Yoopya with Associated Press
BALTIMORE (AP) — Derrick Henry was off and running from the first time he touched the ball. There was no way the Buffalo Bills were stopping the Baltimore Ravens after that.
Henry busted out the longest run in the team’s 29 years in Baltimore on the way to a 199-yard game, Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another, and the Ravens handed Josh Allen and the Bills their first loss of the season, 35-10 on Sunday night.
Henry took his first handoff 87 yards to the house to give the Ravens (2-2) an early lead they never relinquished. Jackson, the two-time and reigning NFL MVP, completed 13 of 18 passes for 156 yards with TD throws to Henry and Justice Hill and ran for 54 yards, with Buffalo (3-1) finding no answers to stop Baltimore’s offense.
“The Bills are a great team,” Henry said. “They’ve been hitting on all cylinders. We played a great game against them tonight. We were the better team tonight, but I’m sure they’ll fix things the next coming up weeks. We’re just focused on being 1-0 this week.”
Henry tormented the Bills in prime time for the second time in his career, averaging 8.3 yards on his 24 carries three years after running for 143 yards and three TDs against them while with Tennessee. His 5-yard reception from Jackson in the end zone in the second quarter was just the fourth TD catch of his career and first since 2019.
“If he gets into the secondary, he’s pretty much gone, and it’s hard to catch him because he’s fast,” Jackson said of Henry. “He’s not just a powerful back.”
So much went right for the Ravens that even when Henry fumbled at the goal line early in the fourth, Patrick Ricard fell on the ball for their fifth touchdown of the night.
“That’s going to haunt me,” Henry said about fumbling and falling a yard short of 200.
Plenty will haunt Buffalo as a bevy of injuries on defense finally took their toll and a lack of depth, playmakers and experience was exposed for a team that looked like one of the league’s best through the opening three weeks. Allen, who scrambled to make one spectacular 52-yard throw to Khalil Shakir that set up Ty Johnson’s TD run, fumbled trying to make another play and was 16 of 29 passing for 180 yards.
“They came out with urgency and whooped our butt,” said Allen, who was replaced by backup Mitch Trubisky in the fourth. “Not everything was bad in this game. I don’t want us to come away from this thinking we’re the worst. Lot to learn from. I’m glad this happened early in the season so we can correct things.”
The Ravens outgained the Bills 427 yards to 236 in a dominant performance that had players happy but not wanting to get ahead of themselves.
“We didn’t win a Super Bowl today,” said safety Kyle Hamilton, who recovered Allen’s fumble and had a team-high seven tackles. “Big win for us today, but we’ve got to move forward to next week. It’s only Week 4. … We’ve got a long road ahead of us, but I think we’re on a good path.”
Bills’ streaks end
The Bills’ NFL-record streak of 43 consecutive regular-season games without a loss by six or more points came to an end. Their last defeat this lopsided was 41-15 to Indianapolis on Nov. 21, 2021 — also the last time they allowed as many yards rushing.
Buffalo’s run of eight consecutive regular-season wins, the longest active in the league, also ended.
On an individual basis, the Allen-to-Shakir connection that resulted in 30 consecutive targets caught ended with pass breakup late in the second half. It was the most in a row by a receiver since at least 1991.
Injuries
Bills: S Taylor Rapp was concussed trying to tackle Henry early in the second quarter. … Shakir (right ankle) and C Connor McGovern (head) left briefly in the first half before returning.
Ravens: LG Andrew Vorhees was out because of an ankle injury. Patrick Mekari moved over to fill in, with rookie Roger Rosengarten making his first career start at right tackle.
Up next
Bills: At Houston on Sunday.
Ravens: At Cincinnati on Sunday.
Author:
STEPHEN WHYNO | DC-based hockey writer covering NHL, Capitals and Commanders