Bills QB Josh Allen was put in a pressure cooker in Week 4 loss to Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens got after Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen early and often in Week 4.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The eye test suggested that the Baltimore Ravens got after Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen with fervor on Sunday night, relentlessly pursuing him and forcing him to escape the pocket as the offensive line was consistently outplayed and out-schemed. The Ravens sacked Allen three times, this after the line allowed just two sacks through the first three games of the 2024 campaign.

Per a post from NFL analyst Nate Tice, Allen was sacked on 8.8% of his 34 dropbacks and was pressured on 15, per Next Gen Stats. The sack rate was the highest Allen has seen since the Bills faced the New York Jets in Week 1 last season. This is particularly concerning given Buffalo's Week 5 opponent, as the team is set to face the Houston Texans, who have one of the league's top pass-rush duos in Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter.

Josh Allen was pressured on 15 of his 34 dropbacks.

His sack rate of 8.8% tonight was his highest in a single game since week 1 in 2023 against the Jets, per @NextGenStats.

— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 30, 2024

The Bills' offensive line was one of the league's top units through the first three weeks of the season, and it's not egregious to expect them to get back to that level of play. Allen has been one of the least sacked quarterbacks since the start of the 2023 season, and while part of that can be attributed to his ability to sense pressure and roll out, the offensive line deserves its flowers.

Per PFF, all of Buffalo’s starting linemen allowed at least one pressure on Sunday, with Connor McGovern, Dion Dawkins, and O’Cyrus Torrence each allowing three. This either set or matched season-high totals for all three of these players; in fact, Dawkins entered Week 4 having not allowed three pressures on the entire season. There’s reason to believe the Bills’ line will improve moving forward, but these improvements need to come quickly.

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