It takes a lot for the Bills to be blown out. The Bills had not lost by 6+ points in 43 games (an NFL record) and have not lost by this much since Week 11 of the 2021 season. That loss was at the hands of a Carson Wentz-led Colts team that defeated the Bills 41-14.
After Sunday night’s 25-point loss, has Baltimore shown the league how to slow down the Bills? The short answer is no, at least not yet.
Offensively, Bills fans should not be too worried. Ravens’ defensive coordinator Zachary Orr put an elite game plan together. Orr and company minimized Buffalo’s strong run game on early downs and followed it up by disguising the hell out of blitzes, specifically from his secondary. Once the second quarter came around, Orr had Buffalo fearing blitzes and forced the Bills into playing Baltimore’s game.
This was seen when Buffalo would trot or audible out a split backfield and block seven in fear of the blitz (they still didn’t block it well).
Due to blitz packages and having someone in his face on 44.1% of dropbacks, Josh Allen was forced to get the ball out faster. At times, this led to 17’s mechanics being slightly off. Allen’s eyes and feet should be synced to one another, yet some of Sunday’s game saw his mental process speed up and his footwork breakdown. So much so that Allen would occasionally drift in his drop and even sometimes leave the pocket early.
The positive news is that this is a rare time the blitz has worked against Josh Allen. Entering Sunday night, Allen was PFF’s highest-rated quarterback against the blitz. He had a stat line to pair: He was 19/25 for 293 yards and had 6 touchdowns (1st in NFL) against the blitz through three games. One would have to wonder how the Bills adjust and prepare this week in pass protection.
The classic question arises of “to blitz or not to blitz” the league’s best quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see if Demeco Ryans and Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke try to dial up some similar blitzes in Week 5.