Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns, while Lamar Jackson coughed up two turnovers as the Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-25 to book an AFC Championship clash with the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Scrutiny of Jackson’s playoff record will only increase as he fell to 3-5 in the postseason but, though he threw an interception and lost a fumble in the first half, he also helped lead the Ravens back from a 21-10 defecit at the half and gave them a chance to tie the ball game with a minute and a half to go.
Jackson’s second touchdown pass of the night, a 24-yarder to Isaiah Likely, pulled Baltimore to within two of Buffalo, but veteran tight end Mark Andrews – who lost a fumble earlier in the fourth quarter – dropped the resulting two-point conversion pass from his quarterback.
The Bills recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the remainder of the clock to snap a three-year run of being eliminated in the Divisional Round and book yet another playoff meeting with the Chiefs.
Buffalo have been knocked out by Kansas City in three of the past four postseasons, including in the AFC title game four years ago.
Stats leaders
Baltimore Ravens
- Passing: Lamar Jackson, 18/25, 254 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- Rushing: Derrick Henry, 16 carries, 84 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Isaiah Likely, 4 catches, 73 yards, 1 TD
Buffalo Bills
- Passing: Josh Allen, 16/22, 127 yards
- Rushing: James Cook, 17 carries, 67 yards
- Receiving: Khalil Shakir, 6 catches, 67 yards
Allen had two rushing touchdowns in the first half to help build Buffalo’s 11-point advantage at the break, with Ray Davis also notching a score on the ground – his coming in response to Baltimore scoring on their opening series of the game.
The Ravens got off to the perfect start when Jackson capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman. But the Bills answered straight back with an impressive 11-play, 70-yarder of their own to tie things up.
Two plays later, Jackson was picked off by Taylor Rapp when looking for Bateman again only to overthrow his receiver with his deep shot down the field.
Buffalo failed to capitalise and score points off the turnover, but they would cash in following a Jackson fumble – the ball forced loose by Damar Hamlin and scooped up by Von Miller – on Baltimore’s next possesion, Allen turning it into his first of two rushing scores.
Justin Tucker and Tyler Bass each kicked a couple of field goals in the frigid and snowy conditions in Buffalo, Tucker’s second bringing the Ravens back to within eight of their opponents in the third quarter.
Derrick Henry then cut that deficit even further with a five-yard rushing TD later in the same quarter, but Baltimore – not for the last time – failied to convert the resulting two-point attempt to tie the game.
Bass’ two field goals, the first being a clutch 51-yarder, would come either side of Terrel Bernard’s forced fumble of Andrews, which again stretched the Bills’ advantage to eight.
Jackson and the Ravens fought right till the very end, producing a nerveless scoring drive inside the final two minutes of the contest but Andrews will be left to rue another error as, when wide open, he failed to haul in the two-point try which would have tied the game late on.
What’s next?
It’s the NFL Conference Championships on Sunday, January 26 – live on Sky Sports NFL – with the Philadelphia Eagles first hosting the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game from 8pm, and then the Chiefs taking on the Bills from 11.30pm.
Super Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday, February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL.
Source : Sky Sports
