The Bills just did something they hadn't done since 2011
Talk about a signature win for the Buffalo Bills. One week after falling in the Miami heat, Josh Allen and a stellar defensive performance led the Bills to a win in the Baltimore wind as they beat the Ravens 23-20 on Sunday. The outlook for the game was bleak as the team trailed 20-3 in […]
Talk about a signature win for the Buffalo Bills.
One week after falling in the Miami heat, Josh Allen and a stellar defensive performance led the Bills to a win in the Baltimore wind as they beat the Ravens 23-20 on Sunday.
The outlook for the game was bleak as the team trailed 20-3 in the first half versus a team that is known to have a strong running scheme, even if the Ravens have shifted into a pass-happier approach. At one point, the Ravens had a 94% win probability per ESPN's Analytics.
But the Bills prevailed. In fact, they did so in a way they hadn't since 2011 when Ryan Fitzpatrick quarterbacked the team. As NFL Research points out, that was the last time Buffalo overcame a deficit of 17+ points.
This was the first such comeback in Josh Allen's career. It's the kind of moment that you think of when talking about MVP candidates at the end of the year. The Bills' quarterback didn't have the cleanest of games, though. He had a negative completion percentage over expectation as he completed only 53% of his attempts.
Of course, those 2011 Bills were far from what this year's squad is. That team ended 6-10 while this year they're Super Bowl favorites. Not to mention, their QB started the year as the MVP favorite, too.
But it would be unfair to make this all about Josh Allen when the defense held Lamar Jackson and the #1 pass offense in DVOA entering Week 4 to zero points in the second half of the game. Jackson finished the day with negative EPA and only 144 passing yards in 29 attempts.
Next up is a less challenging opponent as the Pittsburgh Steelers will visit the 3-1 Bills in Week 5. You can't overlook anybody in the NFL – as we've learned countless times – and you know Buffalo will rather aim for a fast start than have Josh Allen break come-back career records.
Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
