BALTIMORE — After the Ravens were forced to punt on their opening two drives of the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills, the door was open for another late-game collapse.
The Bills scored to cut the Ravens’ margin to 11 and a raucous stadium went silent for the primetime game.
This time, though, Baltimore showed it can close out a game.
Kyle Van Noy changed the momentum when he strip-sacked Bills quarterback Josh Allen and safety Kyle Hamilton recovered the ball. The Ravens took advantage of the short field and extended the lead to 28-10 on an 8-yard run by quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens coasted to a 35-10 victory on Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
It was a statement game for the Ravens, who improved to 2-2 on the season.
“We just kind of did the same thing in practice we always do,” said running back Justice Hill, who caught all six of his targets for 78 yards with a touchdown. “But the play of the games has kind of shaken out a little different than they did the last few weeks, but I feel like we’re establishing our identity. The coaches are getting comfortable calling those plays, calling those runs, scheming up everybody and it’s been a nice transition from the first couple of games to what we’re doing now.”
In Week 2, The Ravens blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 26-23 loss to the Raiders at home. Last week, Baltimore appeared to be coasting with a 22-point cushion in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys. However, the Ravens committed several miscues that let Dallas nearly erase that lead, but they held on for the 28-25 victory, their first.
The players and coaches talked all week about their focus on finishing games. That meant playing hard for 60 minutes, avoiding penalties and not giving up big plays.
That mission was accomplished against the Bills.
The key for the Ravens was dominating possession time with their ground game. Running back, Derrick Henry finished with 199 yards rushing on 24 carries and a touchdown. He also caught a 5-yard score.
“We got the running game going, but the receivers, they did their part,” Jackson said. “That [was] just the type of game [where] we had to run the ball more. They were playing two high [safeties], and Derrick just did what he was supposed to do, and the offensive line [was] as well. Our receivers helped us out a lot, too.”
Jackson also did a solid job managing the game. Now, the Ravens want to keep that momentum heading into next Sunday’s game against AFC North rival the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It’s a step in the right direction, especially how we started,” Van Noy said. “To get a home [win] like this – a statement win at home … We’ve just got to keep it going and get back to work and continue to work hard and take the coaching and become just one as a team.”
