NFL
By: Randall Slifer
Sunday Night might have been the game of the year, and we are only through one week of football. The NFL came out blazing with incredible games, including:
-Buccaneers vs Falcons
-Jets vs Steelers
-Chiefs vs Chargers
-Bills vs Ravens
Buffalo Bills being down 15 with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter is the type of stuff that makes fans leave early to beat traffic, and Josh Allen surely called them out. Buffalo capped off one of the greatest comebacks with a game-winning field goal with no time left by a 41-year-old kicker they picked up just a couple of weeks ago.
It’s hard to quantify how Buffalo pulled off the comeback. There is always faith in Josh Allen, but both sides of the field need to believe they can pull it off. Ed Oliver had the same grit and mentality as Josh Allen last night. He convinced the world that it is not over on the defensive side and rallied his side to play hard-nosed defense for the final 4 minutes of the game.
Ed Oliver tallied six tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble. That may be Ed Oliver’s greatest impact he has had in a single game. The youth injection into the defensive line made the line quick and dynamic on every play, and Ed Oliver exploited the offensive line every chance he got.
The defense could not stop Derrick Henry or Lamar Jackson, and it seemed hopeless down by 15. Ed Oliver’s forced fumble sparked the defensive juice back into Buffalo and overpowered the Ravens’ offensive line the rest of the game.
Baltimore’s offensive play calling was vanilla at best at the end of the game, where they believed they could waste enough time for Buffalo to get back from down that many points. Buffalo was defending the run for zero to negative gains, which put Baltimore in precarious situations. Throwing the ball on 3rd and six is far less risky than throwing it on 3rd and 11.
Our passing catching rooms had a spotlight game last night, where the ‘everybody eats’ mantra showed, while each player showed their strengths in that mantra. Keon Coleman had some outstanding catches while showing his improved route running on the in-route to seal the game. Dalton Kincaid showed he is back and excelled in the intermediate passing game. Josh Palmer created separation in the fourth quarter that we had not seen in 2024. Jackson Hawes, Buffalo’s 5th round pick, caught 16 targets for a measly 195 yards. Jackson Hawes caught a seam route for his first catch of his NFL career to set up a touchdown to put it within two points.
Josh Allen put on a masterpiece last night, not wavering at any point in the game. The defense did get shredded by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson for the majority of the game, but Josh Allen kept doing his job. At one point, it seemed he and Ed Oliver were the only Bills players on the field.
Josh Allen adjusted plays at the line, found the mismatches, and executed them well. The Ravens’ defense threw everything at him when it came to defensive looks. Cover 1, Cover 2, and all-out blitzes left him with constant check-downs and playing the game horizontally. Josh Allen made sure there were no turnovers and kept the game close, even though it seemed far away.
Now, Baltimore’s strategy would have worked on 28 to 30 teams last night. Josh Allen understands he can only control the offense. With 7:00 minutes left, down 40 to 25, Josh Allen went:
11/14, 166 yards, 1 TD – 3 rushes for 12 yards and a TD
Josh Allen did things that no one can deny. As of today, he is the best quarterback right now. Patrick Mahomes has the most accolades, and if the world ended today, Patrick Mahomes would be above Josh Allen by a large hill. Regardless, Josh Allen took care of business like Patrick Mahomes would, and he did it with a stat line that speaks for itself.
The crazy thing is, it was not his best performance. His best performance was, of course, the perfect game against the New England Patriots in the playoffs.
21/25, 308 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT. 7 drives. 7 touchdowns.
Go Bills.
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