It was cinema on Sunday Night Football.
The Buffalo Bills rallied to beat Baltimore Ravens 41-40 in pure chaos, after trailing by 15 points with under four minutes to play.
It was MVP Josh Allen’s ability to beat the blitz and one critical turnover that keyed Buffalo’s fourth-quarter comeback.
Allen, in just the fourth quarter alone, went nuclear, going 16 of 21 passing for 269 scrimmage yards and three total touchdowns.
Blitzing Buffalo
Baltimore loves to show mugs looks — having an extra player or players on the line of scrimmage appearing as if they are ready to blitz.
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On this play, Baltimore goes cover 0 — a blitz where they have a free rusher (Kyle Van Noy).
Allen responded by making the correct hot read — a one read towards the first option with a blitzing defense. The Ravens didn’t account for James Cook, and that left a five-on-four blocking advantage for Buffalo that turned into a 50-yard catch-and-run.
Finishing Out the Final Seconds
Later, with the ball on the Ravens’ 34-yard line, Baltimore had the right idea to send the heat to try to knock Buffalo out of field goal range.
They have All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton on another mug look. It’s a true blitz that Allen recognizes and immediately gets rid of the football.
Because of the all-out blitz, the middle of the field is going to be open and having Keon Coleman run a slant into open space was the perfect answer.
Coleman wins his one-on-one matchup to set up Matt Prater’s walk-off field goal.
Sizzling Offenses
Three of Buffalo’s four second-half touchdown drives went at least eight plays and 60 yards. The fourth touchdown was off Derrick Henry’s fumble that gave them a short field.
“We knew that they weren’t going to really bite on any double moves,” Allen said in the postgame interview. “So we had to be methodical.”
Baltimore threw haymakers at Buffalo’s defense, scoring on seven of their 11 possessions, including five straight scores to begin the game.
All Buffalo needed was one turnover in a shootout and they got it.
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It’s situational football — Baltimore wants to burn the clock with their run game and Buffalo had nine defenders in the box.
The man who caused the fumble — Ed Oliver — is in a “2i” technique where he is lined up on the inside shoulder of the right guard. Oliver ignores Derrick Henry’s stiff arm attempts and has a great angle to jar the ball free.
There were some head scratching decisions by the Ravens, but credit the Bills for putting together a masterclass in the final four minutes.
With Buffalo’s comeback win in the rearview mirror, the matchup will certainly go down as one of the best Sunday Night Football games ever.
Leave no doubt, these two juggernauts will battle it out in January again.
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