February 15, 2025
Bills v Ravens should be about two stars. It was resolved by a brutal fall

Bills v Ravens should be about two stars. It was resolved by a brutal fall

<span>The loss of Mark Andrews effectively ended the Ravens’ season.</span><span>Photo: Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports</span>” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gTiZ2548mYBWyfdkXdoJyA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk 2MDtoPTU3Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_guardian_765/37051efeb9661f2557535600b17aea9a” data-src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gTiZ2548mYBWyfdkXdoJyA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3P Tk2MDtoPTU3Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_guardian_765/37051efeb9661f2557535600b17aea9a”/><button class=

The loss of Mark Andrews effectively ended the Ravens’ season.Photo: Gregory Fisher/USA Today Sports

Josh Allen vs. Lamar Jackson was supposed to be an epic. The idea of ​​this season’s MVP favorites sharing a field gave me goosebumps. Because whichever quarterback would cap off a brilliant individual season with a berth in the conference championship, he would do so because he outplayed his counterpart.

Then the actual game was played in snowy Buffalo. It turns out that a football game is about so much more than just the two men under center, even men as supremely talented as Allen and Jackson. Many will blame Jackson for Buffalo’s 27-25 win over the Ravens, especially as the weeks and months go by. They will also credit Allen. But neither player was the key factor in the result. It’s often the simple chances that players don’t take advantage of, rather than the brilliant moments, that decide games.

Jackson wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but he stepped up when it mattered most. What MVPs do is drive 88 yards in eight plays to produce a game-winning two-point conversion in the final moments of a playoff contest. But Jackson didn’t give up the play call for the two-point conversion and his pass was fine – it was tight end Mark Andrews who dropped the easiest of catches to effectively hand the game to the Bills.

Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken decided to put the season in the hands of Andrews, who had fumbled and crushed a promising Ravens drive early in the half.

“We wouldn’t be here without Mark Andrews. …It’s like everything else. Destiny is a choice you make and how you deal with what comes your way in life. And Mark will handle it fantastically,” Jim Harbaugh said in his postgame press conference.

“Fate is a choice you make” sounds outlandish and metaphysical. In this game, it was the little decisions that helped Buffalo advance to the AFC Championship.

Playing sliding doors is easy, but right now the decision not to put the ball in the hands of Jackson or Derrick Henry while the play was on the line was unreasonable. This is Henry, who passed for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. This is Jackson, a magician.

Jackson turned the ball over twice in the first 16 minutes of the game after Taylor Rapp caught an errant deep ball and Damar Hamlin caused a fumble. But Jackson shook it off and the Ravens countered with a superior offense. The Ravens outgained the Bills by 416 yards to 273 and averaged 7.3 yards per play to Buffalo’s 4.6 yards. By his high standards, Allen was largely a non-factor. Buffalo was never able to establish a deep passing game; In fact, Allen only had 96 passing yards after three quarters.

But the bottom line was that he didn’t turn the ball over, and neither did running back James Cook, who was outstanding. Allen also fought his way into the end zone twice, but he didn’t have to play the hero. Here too, it was the little things. It wasn’t just Baltimore’s three turnovers, but also their lack of discipline. The Ravens drew five penalties for 43 yards, while the Bills were only turned away once. It was the Ravens’ decision to go for a two-point conversion at the end of the third quarter that resulted in an incompletion for Isaiah Likely. Had they taken an extra point, Andrews would not have had a two-point conversion attempt. Or maybe Harbaugh would have tried to get the win but put the ball in the hands of Jackson or Henry. We’ll never know.

And then there was the lower usage of Henry. Before the Buffalo game, Henry had at least 20 carries and 135 rushing yards in each of Baltimore’s last four games. Against the Bills, Henry had 16 runs, including just seven in the first half.

The focus will be on Jackson and Andrews, just as it was on Zay Flowers when he blew a would-be touchdown against the Chiefs in the AFC championship game last year.

“It’s damn annoying. I’m sick of this shit,” Jackson said after Sunday’s game.

Had Andrews held out and let the Ravens win in overtime, the Bills would be questioning a number of decisions and weary of the pain. You would wonder why their offense was particularly conservative early in the second half. The Bills stumbled on consecutive drives. Why they never tried to establish a legitimate passing attack if Allen’s arm is crazy. Who knew there would be an abundance of receiver screens in Allen vs. Jackson.

Now the hype continues from Allen vs. Jackson to Allen vs. Mahomes. The storylines of these two quarterbacks — their flair for the dramatic and their history — will be ever-present heading into Sunday. Just like Allen vs. Jackson, it will be fun to think about. But when the game is played, the little things will almost certainly determine who advances.

