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It happened in a New York Minute.
With 58 seconds to play in the third quarter on Saturday night, the Ravens were within 9 yards of equalizing the score. At the end of that time, the Bills had no chance of losing.
Taron Johnson got past Lamar Jackson’s third pass in the end zone and returned his 101-yard interception for the biggest play of the Bills’ 17-3 win over the Ravens in a round of playoff game. AFC division in front of 6,700 rowdy fans. Johnson passed the rapid Jackson on the sideline and in intermittent winds of 16 mph.
“Emotions always fly,” right tackle Dion Dawkins said shortly before midnight. “It’s a party here. The guys are excited. It’ll knock in half an hour when the guys get in their car that we are [one] game away from the big show.
Johnson, a third-year Weber State player with two interceptions in his first 41 career games, disguised his place in the lower zone and read Jackson’s eyes as he stared at Andrews.
“They always tell us to watch the vision of the quarterback, especially when we’re in the zone,” Johnson said. “It will get you where you want to be.”
The devastating turn of events did not multiply until two games later. The Ravens struggled with snaps throughout the game and a ball flying over Jackson’s head in the shotgun sent him rushing to his own end zone.
Jackson retrieved the ball and threw it out of bounds as it was dragged down, exchanging an intentional ground penalty at the 2-yard line to avoid a touchdown or safety.
The biggest problem? The 2019 NFL MVP suffered a concussion in the insane final game of the quarterback and did not return to the game.
“Every time it breaks down,” Andrews said, “you know he’s feeling something.
Undrafted rookie quarterback Tyler Huntley had two chances to make things interesting. In fourth and ninth with 6:39 left, he knocked down a Marquise Brown scoring streak on what would have been a secure 71-yard touchdown.
“It was love at first sight,” said coach Jim Harbaugh. “I think the wind pushed him a bit from behind.”
Four minutes later, Huntley threw a check when a leaping Mark Andrews couldn’t get a high pass on fourth base.
Despite having compiled just 220 total yards and 16 first downs, the Bills are heading into the AFC Championship game for the first time since January 1994, the last of their four consecutive appearances, in due to a surprisingly dominant defensive performance (four sacks) against a Ravens offense that averaged 34.6 points per game over his previous six. Buffalo will host the Browns or visit the Chiefs next weekend.
It was the fourth playoff game since 2000 without a touchdown in the first half. The kickers combined to make 2 of 6 goals.
The Ravens’ Justin Tucker – the most accurate kicker in NFL history – missed two goals in a game for the first time since 2018. But those two attempts were over 50 yards. Never before in his nine-year career had he missed the inside 50 twice.
“We weren’t able to finish the practices the way we wanted,” said Harbaugh.
Each team got only one complete possession in the third quarter.
The Bills got off the kickoff and drove 66 yards in 11 plays for the decisive touchdown on a practice that featured more rushes (four) than the entire first half (three). With a better balance of play and appeal, Allen threw a wide receiving screen at Stefon Diggs, who had low traffic and sailed for a 3-yard touchdown.
The Ravens responded with an eight-minute drive to the Bills 9-yard line. Under pressure, Jackson jumped a pass to a wide-open Brown as the potential tying touchdown turned into a failure. The interception occurred in the next play – the 15th of possession.
“Taron Johnson will be remembered for a long time here in Buffalo,” said quarterback Josh Allen. “One of those parts that could change the franchise.”
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