TONY’S TAKE – A PREVIEW OF BILLS-RAVENS
- Tony Fiorello
- Sep 6
- 21 min read
by Tony Fiorello
Welcome to Week One of the 2025 NFL season. Here at Buffalo Sports Page we will attempt to inform and educate our readers about the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming opponent and what each team might do to emerge victorious.
The Bills’ first game of 2025 will take place at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York as they face the Baltimore Ravens. Here’s what you should know:
RAVENS WILL RUN, RUN AND RUN SOME MORE
Before the 2019 season began, longtime Ravens head coach John Harbaugh promoted former Bills and San Francisco 49ers offensive play-caller Greg Roman to replace the outgoing Marty Mornhinweg. The top priority for Roman was quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is one of the most gifted quarterbacks in pro football and already a two-time league MVP.
According to Bucky Brooks of nfl.com, “As a passer, Jackson has shown tremendous progress. He has significantly improved his completion rate and passer rating while displaying a better overall feel for the game from the pocket. He’s at his best throwing the ball down the seams or on in-breaking routes between the numbers on traditional dropbacks and play-action passes. Although he remains a work in progress on throws to the outside, the Ravens have built their offense around the strengths of his game and by allowing him to be himself.”
Roman had experience working with mobile quarterbacks like Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick and had previously installed successful concepts for both of his former signal-callers like sweeps, zone-read options, triple options, quarterback counters and RPOs. Jackson used those same ideas and took them to another level in 2019, as he shattered Michael Vick’s league record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback and became the first passer in NFL history to run for more than 1,000 yards and throw for 35 or more touchdowns.
That same year the Ravens also became the first team to average 200 rushing and passing yards per game in one campaign and set a new standard for rushing yardage in a season with 3,296. 2020 saw many of the same results, as Jackson became the first signal caller to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive years and Baltimore also put up 3,071 yards – the first team ever to accumulate 3,000 yards on the ground in back-to-back years.
2021’s output wasn’t quite as good as in past years due to multiple injuries, but the Ravens ended the 2022 campaign with 2,720 yards rushing (good for second-best in the NFL) and led the league in rushing again in 2023. But as often as Baltimore dominated on the ground through the years, the same couldn’t be said about their passing attack (they were sixth in total yards and fourth in scoring in ‘23 but just 21st in passing). This led to the ouster of Roman in favor of Todd Monken, a former coordinator in Tampa Bay and Cleveland who helped the Georgia Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships at the college level.
Monken has helped Jackson, who put up career-highs in both passing yards (sixth in the NFL) and passing touchdowns (tied for second), by wisely keeping many of their rushing schemes from the past and has expanded the Ravens’ passing game through clever usage of offensive sets, play-action, misdirection, motion and route concepts with defined reads to give him confidence right off the bat and to impact second level defenders’ eye discipline. Those passes are typically thrown to speedsters like Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers, and former All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins will supplement them this year.
Hopkins might not be the fastest wideout in football but succeeds with physicality, body control, route-running ability and excellent hands – akin to Hall of Famer Cris Carter. He’s also versatile by being able to align all over the formation and is especially adept on intermediate in-breaking routes over the middle of the field.
Used even more than their receivers are tight ends Mark Andrews (who can attack both the intermediate and vertical levels of defenses) and Isaiah Likely (out for Sunday night’s game). Those two will be on the field at any given time, as the Ravens are typically one of the league leaders in usage of “12” (one back, two tight ends), “22” (two backs, two tight ends), “21” (two backs, one tight end) and “13” (one back, three tight ends) personnel. But they aren’t just weapons in the passing game – they’re also utilized heavily on the ground as blockers for Jackson, running backs Justice Hill and Keaton Mitchell and fullback Patrick Ricard (also out for Sunday night).
That feared running game was boosted even further by the acquisition of one of the NFL’s best running backs. Even though he lacks great quickness, Derrick Henry boasts an abundance of speed, power and strength in his game – allowing him to become just the eighth tailback ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a season in 2020 and having over 1,900 yards on the ground last year.
Baltimore’s offensive line is characterized by man-blocking, pulling guards and power runs (especially wham-trap – a Harbaugh favorite) and stalwarts Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum are the team’s building blocks up front. The other three starters are Andrew Vorhees, Daniel Faalele (who lacks quickness and can be exploited in pass protection) and Roger Rosengarten. Kicker Justin Tucker – one of the game’s all-time greats – is no longer a Raven after uncharacteristic struggles on the field and legal issues off it a year ago, his replacement is rookie Tyler Loop.
