Ravens Play Four Full Quarters, Beat Bills 35-10

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Buffalo Bills 35-10 in Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season. RSR staff react to the win here.

Derek Arnold

With the exception of that late-second quarter/early-third quarter hiccup that had us all rolling our eyes and expecting the worst, this was a complete effort from the Ravens. The kind we saw against teams like Seattle and Detroit last year, but this time they did it against a true AFC contender, the team many were calling the NFL’s best after they dismantled Jacksonville on Monday night.

Derrick Henry is far from washed up, and set the tone with the longest run from scrimmage in Ravens history on the team’s first offensive play. It’s hard to not look back and be annoyed at Titans ownership for vetoing that trade last season, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk, I guess. He’s here now, and he’s awesome. The offensive line and Pat Ricard played their butts off, and that includes the much-maligned Daniel Faalele. Ravens TEs and WRs were willing blockers as well, and Lamar Jackson hit the passes he needed to hit. Todd Monken called his best game of the season.

On defense, the Kyles, Van Noy and Hamilton, again balled out. Travis Jones hit Josh Allen harder than I’ve ever seen anyone hit him, and provided pressure all night. Odafe Oweh got home again. Marlon Humphrey played well in coverage and timed up the CB blitz that resulted in Oweh’s sack perfectly. Zach Orr has something to build on.

Let’s thank the Bills for getting way too cute at the perfect time – for us – on that trick play that resulted in an Allen fumble that completely tossed the momentum back to the good guys. Tyler Bass also missed a kick, and Pat Ricard recovered a Henry goalline fumble for a TD. The weird crap that went against us in Week 2 went in our favor this time.

A great win. Time to start stacking them (despite an October schedule that looks a bit more daunting than it appeared to a few weeks ago).

Tanner George

So this was the Ravens team we were waiting to see.

Baltimore simply dominated on Sunday Night Football and really just had their way with the Bills. Todd Monken’s game plan was near-genius, confusing some inexperienced Buffalo linebackers with a lot of motion. Aside from the fumble, Lamar Jackson was on point, and Derrick Henry once again looked otherworldly, nearly cracking 200 yards on the ground for the 7th time in his career.

On the other side of the ball, Kyle Van Noy has continued to prove he’s worth every dollar spent by the front office. Overall, the unit was solid; the only little glitch was an incredible 52-yard toss from Allen on the run, but you can only chalk that up to an elite player making an elite play. Nate Wiggins had a great game in coverage and saw two interceptions slip through his fingers; nonetheless, I’m very encouraged by what I saw from him tonight.

Now, it did look like the “2nd half Ravens” were going to make an appearance in this one after posting a couple of three-and-outs and allowing a long Bills touchdown drive, but the defense swung the momentum back to the Baltimore sideline with a forced fumble on Josh Allen. Harbaugh did make a frustrating mistake with the errant timeout call, but thankfully it didn’t cost his team in the end. Still, you’d prefer not to see it happen.

Sitting at 2-2, the Ravens are right back into the thick of things heading into October. They’re in a position to recapture the AFC North lead with a win and a Pittsburgh loss in Week 5.

And that feels pretty darn good.

Ben Dackiw

After how this season started, we could be looking at a much worse situation than 2-2. It was looking pretty dicey there for a bit, and yet the Ravens won by 25 points. Against an AFC contender. In primetime. Despite a few lapses in judgment, It’s difficult to call this game anything other than a dominating win.

The Bills had no answer for the run. Derrick Henry looked like the best running back in the league. Justice Hill was phenomenal. The offensive line had their best game of the season. The blocking from all parties, fullbacks and tight ends included, was fantastic. It was like watching a moving wall of muscle.

And Lamar. Oh Lamar. He’s about to mess around and be in the MVP Race. Again. I could’ve lived without the fumble, but he looked dialed. This is a man who is in command with a full grasp of his offense.

Zach Orr called a great game. He’s got a unit full of absolute dogs that he can throw at a quarterback without mercy.

This game means something. You already lost the tiebreaker to Kansas City. Now you have it over Buffalo. Just keep bringing in the wins.

Chad Racine

This was the kind of game we’ve all been waiting for. Dominant on both sides of the ball against an undefeated team. After the Ravens lost the first two I was not too worried and felt they were not your typical 0-2 team. I still believe the Ravens are the best team in the division and will likely win it.

Kevin McNelis

And THAT’S why you sign Derrick Henry.

The last couple of weeks, it’s taken a few carries to get #22 rumbling and start wearing down opposing defenses. It certainly didn’t take him too long tonight, as he took his first touch 87 yards to the house for the longest run in franchise history. That started off a ridiculous showing for Henry, as he went over 200 all-purpose yards, just a goal-line fumble shy of three touchdowns.

Admittedly, there was a stretch there that triggered our fanbase’s shared trauma. After three straight TDs to start the game, they went fumble, end of half, punt, punt on their next four. Josh Allen hit a ridiculous 50+ yard shot downfield to set up a touchdown, and it just felt like this was where control of the game was starting to slip. That was, until Kyle Van Noy came up big again with a strip sack, and the Ravens were back in the driver’s seat. 271 rushing yards later, the Ravens killed the clock and got a huge win in prime time.

Baltimore’s running backs (if you include Pat Ricard in there) accounted for four touchdowns, with Lamar rushing for the fifth. When the Ravens lean into their identity like this, they’re so hard to beat. Here’s hoping they stick with it.

Rob Shields

As someone who predicted a Bills win, this was great to see. I was worried about this team closing against a top team and boy did they. They completely dominated the game. Now, I do wonder where this game goes had the Bills not called that trick play. But Van Noy, yet again, stepped up and made a monster play to turn the game back around.

