What We Learned from Sunday’s games

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Grant Gordon’s takeaways:

1. Henry sets winning tone for Ravens with TD sprint: This wasn’t Derrick Henry the freight train, this was a bullet train. Henry busted out of the gates, hitting a max speed of 21.29 mph for an 87-yard touchdown run on the Ravens’ first play from scrimmage. This wasn’t Henry mowing down the competition, it was him speeding by the Bills, untouched for a tone-setting sprint to six. The highlight-reel romp ignited the Ravens’ rout and began a stellar evening for Henry, who finished with two total touchdowns, rushing for 199 yards on 24 carries. He ran for more yards himself than any of Buffalo’s previous three opponents had as a team. Though he fumbled near the goal line in the fourth quarter, it was recovered by fullback Patrick Ricard for a touchdown. This is Henry’s second 100-yard outing in as many weeks, and perhaps not coincidentally, the Ravens have won two straight and reemerged as an AFC heavyweight.
2. No reason for panic in Buffalo. The Bills were rolling right along with a perfect record and Josh Allen receiving MVP chants. Then they stopped in Baltimore and got stomped. In a prime-time battle against another Super Bowl contender, Buffalo struggled on both sides of the ball and Baltimore was impressive in all facets. Still, it’s not time to panic as fanbases, media and teams are wont to do after a high-profile loss. Evidence to that comes from the Ravens, who were 0-2 to start the season and have now bounded back into the best-in-the-league conversation. Buffalo was playing on a short week after a lopsided victory on Sept. 23 over a still-winless Jaguars team. The Bills came out fast in that one, but had the tables turned in this one with Baltimore scoring on its first three drives while the Ravens’ defense stymied the Bills’ No. 1 ranked scoring offense. Perhaps most importantly was that Allen and the Bills didn’t go gentle into the Ravens’ night. A microcosm of Allen’s never-say-die mindset was seen in a jaw-dropping 52-yard completion to Khalil Shakir in the second hafl. Allen scrambled and scrambled, pump-faked and pump-faked and was 0.9 yards away from the sideline, per Next Gen Stats, when he heaved a ball to a wide-open Shakir. It briefly ignited the Bills’ offense after a stagnant first half. Then a stellar Ravens defense rose up once more. This just wasn’t the Bills’ night and that doesn’t disqualify an impressive previous three weeks or handicap them for the next 13.
3. Shhh, Lamar had a quietly outstanding game. Reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson wasn’t perfect. He lost a fumble and should have been picked off had it not been for a phenomenal pass breakup by wideout Nelson Agholor. The biggest highlights belonged to Henry, but Jackson was still sterling in prime time. He turned in three touchdowns, rushing for one along with 54 yards on six carries, and threw for two more, completing 13 of 18 passes for 156 yards. In a much-ballyhooed matchup featuring Jackson and Allen, the former surely held up his end of the bargain.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Bills-Ravens (via NFL Pro): Josh Allen was pressured 15 times by the Ravens for a pressure percentage of 44.1%, easily a season high. The previous high was 30% by the Dolphins in Week 2.

NFL Research: Derrick Henry’s 87-yard touchdown run was the longest TD run in Ravens history and the second-longest scrimmage TD (Joe Flacco 95-yard TD pass to Mike Wallace; Week 9, 2016). It was, however, just the third-longest TD run in Henry’s career after rushing scores of 99 and 94 yards with the Titans.