close
close

Derrick Henry is one of the biggest winners of the Ravens vs. Bills game

Posted on by Vanessa
Derrick Henry is one of the biggest winners of the Ravens vs. Bills game

play

The Buffalo Bills entered Week 4 of the 2024 NFL season as the hottest team in the league. The Baltimore Ravens stopped them immediately.

The Ravens earned a stunning victory over their AFC counterparts at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore defeated Buffalo 35-10 in a game in which the Ravens never trailed. Derrick Henry ran for nearly 200 yards while Lamar Jackson had another strong, efficient performance, earning a 135.4 passer rating.

The Bills fell to 3-1 after the loss, while the Ravens improved to 2-2 after starting the season with consecutive losses. The contest could ultimately prove crucial to the AFC playoff race, especially as Baltimore inches closer to the top of the AFC North.

NFL WEEK 4: 32 things we learned, including an NFC team that broke away from the pack

Here's a look at the winners and losers of the Bills vs. Ravens game, from players to coaches to teams that didn't take the field Sunday night.

Bills vs. Ravens winners

Derrick Henry

Any suggestion that Henry might start to slow down in his 30-year-old season seems ridiculous after his appearance on “Sunday Night Football.” Henry used the Ravens' first offensive play 87 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest run in Baltimore's franchise history, breaking the previous 82-yard record set by Jamal Lewis and Le'Ron McClain.

Henry showed that he still has excellent top speed by reaching a top speed of 21.29 miles per hour during the run. That's the fourth-fastest run by a ball carrier so far in 2024, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats.

From that game on, Henry continued to shoulder a heavy workload for the Ravens. He recorded 24 carries for 199 yards and two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air. He was just one yard away from his seventh career 200-yard rushing game, which would have been enough for the best in NFL history.

It's clear that Henry's ability to shoulder the workload frees up Jackson while opening up the field for him. The duo complement each other well. As long as both stay healthy, Baltimore will have one of the best running games in the NFL. This could greatly help them in their quest for the Super Bowl in the age of two-high safety.

BALTIMORE RAVENS: Behind the dominant Derrick Henry, the Ravens are becoming a formidable force

Lamar Jackson

Henry may have been the driving force behind Baltimore's offense on Sunday, but Jackson was also great. He was efficient through the air, completing 13 of 18 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 54 yards and a score on the ground.

Jackson's efficiency made him the NFL's MVP last season, even though he didn't have outstanding stats. He appears to be well on his way to re-establishing himself as one of the league's most important players, especially as he develops a harmonious relationship with Henry.

Zach Orr's Ravens defense

Like Henry, the Ravens' defense faced many questions heading into the 2024 NFL season, but fans' biggest concern was how Baltimore would replace Mike Macdonald after he took over the head coaching job of the Seattle Seahawks.

The Ravens decided to promote from within and gave the job to Orr, who played three years for the Ravens before joining their coaching staff. While Baltimore's defense started slowly, it has gradually improved and is now playing at a high level, as evidenced by the containment of a once explosive Buffalo offense.

The Bills managed just 236 yards of total offense against Orr's defense. They also held Josh Allen without a touchdown for the first time since Urban Meyer's Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Bills 9-6 in 2021 and saw veteran edge rusher Kyle Van Noy record two sacks for the third straight game.

If Baltimore can continue to make progress each week, the Ravens' stopping unit should eventually be one of the best in the NFL. If successful, John Harbaugh can certainly thank the 32-year-old Orr for continuing the work Macdonald began.

Kansas City Chiefs

Look, it may seem strange to call the Chiefs winners on a day when they may have lost their No. 1 receiver to a torn ACL, but they are the last undefeated team in the AFC. It's still very early in the season, but that still gives them an advantage in the hunt for the conference's No. 1 seed.

This was the best result for the Chiefs, as they had already beaten the Ravens head-to-head, leaving them with a two-game lead and a tiebreaker over Baltimore, while now adding a one-game lead over Buffalo. Again, it's still early, but given the injuries Kansas City has suffered, every little advantage will matter to them as they try to win a third straight Super Bowl.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Rashee Rice's injury opens the door for Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy

Bills vs. Ravens losers

Perception of the Buffalo Bills

Three weeks into the 2024 NFL season, many were saying that the Bills were the best team in the NFL. They were one of the five undefeated teams in the league after Week 3 and Josh Allen was arguably playing at the highest level of his career.

Starting in Week 4, the narrative around the bills could change significantly. Why? That's because the three teams Buffalo faced earlier in the season – the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and Jaguars – all endured defensive woes that weren't just limited to their games against the Bills. This will lead some to question whether the Bills' offense benefited from a weaker-than-expected schedule earlier in the year.

Of course that's not entirely fair. The Bills still beat the Dolphins and Jaguars, and Allen didn't throw an interception in four weeks, a major step forward from the decision-making problems that have plagued him throughout his career. The Ravens also have one of the most talented defenses in the league.

But chances are Buffalo's crushing loss to Baltimore will at least put the Bills in doubt, and NFL fans should expect to hear plenty of that before Buffalo's Week 5 game against the Houston Texans.

The Bills' pass-catching weapons

To be clear, that wasn't the case with Buffalo's receivers bad on Sunday evening. Khalil Shakir made a great 52-yard play to jump-start the Bills' offense in the second half; Dalton Kincaid was a reliable target for Allen and helped keep the chains moving; and Keon Coleman showed some of the upside that made him a second-round pick.

Still, this was the first game in which the Bills missed Stefon Diggs. Going down 21-3, Buffalo didn't have a player who could win and consistently lead. And while Shakir, Kincaid and Coleman were all solid, the Bills lacked a true No. 1 receiver to help them break through.

That's one of the reasons Allen had to scramble around in the backfield so much. He waited for the players to open. That's also why he made several downfield shots with contested catches against Coleman throughout the contest.

Maybe Coleman can develop into more of a No. 1 option for Buffalo as the season progresses, but right now the Bills aren't exactly built to overcome major deficits or score a lot with great defenses. Even a great quarterback like Allen will only be able to take Buffalo so far without a true top receiver.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers suffered their first loss of the season in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts. The loss could have been a positive if Baltimore had also lost, but the blowout win puts the Ravens just one game behind the Steelers North standings in the AFC.

Again, it's still early in the season, but every game will count in the AFC playoff race. The Steelers entered Week 4 in command of the AFC North, but will now exit as things get significantly tighter in an increasingly competitive division.

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *