Bills receive the exact news they don’t want to hear heading into Ravens matchup but they’ll welcome the challenge anyway
Every NFL team wants to be its opponent at its best, but catching a break is never a bad thing. Unfortunately, the Bills won’t be catching a break when it comes to Lamar Jackson’s availability in Week 8.
The Buffalo Bills are 5-1 coming off the bye week and are looking to move to 6-1 after a key Week 8 showdown against the Baltimore Ravens.
Well, that task just got a lot harder for the Bills after the latest news surrounding Ravens’ superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“We do think we’ll have Lamar this week, so go ahead and put that out there,” Ravens head coach Jesse Minter told reporters Friday afternoon. “I’m excited about that. He’s had a really good week of practice and it’ll probably end up showing that he’s (been a) full (participant) in all three days.
“I’m excited about that opportunity for him to be back out (there). Again, credit to him and the work he that put in (while) dealing with an injury. (He) put himself in position to be back. So, that’s obviously exciting for our team.”
While every team wants to beat its opponent at its best, I’m sure there were plenty of Bills players (especially on defense) hoping they wouldn’t have to face off against Lamar Jackson this week. Either way, they now have a major challenge on their hands and it’s important to consider the Bills defense is currently 0.09 EPA/play on defense, which is the fourth-worst rate in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats.
The onus now falls on Josh Allen and the Bills offense to be on point against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens
Yes, the defense still has to show up, but it’s now on Joe Brady, Allen, and the Bills offense to ensure it can trade blows with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense.
You simply can’t count on the defense to get the job done, right now. Especially the secondary, which is currently one of the league’s worst. Both Jackson and Zay Flowers have incredible chemistry this year and it’s catapulted Flowers into the elite tier of receivers.
There’s also the timeless Derrick Henry to contend with. If Allen and the Bills offense can’t keep pace then this game will certainly go the Ravens way and that’ll be a big disappointment for a Bills team that is always scrapping and clawing in attempt to stay atop the AFC, but simply hasn’t been able to do that over the last couple of years.
The Bills will accept this challenge, even if it’s begrudgingly accepted to an extent. Either way, Jackson’s availability ramps up the excitement heading in and adds a layer that should make this game one of the week’s best.
If not one of the season’s best.
