Bills kicker Matt Prater walked off the Ravens with a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game, less than two minutes after Buffalo’s second of back-to-back touchdowns. Baltimore had a 40–25 lead with 11:42 left when running back Derrick Henry rumbled for a 46-yard touchdown.
“Staying with it, fans leaving the stadium, you got to play this game for 60 minutes. And that’s a really good outfit that we just played with, and God willing, we take care of business how we’re supposed to and how we think we will.”
Allen started the rally as he led the Bills on a 10-play, 80-yard drive, capped by wide receiver Keon Coleman’s touchdown grab to trim the deficit to 40–32. The Bills then received another golden opportunity as Henry fumbled the ball with 3:10 left in the game.
Allen took advantage and drove the Bills 30 yards in four plays, and he put his team within two, 40–38, on a 1-yard touchdown run. He couldn’t complete the two-point conversion, but the Bills defense made one last stop for a chance to win.
Baltimore only advanced the ball seven yards on a three-and-out, but punter Jordan Stout booted it 42 yards out of bounds, which set up the Bills at their own 20-yard line. Allen initially only made short plays of eight yards or less on the first two snaps, but he then found wide receiver Joshua Palmer on a 32-yard connection, which put the Bills in field goal range.
Allen finished with 33-46 passing for 394 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed for 30 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Coleman and Palmer were two of the Bills’ three leading receivers as Coleman finished with eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, while Palmer had five catches for 61 yards.
Fellow wideout Khalil Shakir had the second-biggest receiving game with six catches for 64 yards. Running back James Cook also produced in the passing game with five catches for 58 yards, and he rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
That score came during the third quarter on a 2-yard run, which cut the Ravens’ lead to 27–19. Baltimore pushed the lead back to double figures, 34–19, when quarterback Lamar Jackson found wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a 29-yard touchdown. Overall, the Ravens led by multiple scores five times in the game but couldn’t keep the Bills away throughout.
That’s despite otherwise strong games for Jackson and Henry. Jackson went 14-19 passing for 209 yards and two touchdowns, plus six carries for 70 yards rushing and a touchdown. Henry rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, and he caught a pass for 13 yards.
Hopkins was the second-leading receiver for the Ravens with two catches for 35 yards, and wideout Zay Flowers led the way with seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. The rest of the Ravens’ skill players had otherwise quiet games, with wideout Rashod Bateman as the next-best performer amid two catches for 10 yards.
Ultimately, the Bills’ defense made the stops needed down the stretch. That included new Bills defensive end Joey Bosa, who forced a fumble in addition to his two tackles.
“It’s obviously, it’s just the first game of the year, and we gave up a lot of points, and I could be better in a lot of ways. But we got the win, and we gave our offense a chance,” Bosa added. “And I guess when you have Josh Allen, you just have to give him a chance, and anything’s possible.”
