Ravens get defensive in rout of inept Bills
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Ravens harassed and embarrassed Buffalo quarterback Nathan Peterman on a rainy Sunday afternoon and beat the rebuilding Bills, 47-3, in National Football League action.
Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes for the Ravens, one to each of the new receivers Baltimore added during the off-season to enhance a lacklustre passing attack.
Flacco went 25 for 34 for 236 yards before being replaced in the third quarter by rookie player Lamar Jackson, who did little more than hand off the ball after entering with a 40-0 lead.
Making its debut under defensive co-ordinator Don Martindale, the Ravens (1-0) held Buffalo (0-1) to 33 yards and no first downs in going up 26-0 at the half.
Baltimore added two touchdowns in the third quarter following Buffalo mistakes before Bills coach Sean McDermott had finally seen enough, replacing Peterman with rookie Josh
Allen.
Making his third NFL start, Peterman went 5 for 18 for 24 yards and two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 0.0.
Allen was 6 for 15 for 74 yards in Buffalo’s most lopsided defeat since a 56-10 loss to New England in November 2007.
Baltimore had six sacks and limited Buffalo to 153 yards.
The Ravens and Bills both finished 9-7 last year, but Buffalo won the tiebreaker and earned its first playoff berth since 1999.
Since then, however, Buffalo traded quarterback Tyrod Taylor and had to replace two starting offensive linemen.
The result: LeSean McCoy rushed for 22 yards on seven carries and the Bills had 70 yards passing.
Buffalo won the opening coin toss, deferred until the second half and subsequently offered little resistance while Baltimore mounted a 10-play drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown run by Alex Collins.
Baltimore quickly added a 7-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to John Brown, who was signed as a free agent after playing with Arizona last year.
A 51-yard punt return by rookie Janarion Grant set up a field goal in the second quarter, and Baltimore added another field goal after an interception by Tony Jefferson in Buffalo territory.
Michael Crabtree made a tippytoe catch in the back corner of the end zone for a 12-yard TD late in the half, and Willie Snead scored on a 13-yard catch to make it 33-0 in the third quarter.
Crabtree was signed in March after a three-year run with Oakland, and Snead was secured as a restricted free agent from New Orleans.
Injuries Bills:
CB Taron Johnson left with a shoulder injury and did not return.
Rookie watch Bills:
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is the first Bills rookie with a sack in the season opener since 2002 and first with a forced fumble since 2013.
Ravens: Before entering in the third quarter, Jackson was used sporadically — mostly as a decoy, although he did run once (for no gain) and throw an incomplete pass.
Up next
Buffalo opens its home schedule against the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.
Baltimore travels to Cincinnati for a Thursday night matchup between American Football Conference North rivals.