The Buffalo Bills will host the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in the NFL’s Divisional round.
For this AFC battle between Sean McDermott’s Bills (13-4) and John Harbaugh’s Ravens (12-5), it will be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference.
Here are three key matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills-Ravens clash:
LB Terrel Bernard vs. RB Derrick Henry
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As always, it’s not on one player to stop a running back. But as the “quarterback” of the Bills defense, Bernard has to have his teammates in the right positions and ready to face Henry.
While Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is going to be the one with a lot of eyes on him, Henry was the one who torched Buffalo in the Ravens’ 35-10 win against the Bills in Week 4.
Along with 199 rushing yards and a touchdown in that outing, Henry’s resume against Buffalo is very solid. He averages 93 yards per outing against the Bills and has nine total touchdowns against them in six games.
WR Keon Coleman vs. CB Brandon Stephens
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The Ravens’ top cornerback is Marlon Humphrey. His 81.4 grade via Pro Football Focus‘ analytics has him with the fourth-best cornerback mark in the NFL currently.
One could expected Humphrey to follow around the likes of Bills receivers Khalil Shakir and Amari Cooper. That might leave Coleman to beat Stephens, who is PFF’s 99th best cornerback out of 117 qualifying players. His coverage grade has him at 109th.
Coleman had three catches for 51 yards in Baltimore earlier this season.
OL Spencer Brown vs. ED Kyle Van Noy
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The veteran in Van Noy is still going strong as his 12.5 sacks led the Ravens defense in 2024 and it was his first season with double-digit sacks in his career. Brown has had a solid year for the Bills. PFF grades him at a positive 74.3 mark.
Brown stopping Van Noy has plenty to do with Nnamdi Madubuike as well. He lines up next to Van Noy on Baltimore’s defensive front and that dynamic duo cannot be allowed to thrive.