Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, and the Buffalo Bills pulled away in the second half to beat the Baltimore Ravens 36-10 on Sunday, November 1, at Highmark Stadium. The game turned on Baltimore’s first snap, when Lamar Jackson jammed his right thumb on the arm of Buffalo pass rusher Greg Rousseau.
Buffalo improves to 6-1, leads the AFC East and is off to its ninth 6-1 start in franchise history. Baltimore falls to 4-4 and has lost three straight. Coach Jesse Minter said after the game that Jackson needs surgery on his right thumb and is going on injured reserve, and he could miss the rest of the season.
A messy first half
Jackson threw one incomplete pass and did not return. Tyler Huntley took over, and Buffalo scored on its first drive when Allen ran in from the 1 on fourth-and-goal; a Khalil Shakir touchdown catch one play earlier had been overturned on replay. Tyler Bass added a 56-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.
Allen then gave Baltimore a short field. On the first play of a drive from his own 16, his pass for tight end Jackson Hawes was intercepted by Broderick Washington Jr. at the 17. Derrick Henry scored from the 2 two plays later to make it 10-7. It was the 136th touchdown from scrimmage of Henry’s career, tying Marshall Faulk for fourth on the all-time list.
The Ravens lost Huntley early in the second quarter. Cole Bishop sacked him and forced a fumble that Kaleb Elarms-Orr recovered at the Baltimore 20, and Huntley left with a toe injury. That put emergency third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano, an undrafted rookie from Connecticut, into his first NFL game.
Buffalo still could not pull away before halftime. Bass kicked a 22-yarder after the Huntley fumble, and Baltimore’s Tyler Loop hit the left upright on a 34-yard try. DJ Moore lost a fumble at the Baltimore 20 after a 19-yard catch, but Davison Igbinosun intercepted Fagnano on the next series, and Bass made a 51-yard field goal with 9 seconds left for a 16-7 lead. “We’re going into halftime, just saying, ‘Hey, we’re way better than this,'” Allen said.
Allen takes over in the second half
Loop opened the third quarter with a 26-yard field goal after a Henry touchdown run was wiped out by a holding penalty. From there, it was all Buffalo. The Bills went 77 yards in six plays, and James Cook III scored from the 5 to make it 23-10.
Early in the fourth, Allen found Moore for an 11-yard touchdown on third-and-8. It was Moore’s first game back after missing two games with a shoulder injury. The Bills then stopped Baltimore on fourth down at midfield, and Allen converted a fourth-and-1 before throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid with 5:58 left to make it 36-10. The Ravens’ last drive ended when Fagnano fumbled a snap.
The numbers
- Josh Allen: 21 of 34 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, plus 30 rushing yards and a touchdown. He now has 260 career touchdown passes including the playoffs, passing Jim Kelly’s franchise record of 258.
- Bills receivers: Kincaid had four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, Moore four for 82 and a touchdown, and Shakir five for 64.
- James Cook III: 21 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.
- Tyler Bass: 3 of 3 on field goals (56, 22 and 51 yards). He has made 21 in a row, breaking the franchise record of 18.
- Bills defense: four sacks, an interception, two fumble recoveries and a fourth-down stop. Rousseau, Landon Jackson, Cole Bishop and TJ Parker each had a sack; Igbinosun had the interception.
- Ravens quarterbacks: Fagnano went 10 of 21 for 91 yards with an interception and a lost fumble; Huntley was 2 of 4 for no yards before he was hurt.
- Ravens offense: Henry ran 11 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. Zay Flowers, fifth in the league in receiving yards entering the week, was held without a catch on five targets. Roquan Smith had 11 tackles.
Baltimore finished with 144 total yards and 68 passing yards, and it turned the ball over three times. Buffalo outgained the Ravens 426-144 and held the ball for 37:36. The Bills’ defense had given up 29 or more points in five of its first six games, so this was a much-needed performance.
What it means
Allen won his 102nd game including the playoffs, moving past Tom Brady for third among players through their first nine seasons. “With Josh, we’re spoiled, right?” Bills coach Joe Brady said. “He literally is one of one.”
Baltimore’s problems are much bigger than one loss. Jackson had just come back from missing three games with an ankle injury, Huntley’s status is uncertain, and the Ravens play again on Thursday night. “If it’s Joe, we got a lot of belief in Joe, whoever it is,” Minter said. Cornerback Nate Wiggins was also evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter, and Buffalo receiver Josh Palmer was ruled out with a right hamstring injury.
What comes next
Baltimore hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, November 5. Buffalo plays at the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, November 9.
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