Blast, Blaze and Baffle: How the Ravens take it to the Bills Saturday night
By Darin McCann
Blast:
For the Ravens, the correct answer is almost always the obvious one. The Ravens need to run the ball in order for their offense to hum at optimum efficiency, and they will need to consistently blast the Bills defensive front off the line at the snap throughout the game to allow the Ravens runners to rip off solid gains against this defense.
The Bills surrendered 119.6-yards a game on the ground during the regular season and allowed 163 to the Colts in last week’s playoff game. The Ravens, conversely, averaged 191.9 a game during the season and put up 236-yards against the Titans.
To have success against this Bills team, and to put up points, the Ravens are going to have to maximize their possessions. And the Ravens have the most consistent success when they are running the ball, so look for J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Jackson to split up the carries, attack the Bills defenders with fresh legs and a variety of angles and try to move the ball up and down the field and into scoring range.
It’s not about controlling the clock and keeping Allen off the field — the Bills can score on one play at any given time. It’s about maximizing opportunities and scoring. The Ravens do that best when they are effective running the ball and mixing in play-action.