The Baltimore Ravens are not where they want to be after their first seven games of the season. They have a decent 4-3 record, but they are in fourth place in the AFC Central, behind the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.
Their Week 7 loss to the Bengals was extremely troubling. First-year head coach Jesse Minter saw his team play a solid first half, and the Ravens left the field at M&T Bank Stadium after 30 minutes with a 13-0 lead. However, the second half hit the Ravens like a tornado. Joe Burrow and the Bengals scored 35 points and rolled to a blowout victory on the road.
A regular-season defeat like that is cause for concern, but Week 8 means another important game follows. The Ravens will try to correct what went wrong when they face the Bills in Buffalo at new Highmark Stadium.
The Bills are in first place in the AFC East with a 5-1 record. The Bills have new leadership with head coach Joe Brady replacing Sean McDermott, but the team appears to be quite similar to previous Bills teams.
They are exciting and explosive on offense, but the defense struggles against nearly every opponent. The Bills have allowed 30 points or more in four of their victories, and they have depended on Josh Allen to pull out a number of victories.
He gets to face off in Week 8 against Lamar Jackson, who is returning from a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the last three Ravens games. This appears to be a game that could turn out to be a shootout, and perhaps the team that has the final possession will end up with the victory.
Josh Allen will throw for 2 touchdowns and run for another
The Bills are one of the most exciting offensive teams in the league and they can light up the scoreboard most weeks. This is the way Josh Allen operates, and his athleticism and arm strength have given him the ability to score multiple touchdowns over short bursts on the scoreboard.
Allen is a tremendous athlete and he may be the best running quarterback in the league. He combines that with a strong and dynamic arm that allows him to zip balls between defenders and into the arms of his receivers. Allen is among the sport's most confident athletes. He believes he can make any play, and he will put the ball at risk more than is advisable.
Allen has completed 114 of 171 passes for 1,504 yards with 9 TD passes and 4 interceptions. Allen has also rushed for 240 yards and 8 touchdowns.
When Allen decides to run, he is a going concern. He can run with speed and power. If he needs to, he will take on defenders rather than sliding safely. Allen can also outrun defenders who are trying to chase him down.
He has a couple of solid receivers in tight end Dalton Kincaid and wideout Khalil Shakir. Kincaid has caught 23 passes for 315 yards with 1 touchdown and Shakir has similar numbers. He has caught 22-290-1. Keon Coleman is also a capable receiver who is going to try to take advantage of the Baltimore secondary that got torn apart by Burrow in Week 7.
Jackson will throw 2 TD passes vs. Bills defense
Any time a top quarterback is returning from an injury, there is some degree of concern. There is no way the Ravens would return Jackson back to the starting lineup if they did not believe he was recovered from his high ankle sprain.
He has passed all the tests this week in practice, but Minter won't breathe easy until he sees Jackson deliver a couple of key passes and take at least one hard hit.
Jackson has been through the wars, and he is a confident quarterback who is among the best in the league when he has his rhythm. Jackson has completed 68 of 96 passes for a 70.8 completion percentage. He has thrown for 967 yards with a 6-1 TD-interception ratio.
Article Continues BelowJackson should be able to take advantage of Buffalo's yielding pass defense. The quarterback has a pair of solid wideouts in Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman along with tight end Mark Andrews. Flowers is the Ravens' top receiver with 40 receptions for 608 yards and 3 TDs.
Andrews has been a dominant player for the Ravens for several years. He has 26 receptions for 204 yards and 1 TD, and it seems likely that Andrews will serve as a key receiver in this game and going forward.
Bold game prediction: Ravens 31, Bills 30
This has an excellent chance of being the most exciting game of the week. Both Allen and Jackson are explosive and dynamic quarterbacks, and having three weeks off is not going to impact Jackson.
The Ravens quarterback is hungry to compete in a game like this, and he will get a big assist from running back Derrick Henry. The powerful Henry will help the Ravens maintain possession throughout key moments in the second half.
Jackson will show that he is on top of his game and make the plays at the end of the game that allow the Ravens to get the much-needed victory.