Bills vs. Ravens: Top 5 storylines to watch in NFL Week 4

The Buffalo Bills are off to a 3-0 start to the 2024 season as they head into a Week 4 showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. Here are five storylines to watch.
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The Buffalo Bills continue to play in primetime this week when they hit the road for a Week 4 clash with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football. Here are five storylines to watch for in a game with possible playoff implications.

MVP Battle

Josh Allen Lamar Jackson
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The numbers comparison for Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen and Ravens' signal-caller Lamar Jackson aren't close—Allen has nine total touchdowns this season, while Jackson has four. Allen has zero picks, while Jackson has one. Both have lost a fumble—but they weren't close last year, and the voters still handed Jackson the MVP. If an Allen-led Bills team can move to 4-0 with him playing well and the Ravens fall to 1-3, Allen SHOULD put a gap between himself and the reigning MVP for the honor this season.

AFC Supremacy

Buffalo Bills
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The Bills currently sit atop the AFC with a 3-0 record, tied with the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers for the best record in the conference. The Ravens enter Sunday with a 1-2 record. Buffalo moving to 4-0 and putting a three-game spread between itself and a team that can get hot at any point is invaluable. If the outcome were to go Baltimore's way, all of a sudden the gap is just one game, and there's a chance that the Jets are now tied with Buffalo. In the words of Dory (kind of), JUST KEEP WINNING!

Ravens Runners

Derrick Henry
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Here come a bunch of numbers. The Ravens are currently fourth in rushing attempts per game at 34.7. Baltimore is second in rushing yards per game at 203.3. It's also fourth in rushing touchdowns per game at 1.7. In short, the Ravens like to run the ball and are good at it. On the flip side, the Bills are allowing .3 rushing touchdowns per game, good enough for second in the NFL.

Related: Bills HC details challenge of stopping ‘first ballot Hall of Famer’ Ravens RB

No Offense

John Harbaugh
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You can't make it through a football Sunday without hearing about all the young, hotshot offensive geniuses taking over the game. Talking heads love to wax poetic about Kyle Shanahan, Kevin O'Connell, Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, etc. Then there is Andy Reid, who deserves all his flowers. That said, the Bills vs. Ravens is a game featuring two coaches with mainly defensive and/or special teams backgrounds.

Road Warriors

Sean McDermott
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The Bills visiting Baltimore begins a brutal three-game road stretch for Buffalo. After taking on the Ravens in Maryland, they head to Texas to take on the Texans and finish up the gauntlet in New Jersey against the Jets. If the Bills come out of these 22 days with a 6-0 record, it could be time to start making vacation plans for the second weekend of February in New Orleans.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.