In 2024 the Ravens led the NFL in total yardage and rushing while finishing seventh in passing, and third in scoring and on third down.
BALTIMORE’S DEFENSE TRADITIONALLY AN EXCELLENT UNIT
Typically the more-discussed unit on their team thanks to legendary coaches and players on that side of the ball over the years, Baltimore’s defense is being overshadowed for once. Not to be outdone by their counterparts on offense, the Ravens usually have one of the better groups of defenders in football – finishing 2023 sixth in total defense, first in sacks, points allowed and takeaways (becoming the first defense ever to accomplish all three in one year), 14th against the run and seventh in defending the pass.
They do all this while being one of the most effective blitzing defenses in the NFL and mostly do so on overload and fire zone rushes out of single-high coverage looks and multiple fronts while controlling two gaps up front at a time. Baltimore also likes to use man coverage on third and medium or longer most of the time – a departure from league norms.
But having lost stalwarts like Patrick Queen, Geno Stone and Jadeveon Clowney to free agency, play-caller Mike Macdonald to the head coaching post in Seattle and position coaches Anthony Weaver and Denard Wilson to coordinator jobs in Miami and Tennessee, the Ravens underperformed defensively in the early part of last season. They’re still voluminous in their subpackage groupings (they use traditional nickel, big nickel with a third safety, dime with three safeties instead of a fourth cornerback and dime with four safeties and two corners), but there wasn’t as much detail in their simulated pressure schemes – meaning their blitzes had been easier to figure out. Additionally, their secondary struggled while blowing coverages with poor communication and bad tackling.
To try and correct these errors, the Ravens made a few changes to their defensive backs. Last year’s first round draft pick, cornerback Nate Wiggins, accumulated more playing time on the outside while allowing Marlon Humphrey to move into the slot in traditional nickel packages. Ar’Darius Washington became a starter at safety (he’s out with a torn Achilles tendon and will be replaced by athletic rookie Malaki Starks) and Kyle Hamilton – who, like Humphrey, is also effective in the slot and is a good blitzer – was made a full-time starter on the back end. He can be moved around often in pre-snap disguises due to his great range. This group has also added depth in the form of former Green Bay Packers All-Pro Jaire Alexander.
Now coordinated by former linebacker Zach Orr (who decided to bring back mentor and former Ravens play caller Dean Pees in the middle of 2024 for support), Baltimore has never lacked in talent among its front seven and this year has been no exception. Defensive linemen Travis Jones, Broderick Washington and Nnamdi Madubuike are solid run-stuffers (Madubuike had a breakthrough in the pass rush department with 13.5 sacks two years ago) and Odafe Oweh, Tavius Robinson, rookie Mike Green and the versatile Kyle Van Noy are the team’s outside linebackers.
Former Chicago Bear Roquan Smith and Trent Simpson are their inside linebackers and are one of the best duos in the NFL as they can cover and stop the run with ease. Smith has elite instincts and is great at setting the edge and controlling backside cutback runs.
Baltimore ended the year 10th in total defense, first versus the run, ninth in points allowed and second in sacks but they were tied for just 20th in takeaways and second-last in passing yards given up. However, after their lineup changes in Week 11 they performed much better – they were first in scoring defense, total defense and on third down since then.
BUFFALO’S DEFENSE USUALLY GOOD, BUT UNDERGOING A MAKEOVER IN 2024 AND ‘25
For most of head coach Sean McDermott’s time in Buffalo, the Bills’ defense has been one of the league’s best. Points allowed (fourth in the NFL in that category in 2023), total yards per game allowed (ninth), passing yards given up (seventh), rushing yards surrendered (15th), takeaways (third), interceptions (tied for fourth) and sacks (fourth, tied for second-most in their history with the 2014 team) have generally been the categories that the Bills have excelled at over the years, with 2023’s sack total being the best of the McDermott era.
2024, however, was a year of transition for the Bills on defense. Due to age and salary cap complications, out the door were longtime veterans such as Jordan Poyer and Tyrel Dodson (Miami Dolphins), Tre’Davious White (Baltimore Ravens), Leonard Floyd (San Francisco 49ers, who had 10.5 sacks a year ago – the most of any Bill since Lorenzo Alexander in 2016), Linval Joseph (Dallas Cowboys), Tim Settle (Houston Texans), Kaylon “Poona” Ford (Los Angeles Chargers), Dane Jackson (Carolina Panthers) and Shaq Lawson.
