It all comes down to tomorrow night. The Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens will go head-to-head in an AFC powerhouse battle that features two of the best quarterbacks in the league, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. Just like the two quarterbacks, both of these teams know each other very well.
While the Ravens have had the Bills’ number in the regular season, Buffalo has gotten the better of Baltimore in the playoffs twice since 2021. You couldn’t ask for a better matchup to conclude the Sunday schedule.
In their Week 4 matchup last season, the Ravens completely dominated the Bills, beating them 35-10. A big reason why they won was because of their rushing attack that was led by Derrick Henry. The Ravens rushed for 271 yards against Buffalo and it was led by Henry with 199 yards on the ground along with two total touchdowns.
In the divisional round of the playoffs, Henry still managed to rush for 84 yards and a score, but he wasn’t as impactful as he was in their first meeting. The Bills ended up winning 27-25 and sent Baltimore home early.
It's clear as day what the Bills need to do to secure Week 1 win
Russell S. Baxter from NFL Spin Zone recently did a quick analysis on NFL matchups for Week 1 and when it came to Buffalo vs. Baltimore, Baxter made it point blank clear on what the Bills’ defense specifically needs to do this week; Stop Derrick Henry. Here’s what Baxter said about this matchup:
"Including last season’s playoff encounter at Orchard Park, the Ravens and Bills are squaring off for the third time in less than a calendar year. Both clubs held serve at home in 2024. It’s also a clash between the last two NFL MVPs in Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson (2023) and Buffalo’s Josh Allen (2024). Simply put, Sean McDermott’s defense must find a way to slow down Derrick Henry."Russell S. Baxter, NFL Spin Zone
Henry, not Lamar Jackson, is Buffalo’s biggest challenge. With the Bills bringing in a lot of new faces on defense, they have to be able to stop the run and force Jackson to pass to have success. This isn’t to say that Jackson isn’t a great passer, but Henry’s rushing ability is more scary than Jackson’s passing ability.
If Buffalo can find a way to stop Henry and limit him from being any sort of contributor, the Bills should easily win this game.