Ravens get their ‘D on; rout 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.
Joe Flacco threw three touchdown passes, one to each of the new receivers Baltimore added during the offseason to enhance a lackluster passing attack.
Flacco went 25 for 34 for 236 yards before being replaced in the third quarter by rookie Lamar Jackson, who did little more than hand off the ball after entering with a 40-0 lead.
Making its debut under defensive coordinator Don Martindale, the Ravens held Buffalo to 33 yards and no first downs in going up 26-0 at the half.
LeSean McCoy finished with 22 yards on seven carries and the Bills had 70 yards passing.
“Well, you have to stop the run first, especially against the Bills,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
“LeSean McCoy is a threat — you have to start with that. Then you have to get to the quarterback and make him throw quick. That’s what our guys were able to do to-
day.”
Making his third NFL start, Peterman went 5 for 18 for 24 yards and two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 0.0.
After Baltimore followed two Buffalo miscues with a pair of touchdowns for a 40-0 lead, coach Sean McDermott turned to rookie Josh Allen, who went 6 for 15 for 74 yards in Buffalo’s most lopsided defeat since a 56-10 loss to New England in November 2007.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a good showing,” Peterman said. “We’ve got to do a lot better, starting with me.”
Allen wasn’t much better, but there’s a quarterback controversy brewing in Buffalo. Asked about a possible change in starters, McDermott replied, “I’m going to look at everything . ... It’s too early to go one way or another.”
Baltimore had six sacks and limited Buffalo to 153 yards.
“Whatever they threw at us, we were able to answer.” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “We just executed on defense.”
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, the Bills sent quarterback Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland and had to replace two starting offensive linemen.
The new-look Bills were not very pretty.
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 8-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 tippy-toe 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.