Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns, Buffalo’s defense forced three turnovers and the Bills advanced to the AFC Championship Game with a 27-25 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night.
The Bills were pinned when Mark Andrews dropped a two-point conversion pass from Lamar Jackson, allowing the ball to bounce off his chest with 1:33 left. Jackson connected with an Isaiah slider likely for a 24-yard touchdown on the previous play to give the Ravens a chance to tie the game.
The Bills advance to next Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the conference’s top seed, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo snapped a three-year streak of being eliminated in the divisional round. It’s a familiar matchup for Buffalo, which has been eliminated by Kansas City in three of the past four seasons. The Bills finished their season 10-0 at home. That included a 30-21 win over the previously undefeated Chiefs in Week 11.
Allen scored on one-yard and four-yard runs while Ray Davis also scored on one-yard runs. Tyler Bass hit two field goal attempts, including a 21-yarder with 3:29 remaining after a Bills stop at Baltimore’s two-yard line. This drive was set up by the Ravens’ third turnover, when linebacker Terrel Bernard stripped the ball from Andrews at the Buffalo 44.
“What about the Buffalo Bills defense?” said Allen, the Bills’ potential quarterback. “All year long, this team heard that we didn’t have any talent, that we were too small, that we couldn’t stop the run, that we weren’t good enough to compete. We just put our heads down and worked hard. I’m so proud of our defense. I’m so proud of our offense and our special teams. What a Total win.”
The Ravens had one of the most productive offenses in the NFL in the regular season, but fell short of a win short of reaching the conference title game, which they lost to the Chiefs a year ago. Scrutiny of Jackson’s performance in the playoffs would increase as he fell to 3-5 in the postseason. He had two turnovers in the first half in that loss, throwing an interception and losing a fumble, though opinions would have been different had Andrews stuck for the two-point conversion.
“Nobody cares more and fights harder than Mark,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Andrews. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Mark Andrews… It’s like anything else. Destiny is the decision you make, how you deal with what comes in life. And Mark will handle it wonderfully.”
Baltimore fell to 5-8 in the divisional round, including 1-4 in its last five games.
The Bills have continued to play complementary football to overcome a patchwork defense and an offense that has yet to reach 900 receiving yards this season. Buffalo finished the regular season with the league’s best turnovers plus 24. That continued Sunday with a turnover-free game from Allen and the Bills that was good enough to see them advance.