Ravens' Familiar Flaws Prove Fatal Once Again

The whole final sequence to close out the second quarter was an inexcusable lack of awareness by Baltimore's defense, and it cost the team dearly. With the Bills having no timeouts to stop the clock and 31 seconds to try to get into field goal range to make it a one-score game at halftime, Ravens All Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey committed the cardinal sin of two-minute defense with the lead. Not only did he let Buffalo tight end Dalton Kincaid haul in a 22-yard catch well within range at the Baltimore 25-yard line, but he also threw him out of bounds with what wound up being a second left on the clock instead of trying to keep him in the field of play long enough for the final two seconds to come off the clock. As a result, the Bills were able to trot out veteran kicker Matt Prater for the second of his three field goal attempts, all of which were from inside 50 yards.

Alexander had multiple examples where he lacked situational awareness and which led to disaster for the Ravens and eventual points for the Bills. His first major gaffe was getting justifiably called for defensive pass interference on a 4th-and-5 on Buffalo's first drive of the second half. He was draped all over wide receiver Josh Palmer, which extended the drive and led to a James Cook touchdown two plays later.

The eighth-year veteran's worst sequence of plays ultimately cost the Ravens the game as he gave up chunks of 32 and 25 yards on back-to-back plays on the final drive of the game. He let Palmer get behind him on the first and allowed Keon Coleman to gain inside leverage on the second. Instead of letting him stroll into the end zone to take the lead but preserve time and his quarterback to work some last-minute magic, he tripped him for a touchdown-saving tackle, but he was already in chip-shot field-goal range.

Henry's fumble, while a rare occurrence, was also another example of a lack of situational awareness by the future Hall of Famer who was in the midst of another monster game. At the time of his colossal mistake, the Bills had just made it a one-score game and were desperate to come up with any kind of big play or stop on defense.

"It's a big emphasis, especially in our room with the running backs: taking care of the football, keeping it high and tight," Henry said. "I got lackadaisical. They made a play, but I put this loss on me. If I take care of the ball, I feel like it would be a different situation."

A common trait that the New England Patriots dynasties of the 2000s and 2010s and the Kansas City Chiefs' current dynastic run share is that they were and are situational assassins who win within the margins and avoid self-inflicted mistakes while capitalizing on those of their opponents. Until the Ravens can come anywhere close to consistently executing that level of detail, results like these will remain a potential reality.

Play-calling on both sides was questionable late

After the Ravens went up 40-25 after Henry sprinted to the end zone for his second touchdown of 30-plus yards of the game, it felt like it was over from the outside looking in but history has shown for this iteration of this team, that the coaches and players should never get that feeling until they're with lining up in victory formation or their is no time left on the clock. That didn't seem like it was the case for offensive coordinator Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Zach Orr in the final 11 and a half minutes of the game.

Neither kept their foot on the gas when it came to dialing up plays for their respective sides of the ball, and as a result, the Bills were able to come roaring back from what felt like an insurmountable deficit with the way the offense was moving. After being in his bag for most of the game up to that point, Monken wasn't calling many of his creative runs or play-action passes with Henry and star quarterback Lamar Jackson to try to ice the game and salt time off the clock.

Meanwhile, on defense, Orr started playing softer coverages too soon, and the secondary what was lauded as being the best secondary paper, got carved up to the tune of nearly 400-yards through the air. He also stopped dialing up as many pressures despite it being clear that a four-man rush was not enough, and the pass rush only yielded a sack and three quarterback hits. Moving forward, both coordinators need to keep the pressure on the opposing team's units for all four quarters, especially against other elite teams.

Special teams remains an issue

After being uncharacteristically inconsistent in the third phase of the game last season, the Ravens made improvement in multiple areas a priority. They brought in veteran special teams ace Jake Hummel early in free agency. They also signed All Pro special teamer J.T. Gray to the practice squad last week. In the 2025 NFL Draft, they found their new punt returner in LaJohntay Wester and the successor to Justin Tucker in Tyler Loop. They also selected and signed other rookies with strong special teams backgrounds in college.

Yet, in the season opener, the same glaring inconsistencies that plagued them last year reared their ugly heads again. They allowed the Bills returners to bring the ball out to midfield on the opening kickoff of the game and the 35 on their next. While Loop made both of his field goals from 52 and 49 yards out, his missed extra point loomed large in the end, and he also set up Buffalo's offense at the 40 after one of his kickoffs went out of bounds. Needing a block on the final play of the game, Hamilton nearly made the game-saving play after leaping over the Bills' line, but wasn't able to finish making the play. Having reliable special teams units is essential to for any team to make a championship because it plays a huge part in winning the field position battle and setting up the other two units for success.

Offense is still unstoppable

All that negativity being stated, the Ravens were amazing on offense for the vast majority of the night, seemingly effortlessly, they moved the ball at will through the air and bludgeoned the Bills' defense with their rushing attack. They racked up 432 yards, including 238 on the ground, led by Henry, who ran for 169 on 18 carries. He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry and scored on runs of 30 and 46 yards and added a catch for 13 yards on his lone target.

Both of their Pro Bowl wide receivers impressed, with Zay Flowers leading the team in targets (9), receptions (7), yards per catch (20.4) and a career-high total in receiving yards (143). Two-time league MVP-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson was in elite dual-threat form, accounting for 279 of the team's total offensive output, including 209 passing yards and putting up the second-most rushing yards on the team with 70. He posted a QBR of 94 and a passer rating of 144.4 after going 14-of-19. As long as they take care of the ball, they will remain an unstoppable force.