“They blew our asses”: Disastrous trick play, defensive deficiencies doom Bills against Ravens

BALTIMORE — After three weeks, the Bills appeared to be on top of the NFL world. Three wins in a row — including two in a row on the national prime-time stage — the Bills appeared to be one of the best teams in the league.

But the Ravens, who had nearly collapsed against the Cowboys the week before, were ready to play for now. They dominated the first half and, after a short break, continued to do so in the second half en route to a 35-10 win over the Bills.

“They came out with urgency and beat our asses,” quarterback Josh Allen said.

The loss moved the Bills to 3-1 on the year and raised a number of questions heading into another big matchup in Week 5.

Why the trick game was a disaster from the start

The Bills had a lot of problems on offense. They knew it would be difficult to compete against the Ravens' strong defensive line and linebackers. Because the Bills had to rely on the passing game required, they struggled to protect Allen all night long and there were a lot of bad situations for the offense to get out of. But despite those issues early in the game, they were able to make it a one possession game with plenty of time on the clock. And then the trick play happened. While it wasn't the sole reason for the Bills' loss, it wiped out all the progress the team had made early in the second half. The play was the worst call offensive coordinator Joe Brady has ever made, and it was a disaster as soon as the ball was snapped.

The Ravens weren't fooled by all the pre-snap movement to shoot Allen wide with Samuel standing behind center with the shotgun. The Ravens communicated calmly with each other and stuck to their principles when the ball was snapped. Chaos ensued for the Bills. Tight end Dalton Kincaid stood just outside left tackle Dion Dawkins. Dawkins' likely task was to block the edge rusher just enough to allow Allen to get back between the markers with some protection in front of him. But with Kincaid switching from left to right behind the offensive line after the snap, Dawkins was unable to adequately hit rusher Kyle Van Noy, throwing off the timing of the entire game.

.@KVN_03 gets the ball out and @kyledhamilton_ is recovering!!!

Tune in to NBC! pic.twitter.com/joofwJAxEw

– Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 30, 2024

After his pitch to Allen, Van Noy raced from Dawkins' half block into Samuel and hurled the receiver directly into Allen's face. This forced Allen to go wide, vulnerable to any hit imaginable, while multiple defenders pressured him as the offensive line had sealed off the area between markers. At that moment, there was nothing the linemen could do. Then Allen went into hero mode, trying to throw the ball down the field and taking the biggest hit he'd taken all year when defensive tackle Travis Jones tackled him just after Van Noy took the ball.

But the call was downright pointless for several reasons, even before the outcome of the game was known. For one thing, after an entire first half of frustration, the Bills had finally found some offensive success. They scored 21-10 in their previous attack and found some real success as a multi-dimensional offense in the early stages of the next attack. Allen hit Keon Coleman for a big gain. Running back James Cook had a couple of good runs that helped them get into Ravens territory and seemingly at least get close to field goal range. Then on 2nd and 7, Brady made that call.

Additionally, the offensive line struggled with the Ravens' defensive pressure for much of the game, forcing Allen out of his spot more than they would have liked. Taking him out of the pocket where he originally received the ball and opening him up for this type of hit was short-sighted at best. And the highlight of it all: Knowing Allen's tendency to play hero and put him at risk for a season opener while already suffering from a hand injury made Brady an all-time bad decision. The offensive coordinator has been good most of the season, and this one call doesn't change that, but it was forced and was just poorly timed given the situation. After the game, head coach Sean McDermott was relatively tame about the game.

“That's something Joe and I will talk about at length and I'm sure he wants that recall. So do I,” McDermott said. “And we will learn from it and move on.”

But after translating McDermott for the last seven seasons, there was something real: “We're in a public place right now, but we'll discuss this when we get home,” my father's energy was contained in the response. As it happened, McDermott was watching the play closely and Allen barely hit the ground after the Jones hit. As Allen's lower back hit the ground, McDermott appeared to be essentially reaching waist-deep for the controller for his headset. Given his response after the game and the general disappointment over the call, it wouldn't be a surprise if he opened the line of communication.

But McDermott is justified in his frustration. That wasn't the reason they lost the game, but it was the reason that prevented them from getting back into the game when they finally seemed to turn things around. This play call probably won't see the light of day for a very long time. And for good reason.

Derrick Henry carved up the Bills defense for 199 yards rushing. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

How the defense's backup magic was finally exhausted

Through the first three weeks, the Bills had done their best to convince the football world that they could make any loss to a starter — be it in the offseason or through injury in the past two months — work. And to their credit, they put in a great performance over the last ten quarters, playing with a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” style that helped mask some of those individual weaknesses. They deserve a lot of credit for the first three weeks. But this game against the Ravens was a reality check in every way.

The Ravens set out to attack those principles by wanting the Bills to prove they were physical enough to overcome one-on-one blocks, get to the ball carriers and make tackles in the open field. The Bills had major problems in both categories. When the Bills wanted to sit back like they had in the last two games, the Ravens used the quick passing game to prove that players in that area of ​​the zone could run through blockers and then make the tackle. All too often it was one big game after another.

And that was the point at which the entire second level of defense came into trouble again with three substitutes. Whether it was Baylon Spector being unable to get out of the blocks, Dorian Williams taking the bait on a few deflections, or Cam Lewis making a big impact in the run game, this trio was exposed in a way they've never been exposed before had. That hasn't been the case since they took over their respective starters. But having them on the field presented a number of problems for this particular opponent.

Go deeper

The Ravens suffocated the Bills 35-10 behind dominant Derrick Henry and a strong defense

With Lewis having more issues in run defense and being smaller than usual starter Taron Johnson, the Bills were forced to shuffle their personnel a bit more than usual and go completely non-existent. That, combined with two injuries to Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard, meant that Nicholas Morrow – signed primarily for his special teams skills – was the third linebacker against heavier personnel packages. It was just another small detail that led to a larger problem and the invoices were found in some mismatched situations. Additionally, it put more pressure on the team's safety to make plays than had been the case before this game, and it exposed some of the limitations of Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin. The Ravens didn't even need to test the Bills' perimeter defense all that often because all the success they needed was right in the middle of the field.

In the second half, the defense began to show a little life, forcing the Ravens to quickly fend off their first two possessions. Part of that was the adjustments the Bills made to move away from their so successful low-blitz style while keeping the back end covered. When they started applying additional pressure, they noticed more positive results for a short time. They deserve credit for their agility, and when they were tasked with giving the offense a chance in the second half, they did so. But after that trick play it all came to nothing, they went back to giving up big plays and that was all the Ravens needed to put the game away. The Bills desperately need Bernard and Johnson back in the lineup soon as they now have a plan in place to attack this injury-deficient unit.

Bills MVP: WR Khalil Shakir – Once again, no matter the situation, Shakir found a way to make the 52-yard play that almost put the Bills back in the contest.

Bills LVP: Run the defense — With so many candidates, it was difficult to make a selection. Ultimately, it's a pretty big reason why the Bills allowed an 87-yard rushing touchdown on the first snap and another 184 yards on 33 more attempts after that.

Next: The 3-1 Bills continue their second three-game road trip, meeting the 3-1 Texans on Sunday afternoon in Houston.

(Top photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)