By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Reaction to the Bills’ stunning 41-40 comeback win over the Ravens Sunday night at Highmark Stadium has been interesting to say the least.
The game, inarguably, was in the Top 10 victories of the franchise’s 66-year history … probablyTop 3.
Normally, a win of that magnitude — after trailing by 15 with under 12 minutes to play — will engender a fan base with at least a temporary sense of selective myopia — before reality sets in.
Not this time.
Talk show callers, while thrilled with the victory, were appalled with the way Buffalo’s defense was abused.
For the record, Baltimore scored on seven of its first eight possessions and even with Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s otherworldly fourth quarter — 261 passing yards — the Ravens averaged more per play (8.4 yards to 6.8), were better on third-down conversions (6-of-11 to 7-of-15) and took only 48 minutes of time of possession to put up 40 points while stampeding Buffalo for 238 rushing yards, over eight per carry.
IN A WAY, it doesn’t matter as the Bills are the only team in the AFC East with a victory and the priority has to be not wasting it.
Incredibly, Buffalo has positioned itself to fashion a 7-game win streak until it hosts Kansas City — which lost its opener in Brazil and had two wide freceivers injured — Nov. 2.
With the victory over Baltimore tucked away, next up are a visit to the Jets, and home games with Miami, New Orleans and New England, all 0-1. That’s followed by visits to winless Atlanta and Carolina.
The Dolphins and Falcons are capable of springing an upset but the schedule sets itself up perfectly for Buffalo. After that, the going gets tougher.
Even if the Bills stumble to 4-6 or 5-5 — facing both Super Bowl teams among five playoff franchises — in their final 10 games, if it starts 7-0, that’s an 11- or 12-win season, plenty enough to claim a sixth straight division title in the decidedly weak AFC East.
BACK TO the talk-show callers, virtually all were in agreement that if the Bills can’t figure out a way to stop the run, the defense is in big trouble.
Indeed, Joey Bosa, the edge rusher acquired in the off-season from the Chargers, went around the locker room after the game thanking every member of the offense for saving the D’s bacon.
But, in fairness, Buffalo’s defense wasn’t a total disaster. Tackle Ed Oliver, who has not been treated all that well by me in this space, might have had his best game starting his seventh season as a pro.
Not only did he cause the momentum-changing fumble by Ravens bull-dozing running back Derrick Henry (169 rushing yards, scoring runs of 30 and 46) , he also sacked Baltimore’s elusive quarterback Lamar Jackson, logged three tackles for loss and, impressively, all six of his tackles were solos.
Also standing out was rookie cornerback Dorian Strong, the sixth-round pick, who started in place of injured Tre’ Davious White (leg) who was supposed to take over for first-round pick Maxwell Hairston (knee) currently on injured reserve. Strong held up well against a solid receiving corps and logged four tackles.
The same couldn’t be said for starting safeties Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop who played on their heels all night.
TWO PLAYERS looked good on offense as second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman, after a tough rookie campaign, caught eight balls for 112 yards including a deflected touchdown.
The other standout was Jackson Hawes, the rookie via Yale and Georgia Tech has become Buffalo’s best blocking tight end, but against Baltimore he made one dazzling catch, a 29-yarder from Josh Allen that went to the Ravens 1-yard line to set up the TD that made it a two-point game.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