Henry was a beast again and the offense was great but honestly, I think the story is the defense.  The Bills came in with a highly regarded line and one of the best offenses in the game. They were held to 236 yards but only 13 in the fourth. 22% of their yards came on a broken play.

The game plans on both sides of the ball were fantastic and really, outside of the sequence with the Lamar fumble/the Harbaugh TO/Bills TD/Ravens 3 and out, it was a pretty flawless game.

Credit to this coaching staff and the team for not taking their foot off the gas and making sure they didn’t let this one get away. Hopefully this was a learning experience for everyone.

Jared Pinder

Let’s get this straight: outside of a boneheaded mistake by John Harbaugh and a bad start to the second half, this is the exact type of game the Ravens needed. They needed to show they can slow down a great offense and finish games. The Henry-Lamar tandem is now looking like the nightmare that we all thought it was when Henry signed here.

But a particular shoutout to Zach Orr, who called an awesome game tonight and looked much more comfortable. The Bills made a couple of mistakes, and the Ravens capitalized on them when they stole the momentum and the game away on the KVN strip.

This is the type of team they can and should be. Now, we have to play a similar defense in Cincy.

Chris Schisler

There’s almost nothing negative to say. Other than John Harbaugh not knowing you can’t call back-to-back timeouts and Lamar Jackson coughing up the ball in an airborne position this was a perfect day at the office. The Ravens put up over 400 yards. The offensive line was surprisingly strong. Pass protection was only an issue against very aggressive blitzes. Derrick Henry had a monster game and his opening touchdown run will be a signature Ravens memory.

The Ravens defense deserves a ton of credit. Take away a miracle throw from an almost out of bounds Allen and the secondary was completely stifling. Nate Wiggins had a strong showing. Marlon Humphrey made some pivotal plays (but had an awfully dumb personal foul). The defensive front was great. They won their one on one matchups. David Ojabo, Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Not had a noticeable impact on the game. The Ravens had a strong game plan yet it was the execution of it that was so impressive.

There was a moment in the second half where the Bills retook some of the momentum. A Van Noy forced fumble turned things back into the Ravens favor. The Ravens didn’t crumble in the moment. They enforced their game upon the Bills.

The Ravens’ backfield is an elite combination, especially when Justice Hill is factored into the equation. It won the Ravens the game. The Bills got gashed and second half blitzes only slowed their bleeding for a moment.

All is right with the Ravens’ Flock. They beat a 3-0 team and evened their record on a day where the Steelers and Browns both lost. The Ravens found their identity with Jackson & Henry being a dynamic duo. Two fully grown stars are in their perfect element. Jackson and Henry make the Ravens a tough team to beat when they avoid silly mistakes.

Darin McCann

You could see this run game start to come to life in the second half of that Raiders game, and it has just blown up to what appears to be one of the top weapons in the game. Derrick Henry, Justice Hill and Lamar Jackson are following a developing offensive line and barbarically violent fullback to what looks like a real headache for opposing defenses. Once the passing game continues to blossom into what it continues to tease to become, this offense could become a scary sight going forward. On defense, steady pressure, sticky coverage and sure tackling led to a stifling performance against one of the game’s top offenses, and an early MVP favorite at quarterback.

There are still too many penalties, and too many questionable coaching issues at inopportune times, but this was a great night against a very worthy foe. This could be the kind of game that kicks the Ravens into full-speed-ahead mode. They were dangerous tonight.

Oh, and how about Kyle Van Noy?

Nikhil Mehta

Derrick Henry set M&T Bank ablaze early in Sunday night’s matchup, and for once, the Ravens never looked back. A signature Josh Allen extended play in the third quarter may have triggered some flashbacks to recent weeks, but Baltimore’s offense capitalized on a fumble and a missed field goal to keep the Bills well out of reach for all 60 minutes.

Buffalo never looked settled among a raucous Baltimore crowd that felt hungry for a win they could write home about. The Ravens obliged, capitalizing on the Bills’ mistakes while committing few of their own. This was a game for synergy between the offense and the defense. Todd Monken didn’t spend the second half looking for a knockout blow; instead, he stuck to his game plan and converted Buffalo’s fumble and missed field goal into points to keep the pressure on Allen and put the defense in a position to succeed. Heavy formations gashed the Bills on offense, letting Orr stick with his dime packages as the Bills tried to get back in the game.

They never did, courtesy of another age-defying performance by Kyle Van Noy and some of the calmest, most efficient football of Lamar Jackson’s career. He never looked panicked or out of rhythm; even his scrambles felt like the natural result of the play. More often that not, he just handed the ball off the Henry and watched the carnage. The Ravens won’t always have that luxury, but they wisely leaned on it tonight, daring Allen to go into Superman mode rather than calling on Jackson to do the same. Can he still win games on his own? Of course, but when this Ravens team is at its best, he won’t have to.

Nick Polinsky

It’s so much more fun to write these after games like this. The Ravens dominated for four quarters, from the first snaps (literally)  to the last.

Derrick Henry running all over Buffalo on Sunday Night Football has a poetic element to it that not even Edgar Allen Poe could write about. It’s clear that the Ravens will play to this level when they can run the football well early in the game. With Derrick Henry, that shouldn’t be too difficult going forward.

Relentless edge pressure all game left Josh Allen all out of sorts. Kyle Van Noy picked up another two sacks, and Oweh picked up one as well. The massive lead made it so the Bills couldn’t lean on the run game which was the one thing(kind of) working early on. James Cook only carried the ball nine times and the Bills offense became one dimensional.

If the Ravens keep up this kind of play where everything is clicking, everyone else may want to watch out.