For the very first time in almost thirty years, the Buffalo Costs are headed back to the AFC National Championship. Compared with the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night, the conference’s No. 2-seeded competitors were not best in windy Orchard Park. Josh Allen and Co. handled simply 3 points in an unpredictable very first half, and even after Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson left in the 4th quarter due to a concussion, the Costs almost enabled novice backup Tyler Huntley to pull Baltimore within one rating. Still, Buffalo showed up huge when it counted, with Allen discovering Stefon Diggs for the only offending rating of the night and Taron Johnson making NFL history with a 101-yard interception return for a goal– quickly the most huge play in a 17-3 Divisional Round triumph.
Jackson, who was flagged for deliberate grounding on his last play after a bad breeze required him towards his own goal line, had a hard time to raise the Ravens out of an offending depression that appeared from the beginning. Allen, on the other hand, wasn’t almost as fatal through the air as he’s frequently been throughout an MVP-caliber 2020 project however handled the ball all right. The Costs’ defense, on the other hand, truly revealed out in the house, logging 2 fourth-down stops and sterilizing among the video game’s leading ground attacks to not just lead however maintain the win.
Here are some immediate takeaways from Saturday night’s historical Costs triumph:
Why the Costs won
That defense, male. It’s sort of amusing how Sean McDermott’s valued system essentially took a rear seats to Josh Allen’s rocket-armed offending display this year, just to resurface here and nearly actually win the Costs their very first AFC title-game quote because 1993. Everybody played well, from Micah Hyde collapsing on wideouts to Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds including Lamar Jackson to Tre’Davious White and Taron Johnson (!) suffocating the passing windows. Allen sufficed to handle the lead after getting in touch with Diggs to top among the night’s couple of smooth drives, and both Diggs and John Brown appeared, however this one was everything about Buffalo’s “D.” Johnson will be a staple in Costs tradition for that pick-six.
Why the Ravens lost
Their offense was sorely one-dimensional– and not even excellent in its one measurement. Greg Roman might have taken the NFL by storm when he released Jackson as the focal point of an unrelenting hurrying attack back in 2019, however young boy did this entire operation appearance stagnant and stagnant. It didn’t assist that Matt Skura relatively forgot to snap at different points in the video game, however from Jackson on down, the entire thing did not have flair. Neither Jackson nor Gus Edwards nor J.K. Dobbins struck 45 lawns on the ground, and No. 8’s periodic speed burst could not offset an aerial video game that was non-existent aside from a couple of Marquise Brown cameos. Jackson leaving early wasn’t as frustrating as it might’ve been, with backup Tyler Huntley a minimum of taking shots downfield, however make no error: This loss was directly on Baltimore’s failure to do anything with the ball, especially during drives deep in Buffalo territory.
Turning point
None aside from the pick-six. The whole very first half was awful for both sides, however the Ravens lastly seemed knocking on the door at the end of the 3rd. Chewing up almost 9 minutes of clock on a 15-play drive all the method to Buffalo’s 9-yard line, Baltimore didn’t simply stop working to transform a third-and-goal end-zone shot, which would’ve connected the video game had it adopted a TD. It likewise provided the Costs an unimaginable momentum swing, not to discuss 6 points, when Jackson inexplicably tossed into triple protection and saw Taron Johnson race the choice 101 lawns to pay dirt. Up 17-3 after the takeaway, the Costs never ever recalled.
Play of the video game
You need to currently understand. Offer it up for Johnson, who’s engraved himself into the history books:
What’s next
The Costs will handle the winner of Sunday’s Browns-Chiefs match in the AFC Champion, with a chance at representing the conference in the Super Bowl. The Ravens, on the other hand, will start their 2021 offseason with some significant concerns about the sustainability of Roman’s offense and/or Jackson’s pocket-passing capabilities.