Especially when one includes names from the past on the defensive line such as Kyle Williams, Marcel Dareus, Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, Star Lotulelei, Quinton Jefferson, Carlos “Boogie” Basham, Trent Murphy, Vernon Butler, Justin Zimmer, Efe Obada, Harrison Phillips, Dawuane Smoot, Austin Johnson and Casey Toohill, that’s a lot of turnover over the last eight years. The answer, according to McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, is youth and cheap veterans to provide cost-effective depth (Buffalo made it to the AFC title game with the third-most dead money on the salary cap in the NFL and used just 71 percent of the cap).
Some of those younger players – albeit young veterans since they are in their fifth and sixth professional seasons, respectively – who have been asked to take on a greater role include Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, who can line up both on the edge and go inside in passing situations. Da’Quan Jones, perhaps their best run-stuffing lineman, is effective on T-T stunts with Ed Oliver, an excellent gap penetrator.
They are backed up by a familiar face in Jordan Phillips (who is on the practice squad) and second-year men Javon Solomon and DeWayne Carter (Carter is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon) while rookies Deone Walker, T.J. Sanders and Landon Jackson learn the ropes of the NFL. Ex-Charger Joey Bosa, a five-time Pro Bowler and 10-year pro, will likely get between 10-15 snaps a game in obvious pass rush situations and fill the role that future Hall of Famer Von Miller eventually settled into after a torn ACL 11 games into his first season compromised his play on the field. Additionally, veterans Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht will provide valuable depth after they return from six-game suspensions (Hoecht in particular is an intelligent and versatile athlete who McDermott and Babich can deploy in multiple ways).
Over the years Buffalo has been inconsistent in two areas – creating a consistent pass rush and, from time to time, stopping the run. The run issues are mainly caused by poor tackling (their missed and broken tackle percentage has been among the highest in the NFL over the years), a lack of gap integrity, inefficient communication and an inability to handle motion (which causes issues with leverage, spacing and run fits). Another issue was the Bills giving up tying or go-ahead drives in the final two minutes in four of their six losses in 2023 – meaning they struggled to close out games (they did go 6-3 in one-possession games last year). Perhaps the infusion of new faces this season can put those issues to bed once and for all.
Schematically the Bills’ defense mostly relies on basic zones after the snap (they’re usually among the top units in the NFL in usage of coverages with two high safeties such as Cover Two, Four and Six, although they used more single-high man coverages against the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens last year so they could put more bodies in the box to stop the run and to limit communication) but before the snap it is complex. Safety rotations to disguise their intentions keep opposing quarterbacks guessing and selective pressure looks at the line of scrimmage and coverage exchanges are the team’s calling cards.
Those blitz looks usually happen in the A-gaps with the smaller, but smart, speedy and athletic Matt Milano and Terrell Bernard (who replaced the departed Tremaine Edmunds last year) to confuse opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, but Buffalo rarely sends five or more pass rushers – their favorite blitz tactic besides A-gappers are four-man zone exchanges. In the regular season they were 27th in blitz rate but Buffalo blitzed Lamar Jackson on 15 out of 31 dropbacks (48.4%) in the playoffs, their fifth-highest blitz rate in a game under McDermott and their highest in a game since Week 15 of 2021, according to Next Gen Stats.
Bernard has become a good blitzer and coverage ‘backer – his 6.5 sacks in 2023 were the most by an off-the-ball linebacker in Bills annals and he became the first NFL player since Seth Joyner in 1991 with six sacks, three picks and three fumble recoveries in a season. He and Milano are also adept at being used to spy quarterbacks – they spied Jackson on every third down in last year’s postseason.
For the second straight year, Milano suffered a major injury – this time a torn bicep – but is now back and presumably healthy. When he missed time last season, backup Dorian Williams picked up the slack. The Bills struggled to defend the run well last year because of a lack of experience by Williams – he displayed flashes of quickness and burst but was slow to key and diagnose at the line of scrimmage. He also took many false steps and needed to process better while in coverage, but is athletic, long and fluid, and has improved with more experience game by game. He had increased playing time in the playoffs to stop Baltimore’s running game, as evidenced by being on the field for a third of Buffalo’s snaps.
Additional depth comes from former Carolina Panther Shaq Thompson and Joe Andreessen. Andreessen, a University at Buffalo product who hails from nearby Lancaster, showed excellent diagnostic skills at the line of scrimmage in the preseason while also displaying strong hands, a quick downhill trigger that allows him to shoot gaps well and some speed and range. It helps that the rookie played in a similar role as Milano while in college.
