Quarterbacks Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson will have plenty to sort out from their last meeting.
In less than two weeks, training camps will open around the NFL. Before we know it, preseason will be upon us and then things get real when Week 1 of the regular season begins. That means the Buffalo Bills opening up their 2025 campaign on Sunday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens.
The last time Buffalo and Baltimore met was during the Divisional Round of the 2024 postseason. The Bills ended up coming away with a narrow 27-25 victory after Ravens tight end Mark Andrews dropped a pass on a two point conversion attempt that would have tied the game very late in the fourth quarter. Buffalo employed a ground-and-pound approach, finishing with 147 rushing yards against just 127 passing yards from quarterback Josh Allen. A true heavyweight matchup to open the season, with quarterback Lamar Jackson having been named First-Team All-Pro in 2024 and Allen crowned as the NFL MVP of the 2024 NFL season.
However, that was then and this is a whole new season. The Bills and Ravens will look relatively similar to January’s roster, but with a few key tweaks and changes. For Buffalo, they’ll look to use some new weapons in the passing game after adding wide receivers Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore in free agency. Meanwhile Baltimore added a weapon of their own in the passing attack — signing veteran wide receiver Deandre Hopkins, who’s out to prove he can still make an impact in the league.
One player to watch out for is Ravens running back Justice Hill, who tore up the Bills on the ground especially in the second half this past January. Hill finished that playoff game with 50 yards on only six carries but he was widely effective running out of shotgun.
Baltimore recently added cornerback Jaire Alexander to their defensive backfield after drafting safety Malaki Starks in the 2025 NFL Draft. On the heels of disturbing allegations involving multiple instances of sexual misconduct, the Ravens have parted ways with kicker Justin Tucker.
Baltimore, with Jackson at the helm, have proven to be among the most feared teams during the regular season. That sentiment has since been enhanced by running back Derrick Henry’s arrival last season. Will Henry run it back in 2025, a campaign that saw him take his first touch against Buffalo over 80 yards to the house?
On the other side of the field watch out for Buffalo linebacker Matt Milano. Now that he has a full offseason under his belt recovering from a torn pectoral muscle, can Milano return to his Pro Bowl-caliber form that the Bills expect from him? Plus, what role will cornerback Tre’Davious White play now that he’s back on the proper sideline after a late-season run with Baltimore in 2024?
In their last meeting with the Ravens, Buffalo struggled to get much going all game long, failing to win in the trenches on either side of the ball. It was easily the Bills’ worst game of the 2024 regular season, and the only game they stood no chance of winning late. How offensive coordinator Joe Brady incorporates the team’s new group of wide receivers will be key, as will utilizing second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid.
If everybody eats well in Week 1, that’s bound to play a part in limiting Baltimore’s damage potential defensively on any given down. Unlike the last meeting, the Bills must maintain proper lane and assignment discipline on defense, and quickly put devastating chunk plays behind them before the next snap. While Henry’s first play from scrimmage served as a back breaker, games aren’t won and lost in the opening minutes.
Though it’s only Week 1, whichever team wins will go a long way toward deciding the early pecking order at MVP — namely between Allen and Jackson. The results from this first game could also play heavily into AFC playoff seeding. What are you looking most forward to when the Bills and Ravens clash in Week 1?