By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun and Olean Star Senior Sports Columnist
Football coaches like to point out that of the 100+ plays in a game “four or five end up deciding the outcome.”
But, Sunday night at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, it took only one play to help clinch the Ravens’ 35-10 victory over the Bills and end their three-game unbeaten start.
That doesn’t mean Buffalo would have won, but before the fateful snap, a game that would seemingly be a Ravens blowout saw the momentum switch dramatically to the Bills.
Baltimore’s 6-foot-3, 247-pound running back, Derrick Henry, went a franchise-record 87 yards for a touchdown on the Ravens first snap en route to 199 yards on 24 carries plus a 5-yard TD reception.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson (13-of-18 passing) had two second-quarter TD tosses, the second to wideout Justice Hill, made it 21-3 at intermission
BUT WHEN the second half started the Bills immediately held Baltimore to three-and-out and followed it with a 4-play, 60-yard touchdown drive as running back Ty Johnson scored from three yards out.
Another Ravens three-play possession followed and Buffalo was rolling, facing 2nd-and-7 from Baltimore’s 44 with 6 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Then came an unthinkable trick play. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel lined up in shotgun formation with quarterback Josh Allen flanked to the left. At the snap, Samuel ran toward Allen, who drew a crowd, and flipped him the ball. As Allen attempted to launch a long pass, Baltimore linebacker Kyle Van Noy hit his arm, knocking the ball loose with fellow linebacker Kyle Hamilton recovering.
Nine plays and 59 yards later, Jackson trotted into the end zone and the Ravens were up 28-10.
Game over.
BUT THERE could be ancillary damage. Allen stayed down until he was helped up and later admitted he hurt his lower back on the hit that knocked him down. It also seemed he favored his right (throwing hand) as he wasn’t as accurate the rest of the game.
No mention of the hand was made in the post-game press conference but the Bills are historically vague about injuries albeit staying within the rules. Think back to the season opener when Allen vaulted in for a rushing touchdown against Arizona but hurt his left forearm. He dismissed the injury after the game but, ever since, he’s been on the injury report, wears a sort of brace and has altered the way he hands the ball off in deference to that forearm.
His lower back and right hand might be fine and clearly he was removed from the game in favor of MitchTrubisky as the game got out of hand and there was no sense in risking (further?) injury.
We’ll see whether there’s a lingering impact next Sunday at Houston (2-2).
“Coach (offensive coordinator Joe Brady) called the shot and we’ve got to make a good play, it’s as simple as that,” Allen said. “(Van Noy) dove inside and I tried to stay out and get rid of the ball and he made a good play.”
Of the Bills approach after intermission, Allen said “It was the no-blink mentality, down 21-3, get the ball and score a touchdown and had the opportunity to make it 21-17 … and we turned the ball over.”
Coach Sean McDermott added of the play, “That’s something Joe and I will talk about at length. I’m sure he wants that call back and I do as well. We’ll learn from that and move forward. Certainly it was a momentum change right there.”
Notes from the Bills’ 35-10 loss to Baltimore, Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium:
— Buffalo’s lone takeaway came when Jackson fumbled on a hit by linebacker Dorian Williams with fellow linebacker Baylon Spector recovering. Spector also had the Bills’ only sack when he tackled a scrambling Jackson for a 1-yard loss.
— Derrick Henry’s 87-yard touchdown run was the longest in Ravens history but only the third farthest in his career as he’s also one of three NFL players who have scored on a 99-yard run. It was the 95th rushing touchdown of Henry’s career and the longest first-play scoring run in the NFL since 2013. He finished with 199 rushing yards, one short of his NFL record-tying seventh 200-yard game.
— Baltimore’’s fifth touchdown came when Henry fumbled into the end zone after being hit by Williams — his second forced fumble of the game — with 300-pound fullback Patrick Ricard recovering amidst the scrum.
— At halftime, Henry had 109 yards on nine carries, the eighth time in his career he’s had over 100 yards at intermission, the most of any active player.
— Baltimore’s first two sacks of Allen were recorded by Van Noy, giving him a team-leading six on the season, the second of which forced the fateful fumble that was recovered by Hamilton. Van Noy has now had two sacks in three straight games. The third sack was logged by linebacker Odafe Owen.
— Williams, who has replaced the injured Terrel Bernard, had a game-high 12 tackles, five of them solos. Hamilton paced the Ravens with seven tackles and a game-best six solos.
— Bills place-kicker Tyler Bass missed a 48-yard field goal continuing his uneven year that started in training camp. And while McDermott pointed out Bass had made a 50-yarder, he indicated his inconsistency was something that needed to be addressed as the miss came at an important time.
— Inactive for the Bills were nickelback Taron Johnson (forearm), Bernard (pectoral), safety Mike Edwards, tackle Will Clapp and linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio.
CHUCK POLLOCK, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.