The Bills mainly utilize nickel personnel, as evidenced by Buffalo using five defensive backs between 90 and 100 percent of their snaps since 2020. When Milano is out with injury, they’ve used more dime personnel with three safeties to help offset his loss in pass coverage and in the past, that setup featured Poyer near the line of scrimmage, Micah Hyde and ex-Ram Taylor Rapp on the back end.
The Bills’ safety position is now manned by Taylor Rapp, who is better playing near the line of scrimmage, the rangy and physical but inconsistent Damar Hamlin and Cole Bishop, who is an underrated and cerebral athlete. Poyer (who recently re-signed with the team following a one-year stint in Miami) is on the practice squad.
At the boundary cornerback spots are White (also back after a year away to replace Rasul Douglas) and Christian Benford and they are backed up by the tall and physical Ja’Marcus Ingram, Dane Jackson (another veteran back on the practice squad) and speedy rookies Max Hairston, Dorian Strong and Jordan Hancock. Hairston is currently out with a sprained knee and will miss the first four games. Slot corner Taron Johnson remains elite – especially in in the quickness and tackling departments – and he’s backed up by tweener Cam Lewis, who can also fill in at safety.
2024 saw the Bills end the regular season 11th in points allowed, 12th against the run, 17th in total yards, tied for 18th in sacks and 24th versus the pass. They were also 29th in third down percentage, gave up the most completions, yards and touchdowns in the NFL on screen plays and allowed nine touchdowns on plays of four seconds or longer – the most in the league according to Cover 1’s Eric Turner. However, they were third in takeaways and were fifth-best in allowing plays of 20 yards or more.
Buffalo also held the Broncos to just 42 offensive plays in the wild card round – the least ever for a Bills playoff opponent and the least for any playoff team since 2011.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 19: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills looks to pass during an NFL Football game against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium on January 19, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
BILLS’ UPPER-ECHELON OFFENSE STILL PRODUCTIVE
For five consecutive seasons, the Bills boasted one of the NFL’s elite offenses for the first time since the K-Gun was running roughshod over the league more than 30 years ago. Led by quarterback Josh Allen’s improved processing skills, ball placement, patience within the pocket and touch on passes and a cadre of gifted pass-catchers, those factors allowed Buffalo to become one of the most feared attacks in pro football (last year Allen was ninth in passer rating and rushing touchdowns and tied for seventh in passing scores).
In 2023 the Bills were sixth in scoring, fourth in total yards, seventh in rushing and eighth in passing. They were also fifth in red zone efficiency, yet their offense performed poorly over a six-game stretch where they averaged just 20.5 points per game. It resulted in then-offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey getting the boot in favor of quarterbacks coach and former Carolina Panthers play-caller Joe Brady.
Like their defensive counterparts, the Bills went through changes on this side of the ball because of age, the salary cap and a new coordinator. With Brady taking over the role full-time, the biggest philosophical question on offense for Buffalo was how to retain elements of what made them so good in the first place while adding in new and fresh concepts.
Between 2018 and ‘23, Buffalo’s offense was an Erhardt-Perkins system brought in from New England by then-coordinator Brian Daboll. It was built upon concepts involving option and crossing routes from the slot, downfield routes from the outside, run-pass options (especially in the red zone), designed quarterback runs to take advantage of Allen’s mobility and alignments that created favorable matchups and some trick plays with jet/orbit motion and sweeps. It was mostly out of “11” personnel groupings (one back, one tight end and three wide receivers) and “10” personnel (one back, no tight ends, four receivers) – and would also go no-huddle from time to time to limit the opposition’s defensive calls.
The Bills’ multi-receiver sets were traditionally their offensive calling card. In 2020 they used four wide receivers or more 155 times – the second-most in the NFL at the time – and they utilized someone in motion on 43 percent of their offensive snaps, a huge increase from their 25 percent rate in 2019. Daboll, now the head coach of the New York Giants, also called for a passing play on 64 percent of their first downs, according to ESPN Stats and Information (no team with a winning record in the prior 20 years did it more than Buffalo) and that rate continued in 2021 and ’22 with “11” personnel used on nearly three-quarters of their plays.
