Baltimore Beatdown
The Baltimore Ravens held a lead for nearly the entire game, but when the clock hit 0:00, players put their hands on their helmets and sunk to the field in disbelief as Buffalo Bills kicker Matt Prater knocked through the game-winning field goal. here are tonight’s winners and losers.
Winners
Lamar Jackson
It took so long for football to return and Jackson to be on the field. And the wait was worth it as Jackson aired it out against the Bills’ defense and gashed them with runs. The best play of the night for Jackson? A 3rd & 10 scramble in which he ran more than 70 yards evading defenders and an official before bolting upfield for a 19-yard gain.
WR DeAndre Hopkins — His first target for the Ravens resulted in a 29-yard one-handed touchdown catch with a defender draped on him. Sheer wizardry.
K Tyler Loop – The rookie kicker’s first game was in a hostile environment and his first NFL field goal was a 52-yard attempt that he nailed. He then knocked through a 49-yarder later on. He did have a pair of mistakes in a kickoff not reaching the landing zone and a missed PAT that clang the upright, but he did a great job in a tough game.
Note: The missed PAT was a potential difference maker on the scoreboard, but it’s not on him. The offense and defense should have handled business. Instead, they blundered and choked. This isn’t on Loop’s PAT.
WR Zay Flowers – What a night for Flowers, who slashed for 143 yards and a big touchdown.
C Tyler Linderbaum – Many of Henry’s runs came by way of Linderbaum landing a key block. One of which a tough reach block to edge defender which sprung Henry.
DE Nnamdi Madubuike – Blew up a few runs, including a highlight-reel shove of a lineman into James Cook, and notched a sack on Josh Allen.
P Jordan Stout – He wasn’t called on much in this one but he punted very well. A shame one of them wasn’t pinned at the 1-yard line.
Losers
Head Coach John Harbaugh – This is the eighth game the Baltimore Ravens have lost after having a 90+% win probability. The ends of these games this team crumbles and it happens every year.
ILB Trenton Simpson – The Ravens appeared to be rotating Simpson and rookie Teddye Buchanan but it was Buchanan who got the majority of snaps in the second quarter and beyond. But worse was his mistake on the pinned punt as he slid onto the end zone line and granted the Bills better starting field position.
Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr – The Ravens got conservative and that comes down to the defensive playcaller.
RB Justice Hill – A bad fumble that kicked the Ravens into negative territory to end the first half, resulting in just a field goal.
Big-Lead Defense – The conservative approach at the end of the half and when leading by two...
