The Buffalo Bills defense has been able to stay afloat for most of the 2024 season despite injuries to key starters in the second tier. The proverbial ship began to take on water in the first half of the team’s Week 4 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, as the AFC North side identified weaknesses in the middle of the field and attacked them frequently, often with success.

Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson and linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard were sidelined for Buffalo Sunday night football clashing, as they all have been for most (or, in Milano’s case, all) of the campaign so far; Cam Lewis, Dorian Williams and Baylon Spector had completed the first part of this season relatively well, respectively, but they got off to a rough start in Week 4, when Baltimore running back Derrick Henry broke off an 84-yard touchdown. run on the Ravens’ first offensive play.

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The Ravens used play-action and screen passing to test Buffalo’s defensive second level throughout the first half, and the unit was largely unequal to the task. Tackling was an issue, as Baltimore found frequent success with screen passes, the most egregious example being a third-and-14 screen in the second quarter against running back Justice Hill, which the 26-year-old converted on a first down.

The second level inside – especially Williams and Spector – largely struggled in coverage, with the Ravens pass catchers often behind them (some may attribute this to a scheme, but the execution wasn’t great either). Perhaps the most notable example of this was a Isaiah Likely reception in the second quarter in which he snuck past the backers and was wide open to haul in a 26-yard grab; tight end Mark Andrews was behind them on the next play, but he couldn’t catch Lamar Jackson’s pass.

The Ravens also played an appropriate red-zone play where they got Hill one-on-one with Williams; the running back put on a nice juke and went wide open, hauling in a touchdown pass to give Baltimore three scores.

The Ravens made a concerted effort to attack Buffalo’s depleted second level on the back of Henry and their fast passing plan, and the strategy proved fruitful in the first half. The former NFL Offensive Player of the Year finished the first half with 109 rushing yards on nine carries, driving the win both on the ground and through the air. Jackson was 11 of 13 for 135 yards and two scores, with the Baltimore offense averaging 10.4 yards per play while gaining an impressive 281 yards and converting on all three third down situations.

In other words, it’s half a Buffalo that wants to forget.

It may have been unfair to expect the Bills’ depth defensemen to keep the unit humming at an almost elite level without Johnson, Milano and Bernard, but the first-half implosion was inauspicious nonetheless. The group showed some signs of life late in the first half, with Williams forcing a fumble from Jackson that Spector recovered. Perhaps the unity will build on this in the second half; if not, Johnson and Bernard are expected to return in the coming weeks.

Baltimore leads Buffalo 21-3 at halftime.

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