills must build this offense around three guys. James Cook, Dawson Knox, and Khalil Shakir simply because these three have been with Josh the longest on the field. When Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis were still in Orchard Park, Khalil was the true number Wide Receiver on the depth chart. Now, Khalil has established himself as Josh’s safety valve and most reliable playmaker. I see a shifty guy with the ball in his hands after the catch with the ability to make people miss. An underrated part of his game is taking contact, but still finding a way to stay on his feet. Khalil has more of a responsibility now on this offense.
Ravens X-Factor: Travis Jones– The big guy on the interior! The first thing I immediately noticed about Travis was how violent he was at the point of attack. He latches his hands on you, then throws you to the side to get to the ball carrier. Travis reminds me of a more athletic Sam Adams. He’s also a powerful force in that Baltimore interior. Travis is also slippery enough to maneuver through lanes to make a play. Against the pass, he can push the pocket and still impact the throw. That’s what pressure is. It’s not necessarily hitting the Quarterback, but more so collapsing the pocket and making the Quarterback hesitate when he drops back to pass.
Final Thoughts: When the schedule was released in May, this was a game I knew I’d get my hands on preview and all these months later, here we are! We have two of the five best Quarterbacks in the league today, plus, Josh and Lamar will forever be linked to one another as they were both drafted together in 2018. When these two last played, the Ravens had a sizable lead and blew it leading to Buffalo’s comeback. Through three weeks, the Bills have been the most complete team in the NFL that I’ve seen. This will be a tough environment Buffalo will enter. This game will come down to which Quarterback plays hero ball the least meaning who will take care of the football. I see the Ravens bottling up James Cook as he’s been a key piece to the puzzle for the Bills offense. Both defenses face challenges. The Ravens’ secondary against these Bills receivers and the Buffalo run defense facing both Lamar and Derrick Henry. The Bills must turn this game into the track meet that I always mention. Turn the tempo of the game in their favor while the Ravens on the other side must ugly the game up. Slow the game down, and run the football into the teeth of the Bills’ defense. You signed Derrick for a game of this magnitude. This has the makings of a classic game. Baltimore gets to 500. I like the Ravens at home.
Prediction: Ravens 24, Bills 20
