Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills: Matchups of Note

Despite a comeback attempt by the Steelers, the fears of a defensive breakdown were left in the rearview mirror for the Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Game in a 28-14 win. The No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills are Baltimore’s next matchup, following a 31-7 drubbing of the Denver Broncos in their own AFC Wild Card Game.

Baltimore and Buffalo have a bevy of matchups to discuss. There’s the biggest one at hand between the two Most Valuable Player award candidates, along with a slugfest between two defenses.

Here are a few that fans and pundits are looking forward to:

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson vs. Bills QB Josh Allen

The first-team All-Pro selection at quarterback is taking on the second-team All-Pro pick. Quarterbacks don’t play against each other on the field, though the battle is for the hearts and minds of all.

Here is a comparison of their stats this season:

Head-to-Head Record: Jackson leads 1-0 this season. 

Quarterback record: Allen leads 13-3.

Games played: Jackson leads in games played with 17 to Allen’s 16.

Completion percentage: Jackson has the advantage with a 66.7% completion rate to Allen’s 63.6%.

Passing yards: Jackson leads 4,172 to Allen’s 3,731.

Passing yards per attempt: Jackson (8.8) leads in this metric over Allen (7.7). 

Passing yards per game: Jackson takes this statistic as well with 245.4 yards per game vs. Allen’s 233.2.

Passing touchdowns: Jackson (41). Allen (28).

Interceptions: Jackson (4). Allen (6).

Rating: Jackson (119.6). Allen (101.4).

Rushing attempts: Jackson (139). Allen (102).

Rushing yards: Jackson (915). Allen (531).

Rushing yards per attempt: Jackson (6.6). Allen (5.2).

Rushing touchdowns: Allen (12) leads Jackson (4) by a large margin.

Here’s where things get sketchy for Jackson:

Playoffs head-to-head: Allen leads 1-0 after defeating Jackson’s Ravens 17-3 in a 2020 playoff victory.

Playoff record: Allen leads with a 6-5 record to Jackson’s 3-4 record.

Playoff completion rate: Allen has the lead with a 65.3% completion rate to Jackson’s 59.3%.

Playoff passing yards: Allen has 2,995 playoff passing yards to Jackson’s 1,499.

Playoff yards per attempt: Allen leads with 7.4 to Jackson’s 6.9 yards per attempt.

Playoff passing touchdowns: Allen has 23 passing touchdowns to Jackson’s 8 touchdowns.

Playoff interceptions: Allen (4). Jackson (6).

Playoff passer rating: Allen has a 102.3 passer rating to Jackson’s 81.2.

The last statistic is the biggest. It’s Jackson’s defining trait to the pundits that have continued to naysay their way into the national spotlight. Despite the half-truths and the falsehoods, the real truth is that Jackson has a playoff hump to get over at 3-4. He’s been good in some games, okay in others and flat out forgettable in a few. That’s not who he is capable of being.

Jackson is a superstar, that much is for certain. So is Allen, who plays a similar style to 2015 MVP Cam Newton and it’s almost inarguable that it’s better, per stats. Fans and media alike will see the two duke it out for a chance to advance to the AFC Championship Game and boy, it’ll be a vaunted matchup.

Ravens LBs vs Bills TEs/RBs

Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith is 88th out of 189 linebackers in Pro Football Focus’ coverage grade metric (59.8). Malik Harrison is 175th out of 189 linebackers (30.6).

Bills tight end Dawson Knox had 22 catches for 311 receiving yards and one touchdown. Dalton Kincaid finished with 44 grabs for 448 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Buffalo running back James Cook has been a threat out of the backfield as a runner (207 carries, 1,009 rushing yards and a league-high 16 touchdowns), but he’s added 32 receptions, 258 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Ravens running game vs Bills Front 7

Derrick Henry walloped the Bills front seven back in September. The 31-year-old had 199 rushing yards in the game, averaging 8.3 yards per attempt on 24 carries and a long run of 87 yards. He had a touchdown to show for it. Baltimore even broke out Jackson, who had 9.0 yards per attempt on six carries, 54 yards and a touchdown and Justice Hill entered the fray with four carries and 18 yards (4.5 yards per attempt). Baltimore had 34 carries as a team for 271 yards on the ground, averaging eight yards per carry and two touchdowns.

Baltimore had the second most rushing attempts (554) and the most rushing yards (3,189) in the regular season, while having the sixth-most rushing touchdowns (21). The Bills are 12th in rushing yards allowed with 1,963 against them in the regular season and 10 in touchdowns allowed.

While the Bills allowed 4.65 yards per carry against the Broncos, Denver had to throw the ball to win after a large deficit. Baltimore will look to control the clock against the likes of Matt Milano, Gregory Rousseau, Terrel Bernard, Austin Johnson and others. Ronnie Stanley, Patrick Mekari/Andrew Vorhees, Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele and Roger Rosengarten need to give it all that they’ve got to push the Ravens forward.

Ravens HC John Harbaugh vs. Sean McDermott

Harbaugh is 172-104 (.623 winning percentage) since beginning his head coaching tenure with the Ravens in 2008, while the Bills’ McDermott is 86-45 (.656) since 2017. The two coaches have history — both serving as assistants under current Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid while in Philadelphia.

The two have battled during the course of their head coaching careers with John Harbaugh leading the charge in the regular season with a 3-1 record against the Bills. Many in Baltimore would be privy to the loss at the hand of Buffalo on Oct. 2, 2022. The Bills had the team’s largest comeback victory in over a decade in a 23-20 victory. However, the Ravens shook off those demons in the team’s 35-10 dismantling of the same opponent on Sep. 29 this season.