BALTIMORE – Long before quarterback Lamar Jackson ran onto the field and the Baltimore Ravens ran their first offensive play from their 13-yard line, they had decided exactly how they wanted to start.

During the team’s offensive meetings the week the script for the first possession was revealed, coordinator Todd Monken said that if the Buffalo Bills were aligned in a certain way, the Ravens would start with a “crunch” run concept that, when executed, takes advantage of an aggressive defensive front moving quickly onto the field.

Lined up in the pistol with running back Derrick Henry two yards behind him, Jackson and his teammates scanned across the line of scrimmage and immediately realized they had the right play call.

“If we get the look, we’re going to run it,” center Tyler Linderbaum said. “If we haven’t done that, we’re going to do it. We saw it and I think everyone did a good job blocking their man, and then Derrick made a man miss the gate.

Eighty-seven yards later, and after the 30-year-old, 247-pound Henry maxed out at 34.29 mph during the longest run in Ravens history, the tone was set.

DERRICK FREAKIN’ HENRY!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/xhYv0apEQu

—NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2024

The Ravens never relented in their 35-10 loss to the previously undefeated Bills in front of a prime-time crowd and 70,636 at M&T Bank Stadium, a result that not only keeps the team steady after the rocky start, but also shows where it stands could be capable of. move forward.

“It’s the beginning of it,” Jackson said, flashing a big smile due to much of his postgame media availability. “We got the running game going, but the receivers did their part. Just the kind of game we had to run the ball more. They played two high (safeties), and Derrick just did what he had to do, and so did the offensive line.”

This was the Ravens at their best in all three phases, with the type of form that, if maintained, makes them a significant threat to play for a Lombardi Trophy. They totaled 427 yards of offense, 271 of which came on the ground, including 199 from Henry, who had a rushing and receiving touchdown. Baltimore scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, held on during a lull late in the second quarter that extended into the third quarter, and then dropped the hammer on the Bills with two straight touchdown drives spanning the third and fourth quarters.

Defensively, the Ravens continually harassed Josh Allen, who played the quarterback position perhaps better than anyone in football through the first three weeks until Bills coach Sean McDermott waived the white flag and Allen pulled with his team with a deficit of 35-10 and just over seven. minutes remaining. The Bills had a glimmer of hope when they cut the Ravens’ lead to 21-10 early in the third quarter, but Kyle Van Noy’s blast of Allen on a Buffalo trick play all but wiped it out.

“It was kind of like the last fight they had,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said.

There would be no late game disappointment for Baltimore this evening.

“A big win,” said Ravens outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, who had one of the team’s three sacks and two of its eight quarterback hits. “I’m just happy that we started dominant and finished dominant.”

The Ravens had a Bills team that averaged 37.3 points and 329 yards per game to one touchdown in the third quarter – and it took a miraculous 52-yard throw for Allen when he fell out of bounds to set it up . Buffalo finished with just 236 yards of offense and averaged just 4.1 yards per play. By comparison, the Ravens averaged a 7.9.

Scoop City Newsletter

Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Free, daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

To register

Baltimore’s special teams also did their part, keeping Buffalo from gaining any momentum. The performance was thorough and resounding. The Ravens led by seven just over four minutes into the game, by 11 after the first play of the second quarter, by 18 at halftime and by 25 less than four minutes into the fourth.

“I really think it shows what a group of guys – a group of people – can do,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “First, they just put their heads down, don’t worry about what people say, and decide they’re going to go to work every day. They’re going to meet each other, they’re going to start playing football and they’re going to practice as it should be. And when you do that as a football team, you have the opportunity to improve, and we did that. Now we know that we are only getting better. We know what is possible, we know what we are capable of, but we still have a long way to go and we still have a lot of work to do.”

At 2-2, the Ravens have had their worst start to the season since 2015. Another test awaits in six days in the form of the division rival Cincinnati Bengals in the Queen City. But Sunday set the template for 2024 for the Ravens, who have always been at their best when following the lead of their run game. Jackson happens to have an extremely dynamic backfield partner this year in Henry, who is gaining traction with his new team each week.

“That’s kind of always been what we’ve been about when you look back at the history of the organization,” Harbaugh said. “Running the ball and defending well, and then we have weapons. We are blessed with weapons. (Lamar) just came in here. He’s the best weapon in football, and everyone rallies around him, and he hands it out to everyone else. That’s where it starts, but the run game is extremely important to us.

Can the Ravens win a Super Bowl while relying so heavily on their run game? Maybe not. But that wasn’t what the past two weeks were about. It was about finding an attacking identity to get the team out of a difficult start and taking advantage of the opponents’ weaknesses. The Dallas Cowboys had a broken interior defensive line and struggled to stop the run. So the Ravens ran the ball 45 times for 274 yards in a 28-25 win that shouldn’t have been that close.

The Bills like to fill the field with defensive backs and rely heavily on their nickel-and-dime packages. They were also missing their top two inside linebackers and a nickel corner. So the Ravens ran the ball early and often. When they passed — Jackson was 13 of 18 for 156 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating of 135.4 — they attacked Buffalo in the middle of the field.

“I like what Coach (Monken) did tonight,” said Jackson, who added 54 rushing yards and a touchdown on just six carries. “He kept the defense honest. We were going to shoot while we were under center in the play-action game, the run game. Just good across the board.”

The Jackson 6️⃣

📺: #BUFvsBAL on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/vrIBBmHsgW

—NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2024

And physically. Nowhere was that more evident than during the 87-yard Henry run that got the party started. It was a blocking clinic from the offensive line to the fullback and tight ends to the receivers. It didn’t seem like Henry was even touched.

“I felt pretty good about that play all week,” Henry said. “Justice (Hill) and everyone in the room were talking about how this play has always been successful since they’ve been here – it’s always been explosive. I was anticipating it, but I’m glad they did a great job. I just had to make one cut and get into the end zone.

During the game, rookie Roger Rosengarten, making his first career start at right tackle, kept the Bills’ Greg Rousseau from filling an interior hole. Right guard Daniel Faalele allowed defensive tackle Ed Oliver to penetrate and slide to DaQuan Jones. Fullback Patrick Ricard picked out an onrushing Oliver. Linderbaum reached the next level, where he handled linebacker Dorian Williams.

Patrick Mekari, making his first career start at left guard, slid to his left and handled AJ Epenesa, allowing left tackle Ronnie Stanley to come down the field and pick off linebacker Baylon Spector. Tight end Mark Andrews then prevented safety Taylor Rapp from playing. All that remained was for Henry to beat defensive backs Damar Hamlin, Christian Benford and Cam Lewis to the end zone.

Through four weeks, Henry leads the NFL with 480 rushing yards. His 6.0 yards per carry is a career high. He also has six total touchdowns to his name.

“If today doesn’t make me feel comfortable, I don’t know what else to say,” Henry said. “It was fun. We didn’t start the way we wanted to, but like I said to those guys, this is why I came here, because of the culture. Our backs are against the wall, 0-2. We just kept believing in it. We kept fighting, and now we’re back where we want to be, and let’s build on this in all three phases.”

(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images)