Sometimes the other guy is just better

[Coach Tuesday]

15 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Who knows? 

 

I should say in all of the questionable coaching calls last night (and there worse some) I think the Bills got two big strategic calls right:

 

9:27 in the 4th punting and not trying to convert a 4th and 16 from our own 37. Which would have been a v low percentage play and if you don't get it game over. 

 

00:46 in the 4th. Palmer has had the 30 odd yarder to get you to the 34 and in field goal range. You are going to need one first down to make sure the Ravens burn their time outs and the final play of the game is a FG try for the win. The best chance you have to get that is throwing on 1st down. Joe Brady dialled up the perfect play, in breaking route for Keon behind the safety who has crept up into the box to play the run.... and as you said we might have got lucky that Keon was tackled.

 

The coaches will get some heat for some calls especially around the 2 point try calls and some of their strategy but in those two moments they got critical strategy calls right. And that shouldn't get lost in the shuffle either.

McD executed the last few minutes of both halves very well IMO.  

[Billsfan1972]

48 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

The most amazing “what if” to me is what if Alexander doesn’t trip Keon and he scores with 35 seconds or so left on the clock?  Does Lamar lead his offense all the way down the field for a last-second touchdown attempt?  Does the Bills’ D pull out a clutch stop?  

So happy he did!!!!  Last thing I want to see is the ball in the opposing QB's hand at the end of a game with the Bills defense.

[Johnny Bravo]

1 hour ago, harryS said:

For once, thankfully the opposing coach was better at choking.  Harbaugh should've gone for it on 4th down instead of punting it away to Josh for a potential (inevitable, really) game-winning FG drive.  Once the Ravens punted, I knew we would win.

 

It was what, a 4th-and-3?  Some sort of rollout with Lamar so he has a run / pass option, and I think they convert 80% of the time.  Bad, bad coaching job by Harbaugh there.

I thought the same thing.  Was literally praying the Raven would punt.  I heard an interview with Lamar that he wanted to go for the first down but was cramping and wasn't physically able to take the field.

 

Even so, Harbaugh should have taken a TO and given Lamar another minute to see if he could take that last snap.

[Sojourner]

1 hour ago, harryS said:

For once, thankfully the opposing coach was better at choking.  Harbaugh should've gone for it on 4th down instead of punting it away to Josh for a potential (inevitable, really) game-winning FG drive.  Once the Ravens punted, I knew we would win.

 

It was what, a 4th-and-3?  Some sort of rollout with Lamar so he has a run / pass option, and I think they convert 80% of the time.  Bad, bad coaching job by Harbaugh there.

Just heard the guys on Get Up! Talking about this…

 

Rex made a decent point; The Ravens are coaching like they have the dominant defenses they’ve had from yester-years. 
 

Theyre offense is the team now, should have put that ball in the hands of the guys that dominated Buffalo’s defense for 50 minutes of that game. 

 

1 hour ago, Coach Tuesday said:

McD executed the last few minutes of both halves very well IMO.  

 

Absolutely. Not to lump the 2 point chasing on but he redeemed himself for those follies. 

[Dr. K]

I was stunned and amazed at the Bills comeback. It produced one of the most memorable games I've ever seen by the team.

 

After the high of the win wears off, however, I think most of us see that the Bills have some serious problems going forward. If the Bills defense plays the way they did for the first three quarters of the game, they are going to have a season like the Bengals last season and miss the playoffs. The offense struggled but at least, with Allen, made some plays and managed to score 19 points through three quarters.

 

But the defense was awful. Physically overmatched, and the Ravens did whatever they wanted as if they were men playing boys. Serious issues with both run and pass defense. I think they can be better, but I'm not convinced those weaknesses aren't fundamental. McDermott and Babich have their work cut out for them. They are not going to stop any good team playing the way they did last night.

 

They say the first game of the season is a liar. The result of this game are no indication that the Bills are going to go to any Super Bowls.  

[OldNMBillsFan]

The Ravens have 2 Offensive players that are on the NFL's top 10 players list. Jackson as the second-best player in the league, and Henrey as the 7th best player in the league. This offense is going to score a lot of points with their superior talent. I will reserve judgment on the Bills D after a larger sample size, and not against the best offense in the NFL. The Bills D found a way to turn the ball over and make the stop when needed, giving Allen the chance to show the world why he should be the #1 player in the league instead of #3, and puts a huge week 1 accomplishment in his 2025 MVP resume. 

 

What a win!!!

20-0!!!

Go Bills!!!

[harryS]

47 minutes ago, Dr. K said:

They say the first game of the season is a liar. The result of this game are no indication that the Bills are going to go to any Super Bowls.  

 

No kidding.  And yet this was the best Week 1 for making the Super Bowl that we've probably had in the Josh era.

 

KC 0-1.  Bal 0-1 (with Bills holding tiebreaker).  Hou 0-1.  The rest of the AFC East 0-1.

 

We didn't look particularly great, but as far as results around the league, this is the best positioned the Bills have been after a Week 1 in forever.  Pretty nice schedule ahead for us, too.

[Malazan]

3 hours ago, Billsfan1972 said:

I'm back!!!!

 

The issue is and I'm really almost at the point of no longer getting into debates and arguing, is that unless the Ravens put up 40+/wk and their efficiency is so crazy good all year, that yes the defense is awful.  

 

We've had this debate for years about McD's defense that can be physically manhandled and relys on getting breaks (or making a big play) to win.

 

Yesterday was the perfect example with the Henry fumble, another 15 yard loss on a fumble and Oliver's Lamar sack.

 

And let's not talk about the putrid play calling on offense after the first drive and through three quarters.

 

These two offenses could very likely be the two best offenses in the league and it's week 1 which is always odd. I'm not sure how much I'd write about these defenses based on this game. They may not be good, but they're likely to look a lot better going forward. 

[TBBills Fan]

52 minutes ago, OldNMBillsFan said:

The Ravens have 2 Offensive players that are on the NFL's top 10 players list. Jackson as the second-best player in the league, and Henrey as the 7th best player in the league. This offense is going to score a lot of points with their superior talent. I will reserve judgment on the Bills D after a larger sample size, and not against the best offense in the NFL. The Bills D found a way to turn the ball over and make the stop when needed, giving Allen the chance to show the world why he should be the #1 player in the league instead of #3, and puts a huge week 1 accomplishment in his 2025 MVP resume. 

 

What a win!!!

20-0!!!

Go Bills!!!

Both are future first ballot HOF players. 

 

That gives some grace, but we will need to better when we play them in the post season..

 

[Billsfan1972]

1 minute ago, Malazan said:

 

These two offenses could very likely be the two best offenses in the league and it's week 1 which is always odd. I'm not sure how much I'd write about these defenses based on this game. They may not be good, but they're likely to look a lot better going forward. 

Baltimore's defense was good, though they allowed 41 points, they had pressure continually, held Josh's running in check, little separation so a lot of passes short.  250 passing yards allowed and 22 points in the 4th quarter sort of mars that after the first Buffalo drive the Bills had 12 points over the next 6 possessions, with three punts.     

 

Meanwhile Buffalo made maybe 4 plays on defense the entire game (Oliver's sack and forced fumble and Bosa's fumble & 15 yard loss the big ones).  Otherwise few & far between.

 

And here we go, week two vs. Jets @ home and I expect the usual Bills defense looking much better against a much inferior opponent.  

 

This is an old story.