Studs and duds from Bills' discouraging Week 4 loss to Baltimore Ravens

Here are our studs and duds from the Buffalo Bills' 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Anthony Miller | Sep 30, 2024

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Not much went right for the Buffalo Bills in their ugly Week 4 Sunday Night Football loss to the Baltimore Ravens, losing by double digits for the first time in several years as they dropped the bout 35-10.

The Bills' defense could not stop Ravens running back Derrick Henry and the Baltimore rushing attack from the beginning of the game onwards, as Baltimore finished with 271 rushing yards and two touchdowns while averaging eight yards per carry. Buffalo's offense struggled with 236 total yards and only averaged 4.1 yards per play. The loss was the Bills' first of the season and left the team with more questions than expected from a previously undefeated team.

Here is a look at the studs and duds from the Bills' loss to the Ravens on Sunday night.

Dud: Linebackers

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This position has been hit hard by the injury bug, with starters Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano currently sidelined with pectoral and bicep ailments, respectively, but for the first time this season, their supplements weren't enough. Baylon Spector and Dorian Williams were picked on in the first half, both being consistently run and thrown at and having no answer as Baltimore constructed a significant lead that Buffalo couldn't ever eat into. The position group struggled in tackling and often looked out of place in coverage, with the Ravens putting up nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half alone.

Stud: LB Dorian Williams

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Yes, it’s odd to name Williams as both a stud and dud, but for as out of place he looked in the first half, he was impactful in the second half. He forced a fumble right before halftime and recorded an impressive pressure early in the third quarter, looking generally more comfortable against both the run and pass as he finished the game with a team-high 12 tackles, one quarterback hit, and one tackle for loss. It was encouraging to see the young defender recover after a rocky start, something that suggests this poor performance was more of an outlier than anything.

Stud: QB Josh Allen

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Josh Allen faced a lot of heat from the Ravens' defense all night long, as he was sacked three times in the game. His stats could have been better, but he made some great throws. His 52-yard completion to Khalil Shakir in the second half was the highlight of the game for the Bills. He finished with 201 yards and a fumble loss, but with a lack of a running game and the offensive line struggling with picking up on protection, Allen did as much as he could, even looking as though he was going to lead a comeback at several points.

Dud: Defensive Coaching Staff

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It's a shame that the Bills went from allowing 20 total points in the last two games to being ripped apart for 35 points, which is a season-high. Henry finished with 199 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and the defense had no answers for stopping him. Execution wasn't stellar, but where Baltimore was going to attack Buffalo entering this game was obvious given its strengths and the Bills' injuries; Buffalo still had no answers. The team's relaxed coverage on a second-quarter third-and-14 in which Justice Hill picked up a first down on a screen pass was particularly inexcusable.

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