How did the Bills beat the Ravens? Josh Allen leads Buffalo to fourth quarter comeback

Daniel Mader

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How did the Bills beat the Ravens? Josh Allen leads Buffalo to fourth quarter comeback image

The Bills looked done at multiple points in the second half of Sunday's game.

Their Week 1 matchup against the Ravens was heavily expected to be the best game of the week, as two of the AFC's elite squads, and quarterbacks, went head-to-head. But through three quarters, Lamar Jackson had Baltimore fully in command. 

As the Ravens' dynamic offense stacked points upon points in Highmark Stadium, there were even Bills fans leaving Week 1 early. But then, Josh Allen did Josh Allen things. 

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Buffalo overcame a 15-point deficit that it faced multiple times, using some incredible plays from Allen down the stretch to steal a victory from Baltimore. With the thrilling comeback, the Bills begin their quest for a Super Bowl at 1-0.

Here's how the Bills came back against the Ravens in Week 1 of "Sunday Night Football" 

MORE: Lamar Jackson seen pushing a Bills fan in Week 1 matchup

How did the Bills beat the Ravens?

The Ravens' offense was the story of the game for a long time on Sunday night. Derrick Henry was stiff-arming Bills defenders, tracking for over 200 yards. Jackson was making incredible throws while dancing around the field, as usual. At halftime, it was 20-13 in Baltimore's favor.

Those trends even continued into the third quarter. Allen looked good, but wasn't doing anything particularly notable as the Ravens used a Zay Flowers touchdown, then a DeAndre Hopkins touchdown to take a commanding 34-19 lead into the final quarter.

That 15-point deficit was the Bills' largest of the night, and they had just 15 minutes to overcome it. First, Allen gave his squad some needed momentum with a rushing touchdown to begin the fourth quarter, but the Bills' two-point attempt failed.  

But initially, the Ravens had another answer. Henry sprinted for a 46-yard touchdown that made Buffalo's chances even tougher.  

Following consecutive punts from each team, the Bills got the ball with 7:16 remaining. That's where their real comeback began.

Allen led Buffalo down the field, connecting with Keon Coleman for 21 yards before another strike to the wide receiver that got deflected, but still landed in Coleman's hands in the end zone. That made it 40-32 in the Ravens' favor.

A massive swing came on the following drive. The Ravens had a chance to burn some clock, but Henry coughed up the ball. The fumble allowed the Bills to take over in a one-possession game.  

Allen took advantage of the turnover; following the two-minute warning and flew into the end zone on a QB sneak for his second rushing touchdown of the game. That made it 40-38, allowing the Bills to potentially tie the game with a two-point try. 

However, the two-point attempt was no-good, keeping the Bills down by two. 

Still, the Ravens couldn't close it out. They went three-and-out on their following drive, punting the ball right back to the Bills. Allen had a chance to win it with a field goal as the clock ticked away, and he found Joshua Palmer on a huge connection that put the squad in field-goal range.

 

And finally, after all the back-and-forth action, Buffalo closed it out with a field goal from its fill-in kicker: Matt Prater. Highmark Stadium exploded as the comeback was complete.

Bills comeback stats

The Bills' miraculous Week 1 comeback came with some impressive stats.

When there was 4:48 remaining in the fourth quarter, Buffalo owned a 99.1 percent chance at losing to Baltimore:

The 15-point comeback was also the Bills' first of that kind in the fourth quarter since 1967. 

On the other end of things, the collapse for the Ravens was also significant. Baltimore had multiple chances to close out the win, but couldn't do so. 

According to Benjamin Solak, Sunday's loss was the Ravens' eighth since the 2021 season in which they "at one point, had a win probability of at least 90%," which is three more than the next-closest team.

The Ravens had 40 points and 238 rushing yards in Sunday's game. According to Dante Koplowitz-Fleming, they became the first NFL team to ever loss a game while meeting those offensive thresholds.

Finally, for fans of "Scorigami" the NBC broadcast specified that Ravens vs. Bills marked the first time in NFL history that a game ended 41-40.

MORE: Derrick Henry's full stat line from Week 1 vs. Bills

Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen Week 1 stats

Sunday's game was very much an all-timer between two of the NFL's best quarterbacks. Jackson and Allen, two annual MVP candidates, put on a show.

Here's a look at Jackson's full stats from Week 1.

  • Completions-Attempts: 14-19
  • Passing Yards: 209
  • AVG: 11.0
  • Passing TDs: 2
  • INTs: 0
  • Rushing Yards: 70
  • Rushing TDs: 1

In comparison, here's how Allen performed on "Sunday Night Football."

  • Completions-Attempts: 33-46
  • Passing Yards: 394
  • AVG: 8.6
  • Passing TDs: 2
  • INTs: 0
  • Rushing Yards: 30
  • Rushing TDs: 2

Allen's 251 passing yards in the fourth quarter alone became the fourth-most in the 21st century.

Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.