Latest / Bills Mafia Carolina TAKEOVER / Bills vs Ravens Preview | Can Josh Allen Outscore Baltimore? | BRING IT
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- riverside magic episode 03 bills mafia carolin: Five and one coming off the bye week. And the Baltimore Ravens are coming to Buffalo. Now the Ravens have two have lost two straight. They're sitting at four and three, and they just got embarrassed by Cincinnati Bengals. But does anyone really believe that means this game is going to be an easy game? Not me, because Ravens still got King Henry. They still got Zay Flowers, and there's a pretty good chance. Lamar Jackson is back under center. And on Buffalo side, as much as I love the five and one record, we've got some things we need to figure out ourselves, especially on defense. So can the Bills come out of the bye, take care of business at home, and send Baltimore to their third straight loss? We're breaking it all down right now on bring it. Bills are coming off their bye at five and one. Baltimore comes in four and three, having dropped two straight games. And listen, I don't care what Baltimore record is, because when you have that kind of talent that they have, particularly on offense, they're dangerous every single week. But I also want to talk about something that's starting to bother me with Buffalo. We're five and one, which is fantastic, right? But are we actually playing like a complete football team? Because right now the offense has been doing a whole lot of heavy lifting. Let's give the offense its credit. Okay. So the Bills are averaging 32.8 points per game. That's number one in the NFL. Josh Allen is, doing Josh Allen things. He's already got over 1,500 yards passing, nine passing touchdowns, and eight rushing touchdowns. We know all that, right? Then you got James Cook, who's already over 600 yards rushing. offensively, what more could we ask for? But here's the problem. Buffalo is also allowing 28.5 points per game on the other side of the ball. Think about that for a second. We're averaging almost 33 points offensively, but we're giving up almost 29. And in two games leading into the bye, we beat the Rams 3734 and the Raiders 3330. Those are wins. I'm absolutely taking them. But Does anyone really want to be sweating out every game in the fourth quarter because we can't get a defensive stop? I know I don't. So at some point, the defense has got to make life easier for Josh Allen. And I've said this all through the offseason. And what better time to start than coming off a bot? You get an extra week, defense gets prepared. Hopefully, Jim Leonard has enough time to address the coverage problems. Maybe even a little bit of the missed tackles. That's what I'm hoping for that we get coming from the bye. Now let's talk about Baltimore. First, the Ravens are coming off an ugly 35-13 loss to the Bengals. And when I say ugly, ugly. Baltimore was actually leading that game 13-0 at halftime. And then they proceeded to give up 35 unanswered points. 35. That's not just a bad half of football. That's a complete collapse. And here's the interesting number about the Ravens. The Ravens have a plus minus 65 scoring differential in the first half of the game. In the second half, minus 70. So whatever Baltimore is doing early in games is definitely not carrying over to the second half. But here's the thing the Ravens aren't coming to Buffalo to roll over, right? They're three and one on the road. Great record. And they're desperate to get their season back on track. And of course, we've got to talk about Lamar Jackson. Lamar has been working his way back from ankle injury. He's back practicing and he's expected to return this Sunday. And I don't see any reason why he wouldn't. In fact, they're probably waiting for this game to bring him back. And if he does, are we preparing for the real Lamar Jackson? Before the injury, he was completing 70% of his passes. With six touchdown passes and only one interception. But here's the question: how mobile is he going to be? Because we know that Lamar can do it with his legs. And if he's anywhere close to being healthy, we have to account for that. Then you got to talk about King Henry, right? 579 yards rushing, stepping rushing, touchdowns. And we know exactly what happens when you let this guy. Get going. We've seen it time and time again. But let's not forget Zay Floux, who's already got over 600 receiving yards. I'm gonna, I'm gonna put myself in as a Ravens fan's shoes for a minute. Right? Check this out. If I'm Baltimore, what am I looking at? Number one, I'm looking at this Buffalo defense and thinking we can move the football. Number two, I'm looking at King Henry and thinking we've got to get him involved early. Wear down the defensive front and keep Josh Allen standing on the sidelines. And if I'm Baltimore number three, I'm looking at the Bills offense and thinking we've got to force turnovers, settle them down in the red zone. Because we all know if you get if you get Josh Allen rolling, you're absolutely in trouble. But there's another problem that I see for Baltimore. They're facing an offense that's scoring more than 32 points a game. And they're coming off a game where their defense surrendered five straight touchdown drives in the second half. That's not exactly a confidence builder if you're a Ravens fan, right? So to me, Baltimore's biggest challenge isn't just Josh Allen. It's whether they can put together four complete quarters of football. Matchups that I'm looking at here, obviously I'm looking at King Henry versus the Buffalo's front seven. A new defensive scheme, new defensive front front seven. How does that match up with the Bills run defense from McDermott's past? And this is where I have some legitimate concerns because we know King Henry is big physical runner. He's run all over us in the past. I'm not too much worried about the first five yards. It's what happens when he gets through the first level. And then you get guys in the secondary trying to bring him down. And we already know what the secondary is like with his defense. So Henry in open space, no thank you. And we'll and with Lamar Jackson potentially back, that makes it a little bit even more complicated. Because when you start cheating towards Henry, that's when when a healthy Lamar can hurt you. Matchup two that I'm looking at, this is a big one. Zay Flowers versus Buffalo secondary. All right, Flowers is dangerous this year. Arguably, probably a different side of Baltimore we haven't seen. And when he gets his hand on the ball, he is dangerous. And Buffalo secondary has given up. Way too many big plays and penalties. We're obviously not gonna have CJ Gardner Johnson in there with a suspension. So that gives in Damar Hamlin. And