MVP of the week

Jayden Daniels, quarterback, Washington Commanders. There is poise, a word used to describe Daniels throughout his rookie season. And then there’s the breathtaking spectacle of mental and physical dominance he displayed in Washington’s commanding 45-31 victory, ousting the NFC’s top seed, the Detroit Lions. It was no surprise that Daniels walked into Ford Field full of confidence — after all, he became the first rookie quarterback since 2012 to win a road playoff game in the wild-card round. But how he remained unfazed by the loud crowd, how he stayed aggressive and converted three of his four attempts in the fourth period, how he made virtually no mistakes… that’s the stuff legends are made of.

Daniels finished the day with 299 yards, two touchdown throws and no turnovers. He added 51 yards on the ground. But the statistics don’t tell the whole story. Daniels had an answer for everything Detroit’s stymied defense threw at him. Washington’s punter was given time off in the first half as drive after drive resulted in points. Every time the Lions answered, Daniels could have gone back into rookie mode and pressed or panicked. But Daniels is a rookie in name only.

He was particularly masterful against the blitz. And in the third quarter, with the Lions within three points, Daniels led a 15-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in the quarterback using his legs to convert a fourth-and-two.

Video of the week

When NFL officials are accused of favoritism toward a particular player or team, it often smacks of jealousy. But there’s no denying that the team of referees overseeing the Houston Texans-Kansas City Chiefs game made two of the worst calls you’ll ever see in a playoff game. Both favored Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

The first came on a sack by Will Anderson Jr., who was flagged for rough violence on the passer. Not only was it a clean sack, it was also called on third-and-8, extending Kansas City’s drive and resulting in a field goal. Then in the third quarter, with the Chiefs trailing 13-12 Texans, Mahomes fumbled his own 35 points before recovering and getting up unscathed. At that point, Mahomes was clearly a runner, gaining nine yards and then dancing around trying to get the Texans to touch him. Houston linebacker Henry To’o To’o did just that when Mahomes slipped late. When referee Clay Martin called To’o To’o unnecessary harshness, Troy Aikman joined most of humanity in exclaiming, “Oh, come on.”

You can’t blame Mahomes for using every tool to his advantage, especially given the Texans’ tough defense. But it didn’t make the two completely botched calls any easier to bear.

The Chiefs took control in the fourth quarter and ultimately won 23-14. CJ Stroud had an uneven game for the Texans, so the Chiefs might have still won. But the officials giving Kansas City free reign contributed to the final result.

Statistics of the week

205. That’s how many yards Saquon Barkley sprinted in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 28-22 win over the Los Angeles Rams. The only bright spot for the Rams is that they won’t have to face Barkley again for a while. In Week 12, the running back accumulated 255 yards against the Rams, an Eagles franchise record. On Sunday, he added 205 more, along with two touchdowns. Both of Barkley’s touchdowns, a 62-yarder in the first and a game-winning 78-yarder in the fourth, were masterpieces. Barkley’s passion, vision and explosive speed were on display again during these runs, along with the Eagles’ offensive line at its best. According to NFL on Prime, Barkley now holds the NFL record for most touchdowns over 60 yards in a season, including playoffs (5).

“That’s why I came here,” Barkley told reporters after the game. Inspired performances like Sunday’s are the reason Barkley is beloved far beyond Philadelphia.

Elsewhere in the league

• As expected, the Eagles’ offensive line was far superior to its Rams counterpart, but Sunday was one of the unit’s worst performances of the season. The Rams pass rush made some smart adjustments at halftime and got going in the second half. In total, the Rams collected seven sacks. Philly’s line still presented itself as the best in the league at times, particularly on the two Barkley touchdown runs. But all in all, they were beaten more often than we are used to. Given Jalen Hurts’ struggles, this line will need to be phenomenal in all four quarters come Sunday.

• The award for most disastrous unit of the division weekend goes to the Texans’ special teams. It started with Kris Boyd ripping off his helmet and shoving special teams coach Frank Ross. Then things got really bad. Houston’s special teams committed two penalties, missed two field goals and an extra point, allowed a long return and had a terrible punt.

• Not only will the Dallas Cowboys watch their division rivals compete for the NFC championship, but Washington’s win also means every other NFC team has played in a conference championship since the Cowboys last appeared in a title game in 1995.

• Tom Brady was largely shattered in his first year as lead analyst at Fox, but he came to analyze the Lions commanders’ leanings. Brady was insightful throughout. Not only was he the first to show twelve men on the field and predict Zach Ertz’s touchdown, but he also delved into the intricacies of the relationship between running back and offensive line. He’s still not at the same level as Greg Olsen, but the improvement is noticeable.

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