The Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills didn’t exactly have fireworks go off in the third preseason game. There was a lot to take away from this game, but there weren’t a lot of points:
1. Baltimore didn’t take a dress rehearsal state of mind:
The third game of the preseason is supposed to be the dress rehearsal for the season opener. John Harbaugh didn’t force that. Joe Flacco isn’t going to be available until the regular season. They were missing key pieces like Breshad Perriman, Danny Woodhead and Ronnie Stanley on the offense, so a true dress rehearsal wasn’t happening for the offense.
The Buffalo Bills kept most of their starters in the game for the entire first half. The Ravens defense shuffled in backups after a couple really strong stops. The Bills ended up with just 15 rushing yards and 94 passing yards in the first half. The Ravens back ups did surrender a touchdown, but it was after several impressively quick stops.
The Ravens have dealt with more injuries than just about any team already this season. They lost Dennis Pitta and Tavon Young before they even got to training camp. Crockett Gillmore, Kenneth Dixon, Alex Lewis and Nico Siragusa have been lost for the season. It is understandable that the Ravens didn’t force the issue. They got their starters some work. The defense dominated, so they were awarded the rest of the night off.