USA TODAY International Edition
Jackson, Ravens knocked flat by big plays
ORCHARD PARK, N. Y. – There was no dramatic comeback. No remarkable recovery for Lamar Jackson. No miracle cure.
Just a cold, stiff wind and the reality that there was no getting up off the mat this time around for the Baltimore Ravens quarterback.
The Buffalo Bills are headed to the AFC title game for the first time in 27 years after a 17- 3 victory on Saturday night was fortified by a defense that upstaged the NFL’s reigning MVP and left him with an injury on top of the insult – Jackson was knocked out of the contest after suffering a concussion on the final play of the third quarter.
“It’s just a sucky moment,” Ravens receiver Willie Snead summed up of Jackson’s departure. “The competitor that he is, I know he wanted to be out there, trying to help us win. I know he was frustrated with that.”
Make that a double dose of frustration.
Jackson couldn’t lead the Ravens to as much as a touchdown against a much- maligned Bills defense that kept him bottled up in the pocket for much of the night. And when Jackson drove the Ravens to their best opportunity to score a touchdown in the third quarter that might have tied the game, the game changed just like that.
Taron Johnson stepped in front of a third- down pass to Mark Andrews in the middle of the end zone, then commenced to race an NFL playoff- tyingrecord 101 yards with the interception return to blow open a tight game.
Josh Allen, the Bills quarterback, called it “potentially a franchise- altering play.”
Maybe that’s not hyperbole. It was clearly one of the biggest plays in the history of a franchise that has four Super Bowl berths to its credit and prob
ably the most clutch play by a Bills defender in a quarter- century, since they last had playoff home games here.
And just think: For an instant, the third- year cornerback hesitated and thought about playing it safe and taking a knee for a touchback.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Johnson explained during his postgame Zoom conference. “I caught the ball and looked down. Then I looked up and saw nothing but green grass.”
Just one Raven even had a prayer of a shot at preventing the pick- six – Jackson, who was ultimately cut off and shielded by Tre’Davious White after Johnson slowed down just enough to allow his fellow Bills cornerback to catch up. Turns out, it was the final score of a night that included four missed field goals, at least two shanked punts and a few wind- aided incompletions as Northern gusts swirled inside Bills Stadium.
It was a championship play that
swung all the momentum after the Ravens had consumed nearly nine minutes on the drive before the turnover.
A few minutes later, the Ravens were really doomed. On the ensuing possession, Jackson picked up an errant shotgun snap and tried to salvage an incompletion in the face of a heavy rush. He retreated nearly to his goal line, as Tremaine Edmunds barreled in. As he threw the ball away in desperation, he was flagged for intentional grounding … and pounded by Trent Murphy. Disaster was compounded as Jackson’s head crashed to the turf. And he was finished.
The Bills’ formula for winning an eighth consecutive game was hardly predictable. The offense that has been so prolific for much of the season was limited to just 220 yards, which is where a 4- for- 13 third- down conversion rate can get you. The running game was nonexistent, totaling 32 yards and 2 yards per carry. Sure, Stefon Diggs, the NFL’s leading receiver, had his all- pro vibe with 8 catches for 106 yards. And while Allen, the league’s most improved quarterback, wasn’t spectacular ( 23 of 37, 206 yards, 1 TD), he avoided the big mistake.
Yet for much of the game, the Ravens – who hogged the clock for the first three quarters with a 2- to- 1 edge in possession – seemed poised to take control of the game. If only they could pop a few big plays. Usually, that’s where Jackson comes in.
But this wasn’t a typical night for Baltimore. Justin Tucker, the NFL’s most reliable kicker over the past decade, missed two field goals. Jackson burned the Bills with a 15- yard run up the middle on a third- and- 14, but that was an aberration. The Bills kept Jackson largely contained by sealing off escape routes on the perimeter, often collapsing the pocket with a consistent rush off the edge.
The interception came on one such case of duress. And even on the play before the pick, Jackson was rushed into an ill- advised throw across his body to Marquise Brown over the middle that lost steam and fell incomplete.
“It takes 11 guys,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said.
McDermott wouldn’t divulge particulars of the strategy employed against Jackson, but the results were revealing. Besides the aforementioned 15- yard run, Jackson ran for 19 yards on 8 carries. He was sacked three times and hit eight times. His efficiency rating was a scant 61.4, bogged down by the pick six.
“We wanted to make sure we knew where he was at all times,” McDermott said.
Easier said and drawn up than done. But the Bills managed to pull it off, which was essential on a night when the offense wasn’t clicking on all cylinders.
The Bills demonstrated what it takes to win championships. Complementary football.
“Our defense came up huge,” Allen said, “It doesn’t matter how you get it done, as long as you win.”
Yes, it’s all about survival. Especially now. One way or another.