Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens: Keys to victory in AFC Divisional Round

Contain Lamar Jackson

Coming into this game, the obvious point of emphasis will be to limit Lamar Jackson‘s ability to run with the football. The more the Buffalo Bills can force Lamar into passing situations, the more likely the Bills will be successful in this matchup.

Jackson finished the regular season with over 1,000 rushing yards on top of his 2,757 passing yards. Similar to Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the Ravens love to utilize designed runs from their quarterback and multiple read option plays.

The first way to mitigate Jackson’s rushing impact is to adequately set the edges on the line of scrimmage. The design of read option plays is to leave one defender unblocked on the edge of the line of scrimmage in order to isolate this defender to give the quarterback an easier read.

Regardless of who that defender is for the Bills this weekend, whether it is Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, A.J. Epenesa, Matt Milano, Jordan Poyer, or Taron Johnson, they will have to play in that isolated position with plenty of confidence and intelligence.

Play too aggressively and try to attack the mesh point of the read option, Jackson will pull the ball and rush around the edge for a big gain. Play too conservative, Jackson will hand the ball off to his running back and he will accelerate through the run gap that the isolated defender was responsible for. However the read option plays out in this matchup, it will have a huge impact on the final outcome.

Furthermore, the Bills will have to keep Jackson contained in the pocket on passing plays. If the edge rushers get too wide it creates scrambling lanes for Jackson in between his guards and tackles. Additionally, the Bills defense and specifically their linebackers Milano and Tremaine Edmunds will have to keep their eyes on Jackson on passing plays as well.

Lamar Jackson is always a threat to run, and luckily with the Buffalo Bills primarily running zone coverage it should make it a bit easier for defenders to keep their eyes on Jackson while in their coverage responsibilities.