ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Something tells me the Buffalo Bills won’t overlook their next opponents by obsessing too much about meeting the Kansas City Chiefs a week later.
Moments after dismissing the Denver Broncos 31-7 from the opening playoff round Sunday, the Bills already had the Baltimore Ravens on their minds.
“They put a thumping on us during the year,” quarterback Josh Allen said matter-of-factly.
“They handled us pretty good the first go-round,” coach Sean McDermott said.
That was almost four months ago. The Ravens waylaid them in M&T Stadium by 25 points, the Bills’ most lopsided loss in three years. They’ll meet next Saturday or Sunday in Highmark Stadium because the Bills finished with a better record, but have not gotten credit for being a better team.
Granted, the Bills are favored by 1.5 points, but that’s because they’re the home team. The spread opened at two points, so most of the early money is on the Ravens and eventually could make them the favorites. On a neutral field, Las Vegas would book this game as a coin flip.
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Buffalo also has been stiff-armed throughout individual award season so far, causing many fans to kvetch over the possibility Allen will lose the MVP to Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson. Despite winning 13 games and a fifth straight AFC East title, no Bills were selected first-team All-Pro, while Allen took a backseat to Jackson as their lone second-teamer. Allen and left tackle Dion Dawkins were the only Bills voted to the Pro Bowl. The Ravens have four first- and two second-team All-Pros and nine Pro Bowlers.
Allen arrived at Highmark Stadium on Sunday morning in an FEA hoodie. They are made by Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo’s clothing brand, Enchante, and the abbreviation stands for “F— ‘Em All.”
For most of McDermott’s tenure, but especially this season, the Bills have been extraordinarily effective at living in the moment. They find ways to compartmentalize. They lock into the next opponent. They rarely get distracted. They’re never unprepared. Yes, they commit in-game mental gaffes, but it’s not because they were screwing off.
That’s part of the reason Sunday felt more like Week 19 more than it did the playoffs. Buffalo was methodical. Even when rookie quarterback Bo Nix stunned Highmark Stadium with a 43-yard touchdown to Troy Franklin just 2:24 into the game and trailed 10-7 at halftime, Buffalo never seemed fazed.
The Bills pounded out 210 rushing yards and kept the ball for almost 42 minutes. You might see those numbers and assume Allen contributed huge chunks, but he ran eight times for 46 yards. James Cook had 23 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown and became the first Bills player since Thurman Thomas in December 1995 to rush for triple digits in the postseason.
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Defensively, the Bills were sharp and clean. They recorded only four quarterback hits, zero interceptions, zero pass breakups and zero forced fumbles, but — rookie quarterback or not — the Broncos were no joke. Sean Payton’s offense ranked third in scoring from Week 11 onward, averaging 32.6 points.
Buffalo gained 247 more yards than Denver did, the largest postseason gulf in club history and the NFL’s widest in 10 years.
Sunday was about as ho-hum as a dominant performance could be.
And the reason it felt that way is because Denver doesn’t matter. Never did. To win the AFC, to reach the Super Bowl and perhaps win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy, the Bills and their fans always have known Baltimore and Kansas City must be conquered.
“This is what everyone’s been waiting for, right?” McDermott said with an uncontainable smile.
The Ravens, particularly bruising runner Derrick Henry, humiliated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night. Jackson also was magnificent, as usual. Allen said he didn’t watch the game because he wanted to rest up for Sunday, but the reminder was stark for the rest of us.
“We’ve got a really, really good Baltimore Ravens team coming here,” Allen said. “They put the thumping on us during the year. We know that, and we understand that. So it’s the most important game just because it’s the next one.”
McDermott has been masterful at getting his club to compartmentalize. The Bills put that Baltimore defeat in a closet, didn’t dwell on it, didn’t open that door until about 4 p.m. Sunday.
Asked about his initial thoughts on playing the Ravens again, cornerback Rasul Douglas replied: “I don’t have any. I’m just going to watch some tape, see what’s up.”
After the Ravens beat them in late September, the Bills lost a week later to the Houston Texans in NRG Stadium, but didn’t have top receiver Khalil Shakir, defensive tackle Ed Oliver or safety Taylor Rapp. Backup safety Cole Bishop got burned by Nico Collins for a long touchdown. Stuff happened, but it wasn’t because of any Baltimore hangover.
The Bills cannot sneak deep into the tournament. They must earn it, and they sounded eager to prove themselves.
In the Highmark Stadium locker room, still sweaty and glowing from what they’d done to the Broncos, thoughts had begun turning toward the Ravens rematch.
“I love good-on-good football,” Dawkins said. “We’re juggernauts. When they’re coming into town or we go to their spot, the intensity is up. I love it. I love it when the intensity is high.
“We know that the Ravens are one of the best teams for this chance to win it all, just like we are, just like the Chiefs, just like the Lions. We know who the real, real contenders are, which, honestly, is everybody in the playoffs, but we can’t not think about it.”
(Top photo: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images)
