The Baltimore Ravens might have Lamar Jackson back for Week 8, but they’re walking into a buzzsaw. The Buffalo Bills are 5-1, have one of the NFL's most prolific offenses, and, most notably, are coming off a bye week.
Why is that so notable? The Bills haven’t lost after the bye since 2014. 11 games, 11 straight wins.
Facing those guys on the road is a daunting challenge. Add that impressive streak into the mix, and the Ravens have the odds stacked against them.
In the midst of a two-game losing streak, Baltimore has a massive mountain to scale to get back to their winning ways.
Baltimore Ravens must end Buffalo Bills’ post-bye streak in Week 8
The Ravens never make it easy for themselves. They were gifted an easy first couple of months to their 2026 campaign. At least it seemed that way, right? Unfortunately, injuries, first-year head coach jitters, and more late-game collapses got in the way.
Now, sitting at 4-3 and last in the AFC North, Baltimore faces an extremely tough schedule the rest of the way. It starts with a Bills team that’s not only expected to be a Super Bowl contender, but just like the Cincinnati Bengals last week, are fresh off the bye.
Usually you can expect teams to play better after their bye week — we saw how badly the Bengals dismantled the Ravens in Week 7. 11 straight wins is crazy, though.
Many of those victories haven’t been close either. They won by two scores, and the last two were absolute blowouts (40-9 over the Carolina Panthers in 2025, and 35-10 over the San Francisco 49ers in 2024).
The Bills’ last loss coming off the bye came against the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs, who finished that year 9-7.
To put that timeline into context, that was five years before the Chiefs began their dynasty. It was two years after the Ravens captured the Lombardi Trophy. It was the same season the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 49 after the infamous Malcolm Butler interception.
Yeah, it’s been a while since the Bills lost coming off a bye.
Fortunately, Baltimore has a glimmer of hope. Sean McDermott coached the Bills for 9 of the last 11 post-bye wins. But like John Harbaugh, McDermott was fired this past offseason. It’s Joe Brady in charge in Buffalo this year.
Brady’s been off to a great start. His team is 5-1 and is on a rampage offensively. There’s pressure to keep that streak alive, though. The defense also isn’t making life easy. Statistically, it’s a bottom-three unit in the league.
And when the Ravens have a player like Lamar Jackson, the opposition will always sweat it out for all four quarters. You can run a defensive play to perfection, but Jackson can pull a rabbit out of a hat and make a game-changing play.
Sure, history isn’t on Baltimore’s side, and their own defense will certainly struggle against Josh Allen. However, with Jackson back in the equation and Brady susceptible to first-year nerves, it may not be a guaranteed post-bye win like it’s become for Buffalo.
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