Baltimore (13-6) at Buffalo (15-5)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC
Series record: Ravens lead 7-6.
Against the spread: Ravens 11-7-1, Bills 12-8.
Last meeting: Bills beat Ravens 27-25 on Jan. 19 in AFC divisional playoff at Orchard Park, New York.
Ravens offense: overall (1), rush (1), pass (7), scoring (3).
Ravens defense: overall (10), rush (1), pass (31), scoring (9).
Bills offense: overall (10), rush (9), pass (9), scoring (2).
Bills defense: overall (17), rush (12), pass (24), scoring (11t).
Turnover differential: Ravens plus-6; Bills plus-24.
The Ravens drafted K Tyler Loop in the sixth round, and after Justin Tucker was released, Loop solidified his hold on the job with a solid preseason. He even kicked a 61-yard field goal against Washington last month. But now the rookie faces the pressure of games that count — and you never know how the conditions in the Buffalo area will affect the kicking game.
Josh Allen makes his on-field debut after sitting out all three preseason games, while overseeing an offense that returns mostly intact. The reigning NFL MVP has struggled in six meetings against Baltimore. He’s completed 58 of 119 passes for 613 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in four regular-season outings, three starts. Allen’s 2-0 in the playoffs in going a combined 39 of 59 for 333 yards with a touchdown passing and two rushing.
Ravens RB Derrick Henry vs. Bills defensive front. Henry had 199 yards on 24 carries and two TDs, including one receiving, in a 35-10 regular-season win over Buffalo at Baltimore in Week 4 last season. The Bills contained Henry to 84 yards on 16 carries and a TD in their playoff win. Buffalo’s defensive line lacks experienced depth behind returning starters Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones. Rookies T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker are the primary backups with veteran free-agent addition Larry Ogunjobi serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers.
Ravens TE Isaiah Likely (foot) and FB Patrick Ricard (calf) missed practice time this week. CB Jaire Alexander (knee) and G Daniel Faalele (illness) were limited. ... Bills starting CB Tre'Davious White's status is uncertain as he's not practiced through Wednesday since sustaining a groin injury two weeks ago. WR Khalil Shakir is expected to play after missing the past month with a high ankle sprain, but fellow starter Keon Coleman's status bears monitoring after the second-year player hurt his groin on Wednesday. Kicker Tyler Bass, who missed time in training camp with a pelvic injury, is back on the injury report with a left hip/groin issue.
The Bills are 4-1 at home against Baltimore, including two playoff wins. Allen and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, both selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, both made their NFL debuts in backup roles in the Ravens’ 2018 season-opening 47-3 win at Baltimore. This marks the teams’ seventh meeting in eight years.
The Bills are 5-3 in season openers since 2017, under coach Sean McDermott. The Ravens are 12-5 under John Harbaugh, and 7-2 since 2016, when they opened with a 13-7 win over the Rex Ryan-coached Bills. ... Henry's next rushing TD would be his 107th, breaking a tie with Jim Brown for sixth place on the NFL's career list. He also needs 16 yards rushing to pass Steven Jackson for 18th. ... Baltimore's DeAndre Hopkins has at least one reception in each of his first 178 games. The record to start a career is 190 by Marvin Harrison. ... Jackson has 199 combined passing and rushing TDs for his career. ... Jackson has 39 games in which he's led the team in yards passing and rushing. Cam Newton holds the record with 40. ... The Ravens set an NFL single-season record last season with 5.76 yards per rush. Baltimore's 6.85 yards per play was the third-highest average in league history. ... Jackson set career highs in 2024 in yards passing (4,172), passing TDs (41) and passer rating (119.6), while throwing just 4 INTs. He became the first QB in NFL history with at least 4,000 yards passing and 800 yards rushing. ... Baltimore has at least two sacks in 20 straight games, which is tied for the third-longest streak in NFL history. ... This is scheduled to be the Bills final home opener at Highmark Stadium, with the team set to move into a new facility across the street next year. ... Buffalo went 10-0 at home, including playoffs, last year, tying the franchise single-season record set in 1990. Including playoffs, the Bills are 15-1 in their past 16 home games. ... McDermott is 14 regular-season wins from reaching 100. He ranks second on Buffalo’s coaching list, behind Hall of Famer Marv Levy’s 112. ... Allen is coming off his most efficient season in which he threw just six interceptions on 483 attempts, while losing two fumbles. He is 32-7 in regular season starts when not committing a turnover, and 44-27 in games he does. ... Allen’s 76 wins rank third on the Bills career list, one behind Joe Ferguson and 25 behind Jim Kelly. ... The Bills finished second in the NFL in averaging 30.9 points per outing, despite not having a receiver top 850 yards. ... RB James Cook and Henry co-led the NFL last season with 16 TDs rushing. ... Buffalo led the NFL with a plus-24 turnover differential and finished third with 32 takeaways.
Henry is a must-start against a defense that allowed 125-plus-yards rushing eight times last season, including playoffs. That includes 271 in their regular-season meeting — the third most allowed by Buffalo under McDermott.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
