Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens rarely appear human. They have consistently been one of the most dominant teams in football over the past several seasons. However, a few teams have made them look very beatable during the Jackson era, and one of those is the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo ended Baltimore’s season last year in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Jackson and the Ravens once again fell short when the lights were at their brightest, turning the ball over three times and faltering in several crucial moments. They will get their chance for some revenge in Week 1 when they face the Bills on Sunday Night Football. However, while Baltimore is possibly the most talented team this year, not everyone is convinced the story will have a different outcome.
Ryan Heckman on NFL Spin Zone constructed a list of bold predictions for quarterbacks in Week 1. For Jackson, Heckman sees his struggles against the Bills continuing, believing he could be held to under 200 total yards. Heckman wrote:
“For his career, Jackson has averaged about 172 passing yards per game against Buffalo if you take out the one outlier back in September of 2018 where he only attempted four passes. Along with that, Jackson has averaged 46.5 rushing yards against Buffalo (including the postseason). Do the math, and Jackson typically puts up a mediocre performance against the Bills, on average.”
“Jackson is only 3-3 against the Bills over his career, again, including postseason play. In Week 1, this year, the Bills get the best of him and Jackson is held mostly in check.”
Bold Week 1 prediction hits Lamar Jackson with harsh reality check
Jackson’s statistical outputs against Buffalo have never been outstanding, or at least not what people have grown accustomed to seeing from him. In his first two starts against the team, he failed to accumulate over 200 yards. Since then, he has cracked the 200-yard barrier three times, but it has not always been the prettiest performance.
In 2022, he put up 217 yards, but threw two interceptions in a loss. In the 2024 regular season, he helped lead Baltimore to a blowout win, but they relied heavily on Derrick Henry, and Jackson only had 210 total yards. In the playoff game last year, Jackson was electric through the air with 254 passing yards and also had 39 rushing yards, but he also had two turnovers, and the Ravens were again on the losing end. Buffalo might be his kryptonite.
Baltimore will be on the road at Highmark Stadium, a place they have only won once in three contests under Jackson's command. Their two losses there have come in playoff action. It is one of the toughest atmospheres to play in, and if Buffalo’s crowd shows up like they always do, we could see Jackson struggle again.