Bills and Ravens Renew Rivalry as Allen Meets Jackson in NFL Clash
In the NFL, the Buffalo Bills host the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams have long chased a Super Bowl berth while often being stopped by the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Buffalo Bills (5-1) and the Baltimore Ravens (4-3) meet this weekend in the NFL, the top American football league in the United States. The game is in Buffalo and pits two elite quarterbacks against each other: Bills star Josh Allen and Ravens star Lamar Jackson. Both have won the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, yet neither has reached the Super Bowl, the league's championship game. It is unclear whether Jackson will return after an ankle injury that has kept him out for three games.
A shared obstacle
Since 2020, Buffalo has lost twice in the AFC Championship Game and four times in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, with four of those defeats coming against the Kansas City Chiefs. Baltimore has twice lost to the Bills in the Divisional Round and fell to the Chiefs in the 2023 AFC Championship Game.
The Bills have beaten the Ravens in three straight home meetings. In Week One last season, Buffalo overturned a 15-point deficit to win 41-40, scoring 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes. In January 2025, the Bills also won 27-25 in the Divisional Round.
Bills: strong offense, struggling defense
Through seven weeks Allen has thrown for 1,504 yards and nine touchdowns with four interceptions. He also leads all quarterbacks with 240 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns. Joe Brady, who replaced Sean McDermott as head coach in January, runs the offense, which ranks first in the league in scoring. The defense, now under new coordinator Jim Leonard, ranks second-worst in several categories.
Ravens: a loss and open questions
Baltimore comes off a 35-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals after leading by 13 points at half-time. Jackson started the season with 967 passing yards and six touchdowns against one interception. Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who signed a four-year, $140m extension, has 608 yards this season. Running back Derrick Henry has managed only 103 rushing yards in the past two games.
