Niagara Gazette

‘The Ravens never punted, went 7 of 10 on third down and accumulated 416 total yards. And yet they lost because they committed three turnovers in Buffalo territory.’

‘The bakery, which has locations in the Falls, Lewiston and Williamsville, announced the return of its red, white and blue “Buffalo Bread” as the Bills prepare to square off in Sunday’s AFC playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.’

‘The Baltimore Ravens pose a much different challenge, boasting the top run defense in the league after allowing 80.1 yards per game, 13 fewer than the No. 2 Minnesota Vikings. The Bills managed just 81 yards in the first matchup, although Cook had some early success by averaging 4.3 yards per carry.’

‘When the final horn sounds Sunday, one of them is going to take another step toward erasing another stigma. Allen hasn’t been able to get out of the AFC divisional round since beating Jackson and the Ravens in 2020, while Jackson is 3-4 as a starter during the playoffs.’

‘Allen is fiercely competitive and has repeatedly said he will do whatever it takes for the Buffalo Bills to win a game. Wearing a smile, Allen shrugged off a left hand injury after leaping over Cardinals safety Budd Baker to score a touchdown in Week 1, only for it be revealed that Allen broke his hand on the play.’

‘The Ravens led the NFL in total offense (424.9 yards per game) and rushing offense (187.6), while ranking third in scoring (30.5 points per game). Jackson finished second with 41 touchdown passes, while Henry was second with 1,921 rushing yards, while tying Buffalo’s James Cook with a league-best 16 rushing scores.’

‘In fact, Brown was the starting quarterback in the regular-season finale that year after Jackson suffered a season-ending injury and backup Tyler Huntley was rested for the playoffs. So Brown not only brings the Bills a better look in a practice, but he also knows the Ravens playbook, designed by offensive coordinator Todd Monken.’

‘Not only did Dawkins keep Bonitto off Josh Allen most of the game, but he often beat him before the ball was snapped and it started with his alignment. Most offensive linemen use a split — the distance between them and the next lineman — that’s typically a yard or two in width, but Dawkins frequently uses nearly a 3-yard split and took a step further against the Broncos.’

‘Whatever was said worked, because it was the only time the Broncos scored in the game. The Bills imposed their will, controlled the clock and pushed around the Broncos just as a veteran playoff team should do against a newcomer.’

‘The decision was an agonizing one, especially for his children. His oldest son, now 13, was upset when his father decided to retire, but Williams said, “play 13 years at defensive tackle, you have these amounts of surgeries, play 800 plus snaps a year in the middle of the trenches, and when you’re 35 years old, and then you come back to me and you tell me how you feel about your body.”’

‘In five playoff wins, opposing quarterbacks have been sacked 12 times, averaging 242.4 yards on 54.1% completions, with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. But in the last four playoff losses, they have been sacked four times, averaging 290 yards on 72.3% completions, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.’

‘It’s Surtain who is the biggest piece to an aggressive Broncos defense. Denver plays the most man-to-man coverage in the NFL (56%) and holds the fifth-highest blitz rate (29.3%) and Surtain’s play allows both.’

‘Multiple outlets reported the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets requested permission to interview Brady for their vacant head coaching jobs, which was confirmed by Brady and Bills coach Sean McDermott. And while Brady didn’t hide his desire to become a head coach, he also said his main focus was Buffalo’s wild-card matchup with the Denver Broncos at 1 p.m. Sunday.’

‘But the Bills are a team now judged on postseason success. Just as it was assumed the Bills would lose their grip on the division, they were once the team picked to dethrone the Chiefs, only to falter in the divisional round three years in a row.’

‘“The biggest thing I’ve heard from people is just don’t stress out about it,” Andreessen told GNN Sports. “You might mess up, but even the starters who are Pro Bowl players make mistakes, too. So don’t be worried about making mistakes, just go out there and fly around.”’