you guys know how I feel about Damar Hamlin. So communication is obviously going to be absolutely critical here. I want to say there's gonna be no blown coverages, but it's going to be blown coverages, but no easy completions, no big gains. Then please, please, can we stop giving offenses free first down with defensive holding penalties? Okay, matchup number three. Josh Allen, James Cook versus Baltimore's defense. Now let's flip this around. As much as I'm concerned about the Buffalo's defense, I love what we're capable of doing on offense. James Cook, as I mentioned, has 627 rushing yards, averaging over five yards per carry. But Baltimore has been pretty good against the run, only allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game. So Cook is going to have to earn this one. And then obviously you got Superman, Josh Allen. Number 17. Baltimore has playmakers like Kyle Hamilton, Rokon Smith, Trey. This is not the same defense that we've seen in the past. So I want to see Buffalo be creative on here. Gotta get Dalton Kincaid in the mix here. He's been absent these last couple games. 100% has to be in there. You got to get Shakir involved. Really has been non-existent all year. The Bills got to spread the ball around. And if DJ Moore is healthy enough to get back on the field, that is gonna be a huge weapon for the Bills. But most importantly, And I think everybody doesn't want Josh Allen feeling like he's got to put the entire team on his shoulders, which he's been doing. So here are my five keys to victory for Sunday. First one, contain Lamar and Henry. Obviously, you're not going to be able to do both. My pick would be containing Henry. He's proven that he's been able to kill us there. So I say you let Lamar beat you versus King Henry running all over you. Lamar's coming from an injury, not sure how 100% he's going to be. And if Lamar is back. You got to make him prove that the ankle's ready without allowing him to dictate the entire game. Number two, got to clean up the secondary. And I'm not sure how this is all going to work out, but obviously, no, no more free first downs, right? There's going to be penalties and those kind of things. You got to take it. The biggest thing with the secondary is the blown coverages. And hopefully this bye week, not necessarily solve the issues, but help the bill secondary throughout there. All right, number three is gonna establish James Cook. Listen, I know Baltimore has a strong run defense. I mentioned it, but that doesn't mean you abandon the run. Cook is one of the best, if not the best, weapon besides Josh Allen right now. Keep beating him the ball, but you got to protect the football. And Minnie Mafia had mentioned this earlier this week. We can't afford unnecessary turnovers against a team like Baltimore. Cannot have it. Is Cook gonna fumble? Yeah, of course he's gonna fumble. But you got to keep it minimum. And the more successful we are running the football against Baltimore, the more dangerous Josh Allen becomes through the air. Number four, and this is a big one touchdowns, not field goal. Buffalo has the number one scoring offense in the league for a reason. And we're scoring touchdowns on 72% of red zone trips. that's incredible. That's fantastic. But against Baltimore, we've got to keep that going. I don't want to watch the Bills march down the field, get inside the 20, and start settling for three points. Because if this turns into another shootout like the past couple games that we've had, those four points missing can make all the difference in the world. And number five, finish the damn game. That's my biggest key. And I don't care if we're winning by three, seven, seventeen, twenty-one, thirty-five. Finish the damn game. Buffalo has given up way too much late in games, and Baltimore has been absolutely terrible in the second half of the season. So somebody's got to figure out how to play four competitive quarters. If we get the lead, don't start playing scared. Gotta keep attacking. I believe having this bye and Jim Letter being able to go back to the drawing board, I think we're gonna see that attacking defense that we want. Time for predictions. So I'm gonna go with first Bills touchdown. This is a tough one, but I'm gonna go with James Cook. I think Buffalo gets him involved early. He finds a way into the end zone. My surprise player, and this is gonna be a surprise for all you that have been listening. I'm actually gonna go with Damar Hamlin. He's stepping into an important role, and I think he has the opportunity to make a statement. At least make me wrong about the player that he is. Bills are gonna get One takeaway for Buffalo. So give me a force fumble by Greg Russo. And my player of the game is going to be Josh Allen. I know not exactly a shocking pick, but in these matchups, you want the football in number 17's hands. And that's why my he's my pick of player of the game. My score prediction here, I think Baltimore's gonna put up points. it's us, right? The Bills defense is reeling, and we don't know what it's gonna look like coming out of the body. So I do think Baltimore puts up points. But I do trust Josh Allen, and I think the Bills are the better football team on paper and maybe across the board on the offensive side. So I'm gonna go Buffalo 34, Baltimore 30. Bills will go six and one. And hopefully a little less drama than the last couple games here. But knowing this team will probably still be pacing around the living room or your garage or your man cave or whatever for the fourth quarter. All right, Bills Mafia, that's gonna do it for this week's episode of Bring It. I want to hear from you. What is your biggest concern going into Baltimore's matchup? Is it Derrick Henry? Is it Lamar Jackson? Is it Zay Flowers? Is it the Bills defense? Drop your score predictions in the comments and let me know who you think is going to be the difference maker on Sunday. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow here on YouTube. As well as Instagram and Facebook. I love all the comments there. I will reply back to all the comments whether you're Bills fan or not. I get a mix of both, and it's gonna be great. And I love it. So keep it coming. And don't forget, we'll be back with Mafia Mayhem to break everything down after this game next week. And until then, enjoy the game. Represent Bills Mafia wherever you're watching from. And as always, be good, do good. God bless and go Bills. That's a wrap on today's episode of Bill's Mafia Carolina Takeover. Thanks for tuning in and repping the Mafia with us. Don't forget to subscribe, drop your mafia mail, and join us next time as we bring the passion, the pride, and the power of the Buffalo Bills straight from the Carolinas. Let's go, Buffalo.