Updated November 1, 2026, 7:57 p.m. ET
ORCHARD PARK — At some point, one becomes numb to how the Buffalo Bills can put up points, even on a day when things weren’t going particularly well to begin with.
The Bills stumbled and stumbled through an error-prone first half filled with turnovers, penalties and red zone issues, but you can’t keep them down forever and sure enough, they found their way in the final 30 minutes and cruised to a 36-10 victory over the quarterback-weary Baltimore Ravens on Sunday on a magnificent November opener at Highmark Stadium.
“That first half was, by our standards, really bad,” admitted Josh Allen. “I wasn’t throwing it, I wasn’t catching it, I didn’t feel like I was doing a good enough job. Obviously, the few turnovers in the first half, that’s not winning the football, and sitting there, we’re talking to the guys before halftime, just saying, ‘Hey, we’re a lot better than that.'”
They are, and they showed it after the Ravens pulled within 16-10 early in the third quarter, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to earn their sixth victory in seven games.
“I was pissed at halftime,” coach Joe Brady said. “There’s a standard for how I think the offense should play. Some of the same mistakes that showed up showed up. We turned the ball over, got good plays and penalties show up, putting the ball in the red zone and penalties show up. It was like Groundhog Day. Now the second half, I thought it was more who we are, being able to finish drives.”
The final numbers showed 36 points on 24 first downs, 426 yards, 8 of 19 on conversions on third and fourth downs, on a season-high 37 minutes, 36 seconds of time of possession.
This victory also continues a most impressive streak of which Joe Brady is now the steward. Buffalo has won 12 straight games after a bye, a streak that started with Rex Ryan and continued for nine years under Sean McDermott, and now one under Brady. It’s the second-longest streak in NFL history behind the Eagles’ 13 from 1999 to 2011. And since the NFL’s bye in 1990, the Bills’ 27 wins are tied for first in the league with the Eagles and Broncos.
Here is how I wrote down the invoices:
PASSING FAULT: B-
Allen started this game 8 of 19 for 112 yards with one interception (not his fault) and almost a second in a slop fest of a first half. There were some strange play calls from Brady and terrible execution from the players. But Allen came out in the second half and was much better and finished 21 of 34 for 289 yards, including fourth-quarter touchdowns to Dalton Kincaid and DJ Moore.
Moore returned after missing two games and it was an eventful time. In addition to his TD, he made a superb contested 49-yard catch to set up James Cook’s TD run in the third quarter. But he also caught one over the middle in the second quarter from the Ravens 18 and fumbled the ball away. And then on fourth down, he converted a fourth down, but he limped back and had to leave the game with four catches for 82 yards.
As for the Bills tight ends, Kincaid saved the group as he had a 40-yard reception and then a 23-yard touchdown, although he also had a bad fall, as did Dawson Knox on a play where he would have had a big gain, and Jackson Hawes had a pass in his hands that turned into Allen’s only interception. Hawes also committed a holding penalty that killed a possession in the third quarter.
RUN THE OFFENSE: B-
It turned out to be a tough day on the field because the Ravens hadn’t allowed an individual 100-yard rush for 21 straight games, and that streak was extended. Cook reached 80 and he scored a touchdown, but it was a tough 80 yards on 21 attempts, then he suffered a neck injury in the fourth quarter, although he returned for one play, which was a relief.
Baltimore entered the game ranked ninth against the run and it was difficult for Buffalo’s offensive line to get things going. Even Allen had tough times, especially near the goal line. He scored once on a drive, but the Ravens stopped him on several short-yardage plays. The Bills finished with 146 yards, but it took 41 attempts for a low average of 3.6.
DEFENSE PASS: A+
Things became untenable for the Ravens when they lost Lamar Jackson on the first play of the game and replaced Tyler Huntley early in the second quarter due to injuries, meaning emergency quarterback Joe Fagnano was forced to make his NFL debut under difficult circumstances.
Jackson came out when he slammed his thumb on Greg Rousseau’s arm and it was a hard hit, but soon after, Cole Bishop crushed backup Huntley on a blitz and forced a fumble that Kaleb Elarms-Orr recovered, and Huntley suffered a toe injury. Not ideal, and the Bills took full advantage of his inexperience. Coming into the game, the Bills blitzed at a rate of 29.3%, a frequency that ranked them 18th in the league, but in this game, they blitzed on 66.7% of Baltimore’s dropbacks according to Sumer Sports.
Rousseau ended his sack drought after three games while Bishop, Landon Jackson and TJ Parker also rang the bell. And in the secondary, with backups Damar Hamlin and Te’Cory Couch, the Bills surprisingly cut Ravens star WR Zay Flowers, as he had no catches on five targets. The Ravens only had two receptions from their WRs, one each for Rashod Bateman and Jakobi Lane and finished with 68 net passing yards.
RUN DEFENSE: A
Despite their woes at QB, the Ravens curiously did not rely on Derrick Henry as he only carried six times in the first half for 26 yards and a touchdown and finished the game with just 53 yards on 11 attempts. It didn’t make much sense because the game was close to the third quarter, but they still tried to punt and it failed miserably.
Obviously, losing Jackson was a titanic blow by any standard, and it allowed the Bills to go after Henry specifically and may be why offensive coordinator Declan Doyle couldn’t just feed him.
Terrel Bernard led the defense with six tackles while Couch, Hamlin and Geno Stone – in his Bills debut – had five each.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Once again, it was another solid day in the running game, except for a miss on kickoff coverage that resulted in Rasheen Ali’s 59-yard return to the Bills 35, although the Ravens wasted it because Tyler Loop missed a 34-yard field goal.
Tommy Doman continues to shine during his rookie season. His first punt was a 51-yard punt that was caught because he had a hang time of 5.22 seconds, which is excellent, and his second was returned just two yards, giving him a net average of 46.5.
Tyler Bass was great as he made field goals of 56, 22 and 51 yards and scored his three extra points.
COACHING: B-
Brady’s play in the first half was so absurdly bad that it’s hard to understand. After a cracking opening drive, Brady started getting way too cute and it cost the Bills points. There were stupid calls on two fourth downs, including one at the one-yard line, that were inexcusable. Things obviously got better in the second half, so he got through it.
On defense, Jim Leonhard smelled blood in the water when the Ravens were in Fagnano and he attacked like we thought he would all year. The Bills have been far too passive in the first six games, but they have unleashed their blitzes and yes, you can get away with that against a third down player, but it’s definitely something they need to lean on as their pass rush needs help.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades, including 37 years as a full-time writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books on the team’s history and is also co-host of the podcast/YouTube show BLEAV in Bills. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
Gn sports
