Ebony Bird round-table: Picks/predictions for Ravens vs. Bills
Darin McCann:
Old-school football meets new-wave quarterbacks.
The Sunday matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills promises to be a classic buckle-up-the-chin straps clash between two physical teams who set out each game to establish the run and be punishing on defense. What separates this from the traditional old-school classification, however, is the way their quarterbacks contribute to the run game. These are two teams featuring new-wave offenses, with multi-dimensional quarterbacks.
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It’s been well-documented what Lamar Jackson has brought to the Ravens offense this season. The second-year star is a two-way threat, throwing for 2,532-yards and 25 touchdowns, while also contributing 977-yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. The Bills Josh Allen offers a similar threat to opposing defenses, generating 2,591-yards and 16 touchdowns through the air, and 430-yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Those two are the engines that drive their respective teams’ offenses but don’t be fooled. Both teams have other options running the ball that keep defenses up at night. For the Ravens, it’s Mark Ingram (837-yards, nine touchdowns) and Gus Edwards (460-yards, two touchdowns). For Buffalo, it’s Frank Gore (552-yards, two touchdowns) and rookie Devin Singletary (553-yards, two touchdowns).
Both teams must be tight against the run, which means the Ravens will have to improve the job they did on the edges last week against San Francisco, and Michael Pierce and Brandon Williams need to push the center of the line backward. Offensively, it is imperative that Jackson make some downfield throws, either on the outside to Marquise Brown or Miles Boykin, or up the seams to Mark Andrews or Hayden Hurst, just to keep a very-disciplined Bills defense off balance.
Bold predictions:
- Mark Ingram rushes for two touchdowns and 85-yards.
- Chuck Clark grabs an interception off a deflected pass.
- Miles Boykin hauls in a 20-plus yard touchdown pass.
Final score: Ravens 27 Bills 16