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Orchard Park, NY – The game was billed as a showdown between elite young quarterbacks, but it was the Buffalo Bills defense that put on a showcase performance to propel the franchise into its first AFC Championship game. since 1994.
The Bills and Ravens were tied 3-3 in 30 minutes, but the Bills’ offense came alive to start the third quarter. The defense closed the door on the Ravens when cornerback Taron Johnson scored on a pick-six that totaled 101 yards in the next series.
Buffalo advance to the next round after a 17-3 victory on Saturday night at Bills Stadium. The Bills will play the winner of Sunday’s AFC divisional game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns.
Here are five snapshots of the Bills’ historic victory.
Bill Defense continues to have Lamar Jackson’s number
Last season, the Bills limited Jackson to just 40 yards on 11 carries in a Week 14 regular season game. This time around, Jackson only managed 34 yards on nine carries a week after racking up 136 rushing yards, including a 48-yard touchdown. The defensive plan was the same as last season: stay in your running lanes on the defensive line and try to contain Jackson as much as possible.
Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes was exceptional. Hughes has two sacks and two tackles for a loss to lead the defensive attack against Jackson. Trent Murphy had been healthy for weeks but was turned on with Darryl Johnson unable to sustain a knee injury. Murphy had a key room where he found Jackson as he attempted to escape the pocket and come out for a run.
The Bills really stopped Jackson from gaining momentum with his legs. Jackson left the game after the last play of the third quarter on a hit delivered by Murphy and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Jackson was running towards his own goal line and attempted to throw it, but was called an intentional stranding. Jackson ran to the locker room and didn’t come back because he had gone into the league’s concussion protocol. The Bills have mostly played the nickel packet on defense all season with cornerback Taron Johnson in the field. They went for a basic 4-3 look with AJ Klein as the third linebacker in that game and it worked to stop Jackson.
Taron Johnson with more heroism
Before Jackson exited the game, he had the Ravens on the doorstep to bring Baltimore down seven points. On a third and a 9 in the red zone, Jackson returned to pass and threw him down midfield near the goal line. Two Buffalo defensemen were in the zone and Johnson located him, intercepted him and pulled him back 101 yards to give the Bills a two-point lead. Tre’Davious White came out and blocked Jackson to facilitate the return. Johnson had a 51-yard pick against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday Night Football of Week 14. The interception runback tied an NFL playoff record.
When things don’t work, go to Diggs
Bills quarterback all season Josh Allen has opened up about his relationship with Stefon Diggs. He tells his All Pro receiver to open up and he will give him the ball. The Bills’ offense could not sustain any training in the first half and was only 1 for 6 on the third down. The Ravens weren’t even putting much pressure on Allen due to his ability to beat the blitz all season. They missed a few deep shots in the first half and Allen looked determined to pass it to Diggs in the third quarter. He caught a 20-yard pass on the second and 16th, then a 3-yard touchdown pass on a short screen near the goal line. Diggs caught the eye of the elite Baltimore corner trio of Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and Jimmy Smith. He was paired with the three at different points in the game and ended up playing to win the game. He finished with eight catches for 106 yards to lead all receivers in the game. Diggs and James Lofton are the only two receivers in Bills history to have traveled more than 100 consecutive playoff yards.
Josh Allen, Brian Daboll and the Racing Game
Allen was a little erratic in the first half as he faced gusty winds and a Baltimore defense that turned things around while playing mostly in zonal coverage. Don “Wink” Martindale’s heavy defense wasn’t as much of a pressure as trying to confuse Allen. The Bills missed a few deep plays, but they also decided not to throw the ball in the first half. Devin Singletary had just one 3-yard reach in the first half and the Bills were trying to attack only from the air. That changed in the second semester when they started to resume their second year. He finished with just seven carries for 25 yards, but there were a few big points that helped push the chains forward on what turned out to be the winning drive. Daboll has been exceptional this season, but it’s defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier whose stock has exploded after his defense performance. Frazier has a head coach interview with the Houston Texans on Sunday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7xET25GWmw
Game summary
Goal: Bills 17, Ravens 3
Total yards net invoiced: 220
Total Ravens Net Yards: 340
Team passing invoices: 188 meters
Team passing Ravens: 190 meters
Team rushing invoices: 32 meters away
Team rushing Ravens: 150 meters
Penalties: Bills 2 for 11 yards | Ravens 8 for 59 yards
Time of possession: Bills 23:51 | Ravens 35:33
The score of the box
Next: AFC Conference Championship, opponent and playing time to be determined. Support for the NFL playoffs from CBS here.
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