The Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills are getting ready to go at it in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs on Sunday. This is one of the matchups that fans all across the NFL have wanted to see, as MVP favorites Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen get ready to face off.
The Ravens defense has their work cut out for them ahead of the big matchup, and the unit is led by star safety Kyle Hamilton. Containing Allen is one of the hardest things to do in the sport, so Hamilton and company will have to be on top of their game on Sunday. Before the highly-anticipated battle, Hamilton showed respect to Allen and talked about how he has evolved over the years during the team's weekly press conference.
“He is one of the best in the league for a reason,” Hamilton said. “He is up for the MVP with Lamar for a reason. It is because he affects the game in a very different way than a lot of different quarterbacks. He is one-of-one in that sense [with his] arm talent, mobility, and he is big. He manages that offense really well, and guys play really well around him. He spreads the ball around. They've had the run game going the past few games. Much respect to them in that sense. It is going to be a challenge for us, but I think we have been practicing pretty well so far this week, we've got a good game plan, so we are excited to go out there and play the game.”
How the Ravens defense can slow down Josh Allen and the Bills
The Ravens crushed the Bills 35-10 all the way back in Week 4, and they will have to bring a similar level of focus and execution if they want to make it a clean sweep of their AFC rivals on the road in the playoffs.
Of course, the first priority any time you're facing off with Buffalo is slowing down star quarterback Josh Allen and Buffalo's high-octane offense. The Ravens defense struggled for much of this season, but it has been playing at an elite level recently.
One of the changes that has led to that was the decision to move Kyle Hamilton back to free safety from his usual nickel role. The Ravens struggled with giving up explosive plays in the passing game for most of the season, but that issue has mostly gone away since moving Hamilton to the back of the defense.
The Bills are going to try to establish the run to set up the pass, so the Ravens have to be ready to handle that up front in a way the Denver Broncos were not in their loss in the Wild Card round. The Ravens will feel they have the advantage in man coverage on the outside, but they must keep Allen from scrambling in those situations. If they can successfully spy him and keep him contained while gloving up the receivers in man coverage, the Ravens will have a great chance to move on to the AFC Championship.
