The Buffalo Bills feel disrespected, and what occurred Sunday night will only add to the chips on their collective shoulders.
As Buffalo celebrated a 27-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens to reach next weekend’s AFC Championship Game, the overwhelming sentiment was that the Bills advanced primarily because Baltimore’s Mark Andrews dropped a two-point conversion pass with 1:33 left to prevent the Ravens from tying the score.
Those three forced turnovers and huge defensive plays by Buffalo’s Terrel Bernard and Von Miller were suddenly minimized.
“All year, this team has heard, ‘We’ve got no talent. We’re too small. We can’t stop the run. We’re not good enough to compete,'” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “We just put our heads down and work hard. I’m so proud of our defense, our offense and special teams. What a complete win.”
Allen rushed for two touchdowns and Ray Davis rushed for one as the second-seeded Bills defeated the third-seeded Ravens in cold and icy conditions at Orchard Park, N.Y. The temperature was 19 degrees, but it felt like 12 at kickoff.
Buffalo will visit the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game next Sunday. It is a rematch of the 2021 AFC title game, where the Chiefs posted a 38-24 victory over Buffalo.
Lamar Jackson completed 18 of 25 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns for the Ravens but also was responsible for two turnovers (one interception, one lost fumble). Baltimore’s Derrick Henry rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown and Rashod Bateman and Isaiah Likely had scoring receptions.
Allen completed 16 of 22 passes for 127 yards while getting the victory over Jackson. The two are the leading NFL MVP candidates.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Allen said of the victory. “These playoff games, you got to win by one. That’s all that matters.”
Jackson finished strong by driving the Ravens 88 yards on eight plays and hitting Likely on a 24-yard touchdown catch to bring Baltimore within two with 1:33 left. On the two-point play, Jackson rolled right and tossed the ball to a wide-open Andrews, who dropped it at the goal line.
“I’m just as hurt as Mark. It’s a team effort,” Jackson said when asked about Andrews’ drop. “I’m not going to put it on Mark. He was battling and doing all the great things he did all season. It don’t always go our way.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh didn’t wish to entertain any suggestions that Andrews was at blame for the loss.
“There’s nobody that has more heart and cares more and fights more than Mark,” Harbaugh said. “We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews.”
Buffalo’s Rasul Douglas recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Ty Johnson cemented the victory with a 17-yard run.
Baltimore trailed by 11 points at halftime before controlling the third quarter.
Justin Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal to bring the Ravens within 21-13 with 9:47 left in the third quarter.
Henry scored on a 5-yard rush with 1:37 remaining in the third. The Ravens went for a game-tying two-point conversion, but Buffalo’s Matt Milano tipped away Jackson’s pass.
Tyler Bass made a 51-yard field goal to increase the Bills’ lead to 24-19 with 12:04 left in the game.
Later, Jackson hit Andrews for 16 yards to get to the Buffalo 44-yard line. But Bernard punched the ball out of Andrews’ hands and jumped on it at the Bills 46 with 8:41 remaining.
“He found a soft spot in the zone,” Bernard said of Andrews. “We rallied to the ball and I saw him cut back and really all I saw was the ball and tried to get it out. … I was lucky enough to get it out of there.”
It marked just the second time in seven NFL seasons that Andrews lost a fumble. The other time was in a 2019 regular-season game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bills cashed in with Bass’ 21-yard field goal with 3:29 remaining.
Allen rushed for two first-half touchdowns to help Buffalo grab a 21-10 lead.
The Ravens took a 7-0 lead on Jackson’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Bateman. The Bills tied the score on Davis’ 1-yard TD run with 4:43 left in the opening quarter.
Jackson turned the ball over twice in the first half — the first giveaway coming in the first quarter, when he was intercepted by Taylor Rapp. Rapp left in the second frame due to a hip injury.
A more costly turnover occurred in the second quarter when a play was off-kilter due to a high and wide shotgun snap. Jackson was able to corral the ball and tried to run as it slipped out of his hands while Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin was trying to make an ankle-high tackle.
Miller scooped up the loose ball and raced 39 yards to the Ravens 24-yard line. Four plays later, Allen scored from the 1 to give Buffalo a 14-7 advantage with 8:52 left in the first half.
Tucker booted a 26-yard field goal with 3:43 left in the half before Allen’s 4-yard scoring run gave Buffalo a 21-10 lead with 16 seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media