Daboll’s successor, Ken Dorsey, got away from some of those concepts and tried to rely on the talent at his disposal winning one-on-one matchups instead of having the scheme help them get open. Once Brady was promoted, the Bills returned to them. He also included more under-center formations and play-action (which can still stand to increase after being a top-four team in run-fakes in 2020 and ’21), pre-snap shifts, motions and designed passes to running backs and route combinations with defined reads for Allen so he can play within timing and structure.
Brady got his start in the NFL working for the New Orleans Saints and then-coach Sean Payton. Payton himself came from a melting pot of a background including stints running the Erhardt-Perkins scheme for Bill Parcells in Dallas and learning the West Coast offense from Jim Fassel with the New York Giants and from Jon Gruden during their one-year stint together in Philadelphia in 1997, so Brady will bring a similar approach to the table while likely keeping some things the same in Buffalo.
Their biggest transaction on offense last year was trading the aging Stefon Diggs to Houston. Diggs (now in New England), while never a burner on the outside, was an exceptional route runner who specialized in making contested catches and operated well out of bunch and stack formations – leading him to re-write many of the Bills’ single season receiving records.
In addition to Diggs, Buffalo has let veterans like John Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley, Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder, Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty and Amari Cooper walk over the years. Many of them were productive, but nothing can last forever – hence the overhaul of the Bills’ wide receiver room.
The Payton offense is built through having big, physical targets who can get open over the middle of the field, especially on deep in-cuts, or “dig” routes. Payton has employed such players in those roles before like Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, Michael Thomas and Courtland Sutton, and the drafting of Keon Coleman from Florida State last year fits the bill for Brady. Coleman, whose game evoked comparisons to Colston, Brandon Marshall and Anquan Boldin coming out of college, brings size and physicality to the boundary ‘X’ position with good body control and strong hands to make contested catches and has some run after the catch ability. He does need to work on his speed, quickness and ability to beat press coverage, but in time he may improve in those areas.
While not a burner at the position Coleman is accentuated by speed in the form of Curtis Samuel, a poor-man’s Mecole Hardman who can line up both in the slot and outside the numbers and take handoffs and free agent pickups Josh Palmer and Elijah Moore. Shifty pass-catcher Khalil Shakir mans the slot with his quickness, sure hands and savviness to get open versus zone coverage, Gabriel Davis has returned to the practice squad to supply depth and Tyrell Shavers could prove to be a new weapon after making the team’s active roster out of training camp.
Tight end Dawson Knox is joined by third-year man Dalton Kincaid and their diverse skillsets should allow the Bills to throw curveballs at opponents with multiple tight end sets. Kincaid lived up to the hype with 73 receptions as a rookie, the most of any first-year Bill and surpassed Pete Metzelaars for the most catches by a Bills tight end in one season. He also became the fourth rookie tight end since 1960 with 70 or more catches in a year.
The Bills’ offensive line is composed of Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern (taking over at center for the departed Mitch Morse), O’Cyrus Torrence and Spencer Brown. This crew, along with fullback Reggie Gilliam has mainly executed outside zone runs along with zone-reads, pin-and-pull concepts, traps (especially with Dawkins as the puller), counters, sweeps, split inside zone/duo and sprint draw plays sprinkled in for running back James Cook. Cook, who boasts great vision and burst, is backed up by physical second-year man Ray Davis and ex-Jet Ty Johnson provides valuable depth with his receiving skills.
The starting front five had been iffy in providing push in the running game and in pass protection over the last couple of years but has since become a strength. In the past, most of the team’s rushing production came from Allen’s legs and few came from their backs – the Bills’ rushing attempts per game in 2022, 18.2, was last in the NFL but that number jumped to the highest in the NFL after Brady was promoted. In 2023 Allen was taken down just 24 times overall in 17 regular season outings, the best mark in pro football, and the team again led the league just 14 sacks allowed this year (tied for the sixth-least since 2000).
Buffalo has also carried over their trend of using an extra offensive lineman to help in the running game. Now that Edwards has moved into the starting lineup, that extra guy is Alec Anderson, and the Bills had the highest rate of offensive snaps with six linemen on the field – with most of them being called runs, and were near the top of the NFL in yards per carry and yards per play with six linemen (rookie tight end Jackson Hawes, an excellent blocker and the replacement for Quintin Morris, might be used more in this regard with some “13” personnel looks).
Another area the Bills needed to clean up was protecting the ball. They used to be one the league’s sloppiest teams – Allen had 14 interceptions and 13 fumbles in 2022 and he led the NFL with 18 interceptions in ’23. Last year Allen cut down on his interception total significantly with just six – a sign of progress in this regard (Allen became the third signal caller in NFL history to start a season with 10 touchdowns and no picks through his team’s first seven games).
