Preview: Bills at full strength ahead of divisional round rematch against Baltimore
The Bills are set to face off against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium Sunday, a team that clobbered them 35-10 in week 4; but this time around, Buffalo will be at full strength on the defensive end.
When Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson first battled on September 29, the Bills played without starting linebackers Matt Milano and Terrell Bernard and starting cornerback Taron Johnson.
Since returning from injured reserve in week 13, Milano has recorded 21 tackles in five games. Bernard and Johnson, who both have 60-plus tackles this season, have played every game but one since week 9.
Yesterday, the trio combined for 16 tackles against the Denver Broncos offense in a 31-7 routing.
Head coach Sean McDermott spoke on the defense’s growing chemistry since the three returned to the lineup together:
As a unit, the Bill’s seven points allowed stood a major improvement from the 28.8 points per game they allowed in the final five games of the regular season.
Heading into the divisional round, Buffalo and Baltimore mirror each other in almost every major statistical category. In the regular season, the Bills averaged 30.9 points per game to Baltimore’s 30.3 while the Ravens allowed 21.4 points per game to Buffalo’s 21.6.
Offensively, the Bills turned the ball over three fewer times than the Ravens, but on defense, Buffalo had forced 15 more takeaways than Baltimore.
Both team’s signal callers are having career-best years: Jackson threw or ran for 45 total touchdowns while Allen followed close with 40. Last Friday, Jackson was named to the AP’s NFL All-Pro First Team, while Allen was selected to the second team.
During the regular season, Jackson threw for 13 more touchdowns than Allen but had 8 fewer rushing touchdowns.
The matchup between all-pro, two MVP front-running quarterbacks kickoffs at 6:30 p.m. in Buffalo.