4 takeaways from Bills’ embarrassing Week 4 loss to the Ravens

We’ve seen this story before.

The Buffalo Bills are off to a strong start to the season, fans are excited and the national media is starting to talk about the team as a Super Bowl contender again. Then they fail with an ugly defeat, causing both local and national football pundits to question their suitability as contenders. This is the case again after Buffalo’s embarrassing 35-10 loss in Week 4 to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Bills will eventually bounce back, especially if their injury-ravaged defense recovers. However, the loss still hurts now. Here are four takeaways from Buffalo’s Week 4 loss.

For all the praise that depth linebackers Baylon Spector and Dorian Williams received when they played in place of Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano earlier in the season, they looked like backup players against the Ravens. Baltimore took advantage of the injuries and attacked the Bills’ linebackers, who were out of position and overwhelmed. The Ravens managed nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half alone while averaging 10 yards per play in the first two frames.

The two each showed signs of life as the game progressed and made a few impactful plays each in the second half, but they were the focal point of Baltimore’s offensive attack early in the game. The Ravens’ strategy worked and built a big lead by both running and passing through the middle of the defense; Hopefully this was just a blip for the two depth linebackers, who didn’t necessarily look out of place before this play.

Related: Bills’ weakened second-level defense collapses in the first half against the Ravens

Buffalo’s offense was firing on all cylinders in the first half of the season, but mistakes were common on Sunday, starting on the first drive when Dalton Kincaid made an uncharacteristic drop on a third down play that would have kept the series alive. Later in the half, a goal from Khalil Shakir went unfinished for the first time in 30 attempts. The errors continued as Keon Coleman sent a beautiful, deep throw through his hands and fell to the ground. The general gaffes resulted in the Bills scoring just 10 points in Baltimore after averaging more than 37 points per game through the first three weeks of the season.

The momentum shifted in the Bills’ favor early in the second half, even though they trailed 21-3 heading into halftime. Buffalo forced a three-pointer from Baltimore to open the second half, got the ball and moved it down the field for a six-pointer. The Bills then let another three players out; But after a few plays to move the ball down the field, offensive coordinator Joe Brady released what appeared to be a reverse flea flicker, with Curtis Samuel taking a direct snap before running to the sideline and giving the ball his to the quarterback who was lined up at the receiver. The play resulted in Josh Allen being hit while throwing and fumbling. Allen was hit hard after attempting the throw and was slow to get back up. This was by far the worst decision of the night and the worst play since Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator last season. This play destroyed any momentum Buffalo had built, as the Ravens immediately scored a touchdown after the turnover.

Related: Nightmarish early numbers show how poorly the Ravens outplayed and outplayed the Bills

Buffalo was bullied and embarrassed Sunday night against the Ravens. This game is a reminder that the NFL is a weekly league and you have to be ready to play every game. Buffalo looked like a Super Bowl frontrunner a week ago and a basement team tonight. It’s okay; The bills will be fine. All-Pro nickel defensive back Taron Johnson and starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard will be back soon, possibly this week; This should alleviate much of the defensive concerns going forward. They head to the Houston Texans in Week 5 and have a chance to get back on track. This loss was ugly, but there is absolutely no reason to hit the panic button.

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