NFL Playoffs 2025: Previewing Ravens vs. Bills Divisional round matchup

Every once in a while, the football gods bless us with a Divisional Round game so irresistibly good, it becomes an instant classic. Bills-Ravens could be the latest in this string of epic clashes.

Both of these teams fancy themselves as Super Bowl contenders, and with good reason. They have the two likeliest MVP winners in Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, they both have absolutely explosive offenses, and both run unique offensive systems.

Both teams also have a reputation for failing to live up to the hype once the playoffs roll around. Allen has come up heartbreakingly short of the Super Bowl on multiple occasions, and the Bills have lost in the divisional round for three years running. Jackson similarly has never made it to the Super Bowl, although he made it as far as the AFC title game last year before coming up short.

Which of these franchises will get the win and shake their playoff narratives? Which quarterback will help to define their legacy? Let's break it down.

Tale of the Tape: If regular season results are to be believed, this one could get ugly for Bills fans. Buffalo lost on the road to Baltimore in Week 4, a 35-10 stomping in which Derrick Henry ran for 199 yards and a touchdown, and Josh Allen gave fans a serious scare with a head injury. Of course, Buffalo went on to win 10 of their next 13 games, so it's hard to read too much into it.

Bills' Offense: The Bills have the second-best scoring offense in the NFL this season, trailing only the Lions. Josh Allen is, logically, the engine that keeps this team running, and he's had what might be his best season ever.

Allen threw for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns, while throwing just six interceptions. He ran for another 531 yards and 12 scores. Allen spreads the ball around when passing; nine different Bills have at least 250 receiving yards, and 13 different Bills (including Allen himself) have caught a touchdown pass. Gone are the days when Stefon Diggs would get the majority of the targets; now, Khalil Shakir has become Allen's go-to, but even he posted just 76 catches on the season.

Buffalo is no slouch on the ground, either; they rank ninth in rushing yards, 11th in yards per attempt, and lead the league in rushing touchdowns. James Cook has emerged as a true go-to back, averaging nearly 5 yards per carry en route to his second career 1,000 yard season. This team is balanced, explosive, and dangerous.

Bills' Defense: The Bills aren't bad defensively, but that's about the best thing you can say about this unit. They rank 12th in points allowed, 17th in yards, and 22nd in yards per play.

They're solid enough against the run, ranking 12th in yards allowed and 11th in rushing touchdowns allowed. The issues come in the pass game.

The Bills rank just 24th in passing yards and touchdowns allowed. They rank 18th in sacks, and 28th in blitz rate, so they're not getting to the quarterback all that often, either. They do a good job of pressuring the quarterback, ranking 10th in pressure percentage and seventh in interceptions, but when they don't get those hurries, things get ugly fast. They rank in the bottom half of the league in air yards and yards after the catch, meaning you can get them over the top, and when you do you're likely to pick up some decent yardage as well.

Make no mistake: Buffalo wants to win games with its offense, not its defense.

Path to Victory: Get Josh Allen and the passing game going early against a very good Ravens defense. You're going to need to find your joy through the air here, because Baltimore's run defense is fantastic, and pushing this game into shootout territory is probably your best bet, because the odds this defense can slow Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry down are slim.

Ravens' Offense: The Ravens have one of the best, most balanced offenses in all of football. They rank first in total yards, third in scoring and first in yards per play. And most all of it is because of two players: Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.

Jackson has looked absolutely unstoppable this season; he ranked sixth in passing yards, second in passing touchdowns, and had the best quarterback rating of anyone in the league. He also ran for 915 yards and four touchdowns, while completing almost 67 percent of his passes and throwing just four interceptions.

But if Lamar isn't terrifying enough, the Ravens also had Derrick Henry running people over. Henry racked up 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground.

If there is a weakness in this team, it could be the loss of Zay Flowers. The wideout didn't play against the Steelers, but Pittsburgh was so hapless it didn't matter. But Flowers has yet to practice this week, and his absence will be more profoundly felt against the Bills.

Ravens' Defense: For as good as Baltimore's offense has been, the defense has been every bit as sturdy, at least in some areas. The Ravens thrive against the run defensively; they allow just 3.6 yards per carry, best in the league, and have allowed the fewest yards of any team in the NFL.

It's a good thing the run defense is so strong, because the pass defense can best be described as "woof." The Ravens have allowed the second-most passing yards of any team in the NFL this season. Their pass defense instead relies heavily on Kyle Van Noy, Odafe Oweh, and Nnamdi Madubuike getting to the quarterback. The Ravens rank second in the NFL in sacks despite blitzing on just 20.3 percent of snaps. When they get to the quarterback, good things happen. When they don't...problems.

Marlon Humphrey is still as good as they get defending passes, but the Ravens have allowed the most air yards per completion of any team in the NFL, and rank 23rd in yards per completion. Throw it deep against Baltimore, and you're going to find success.

Path to Victory: Keep Josh Allen contained in the pocket and don't give him time to uncork those deep bombs to beat you over the top. Get Lamar and Derrick Henry both cooking early, get a lead, and then pin your ears back and go. Allen needs to spend as much time running for his life as possible, to minimze the damage he can do over the top in this one.

The Verdict: The biggest heavyweight clash of the playoffs, and possibly a de facto AFC title game (unless the Chiefs' pact with whatever dark entity they bargained with continues through the postseason). Given the state of both defenses, and the explosive potential of both offenses, this could be a classic and a legitimate shootout. I know the Ravens won the first matchup, but I like the Bills here to keep this season going. Baltimore's vulnerability to the deep ball figures to be a serious issue against Allen's howitzer.

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