In fact, the Bills tied the league record for fewest turnovers in a season with just eight (with the 2019 Saints). They also became the first team ever with less than 15 sacks allowed and fewer than 15 turnovers in the same season. Buffalo ended the 2024 regular season second in points scored and red zone efficiency, 10th in total yards and ninth in rushing and passing and became the first team to ever have 30 passing and 30 rushing touchdowns in one season. They, along with the Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, were also the top four teams in the NFL on fourth down conversion rate.
Brad Robbins is the team’s new punter and kicker Tyler Bass is out for the team’s first four games due to injury – meaning 41-year-old former All-Pro Matt Prater will replace him.
Last season McDermott and Brady cost themselves a win against the Texans while trying to throw three successive times within their own three-yard line with less than a minute to go and no timeouts. With Houston having all three of their timeouts, three straight runs would have forced Houston to burn them to get the ball back – meaning they wouldn’t have had one to use to stop the clock to set up a game-winning field goal, which happened.
According to ESPN, the Bills became the only team in the last 45 years to be tied or winning in the last minute of the game, inside their own five-yard line and threw three straight passes.
They also botched three situations against the Rams – declining a penalty midway through the game that likely would have forced L.A. to punt, calling a running play when trying to tie the game late (and wasting a timeout in the process) and having just nine men on the field on the final play when trying to return a punt. They’ll need to learn from these miscues going forward.
12 STATS TO MUSE OVER
· Buffalo tied the franchise record for wins in a season with 13 and are 17-5 all-time at home in postseason play. They also have the most wins in a seven-year span without reaching the Super Bowl with 84 – Baltimore is second with 81.
· The Bills have compiled a road winning percentage of .640 (32-18) since 2019. Conversely, since 2020 Buffalo has the best home record in the NFL – 42-9 including playoffs – and the Bills also have 13 straight home wins, the second-longest streak in team annals behind a 15-game stretch between 1990-91. They went undefeated at home last year for the first time since ’90.
· Buffalo faced eight-man boxes 32 percent of the time, the most in the NFL according to Cover 1’s Erik Turner. It’s a stark contrast to the prior four years in which they went against them 16 percent of the time in 2020 (32nd), 18.6 in ’21 (27th), 20.4 in ’22 (20th) and 19.9 in ’23 (19th).
· The Bills scored 30 points or more 13 total times in 2024 including playoffs and became the highest scoring team in franchise history. They won seven games by 20-plus points (a franchise record).
· According to CBS Sports the Bills were the first team since 1960 to not lose the turnover battle through their first 19 games, including playoffs.
· The divisional round game was the first playoff matchup ever between quarterbacks who each had 40 or more total touchdowns and less than 10 turnovers. It was also the seventh matchup ever between teams who each had the same point differential (plus-157) in the regular season, and the first since Super Bowl LII, according to ESPN Research.
· Allen is one score away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for first all-time in Bills annals in rushing touchdowns (the only other quarterback who is a team’s all-time rushing touchdown leader is Cam Newton with the Carolina Panthers). He also had 40 combined scores for the fifth straight year – no other quarterback has done it more than three times (Drew Brees from 2011-13) – allowing him to be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player by the Associated Press, an honor previously bestowed upon just two other Bills (Thurman Thomas in 1991 and O.J. Simpson in 1973).
· Buffalo’s quarterback is also a threat to become the first signal caller to ever rush for six scores or more in each of his first eight years in the NFL. The only other players to do so are Hall of Fame running backs Jim Brown, Marshall Faulk and LaDanian Tomlinson.
· 2025 will mark the third time in the last five years the Bills have opened the season in primetime. Additionally, this season will be the first time Buffalo has hosted a night game in the first week of the season since they squared off with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday Night Football in 2000 – a rematch of the prior year’s Music City Miracle.
· Prater will become the oldest player in Bills history at 41 years old – surpassing former quarterbacks Bill Munson in 1979 and Doug Flutie in 2000 (both were 38).
· Prater, a former member of the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, isn’t washed up either. A year ago he tore his meniscus and participated in just four games but in 2023 he connected on nine 50-yard field goals – the most of his career – and hit a 62-yarder, which is his second-longest behind a 64-yard kick in 2013 that at the time was the longest in league annals.
· This will be the 18th primetime game for Buffalo since 2022, which is tied for the most in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. They are a league-best 13-4 in their prior 17 outings.
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