Entering the game, it was obvious that the Baltimore Ravens were going to pose a huge challenge to the Buffalo Bills. Head coach Sean McDermott said so earlier in the week.
It took exactly one play for the Ravens to expose the biggest weakness of the Bills – their run defense. Derrick Henry took his first carry of the night for an 87-yard touchdown, and he never looked back.
Henry finished the night with 199 rushing yards on 8.3 yards per carry with a rushing and short receiving touchdown. In the second half, the Buffalo defense had a few plays where they were able to slow down the Ravens, but they weren't able to hold for an entire night.
After his 87-yard run, Henry had runs of 25 and 38 yards, along with plenty of runs of the five yard variety. Lamar Jackson also got in on the fun with six carries for 54 yards, including a gash of 19, and punched in a rushing touchdown.
It was an onslaught. Baltimore became the first team in NFL history to out-rush opponents by 100+ yards in each of their first four games.
"When you give up the first run, he's running downhill the rest of the night, basically," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said when asked about how Henry was able to be so successful. "Again – point of attack on defense, gap integrity – he's a good running back and a heck of a player, future Hall of Famer, give him his credit. So, you know, again, adjustments, we've got to find the problems from tonight, and make them and make them quick."
The linebackers in particular, without Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano because of injuries, struggled mightily to shed blockers and close space to stop the run. There's no saying what those two, along with nickel Taron Johnson , would have added to this game, but their presence was sorely missed.
This is the kryptonite of the Bills defense at this point. If teams can run at them and get them out of the nickel defense that they want to play, having to bring on a third linebacker, then it will open more space for passing attacks to operate in. The Ravens may have just given the blueprint to the rest of the NFL. Buffalo continuously lost contain on the edges, missed tackles, and was sloppy in their run fits. It wasn't good enough.
The Bills have matchups coming up against the Texans Jets, Seahawks, and Colts in the next six weeks, and all four of those teams have prolific rushing attacks capable of giving the Bills similar problems. McDermott will need to find answers to the run game in a hurry.
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