The Baltimore Ravens will get a chance at redemption when they take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football. The Ravens want to make a statement after losing to Buffalo in the divisional round last season.
Ravens Looking To Make A Statement in SNF Matchup With Bills
There is no better way for a team in an NFL season than by getting a chance to play the team that ended your season the year before. This will be the second straight year that the Ravens get a shot at redemption to open the season. They lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 playoffs and opened the season against them in 2024. Even though they lost to the Chiefs in the opener last season, the Ravens are hoping for a different result this season.
The Ravens head to Buffalo to take on the Bills after a frustrating 27-25 playoff loss in which the Ravens left the field feeling empty. What was so surprising about the Ravens’ playoff loss was that the two teams matched up in the regular season last year and Baltimore dominated Buffalo to the tune of 35-10. Driven by the fact that the Bills sent them home, the Ravens are out to send a message in Buffalo Sunday night.
“That team sent us home out of the playoffs, so I don’t think it’s going into a normal game per se,” Ravens Pro Bowl tackle Ronnie Stanley told the media. “We were very unhappy with the result last time we were there. A lot of us will give anything to leave with a dub.”
If Baltimore learned anything from last season, it was that even though you can dominate a team in the regular season, that doesn’t mean things will go the same way in the playoffs. Nonetheless, the team feels they have something to prove, and a week-one win will help them get past that loss from January.
“It will be great motivation,” defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike said of the Sunday night Bills matchup. “That is the last game that we played. To go back there and play the same team we lost to, that we believe we should have won, is a self-inflicted mistake. Everybody’s pumped up. You want to get that bad taste out of your mouth.”
For Madubike, it didn’t sit right with him or the defense that they allowed nearly 150 rushing yards in that playoff loss, and he feels like Sunday night will be an opportunity for the Ravens to “tighten up the bolts” this go around.
Ravens And Bills Share Same Super Bowl Expectations
Even though a week one win would be good for either team, both the Bills and Ravens’ true tests won’t come until January, when the stakes are higher. Both teams have shown they are consistently among the league’s best in the regular season, so despite what either team achieves in the regular season, it will be the postseason where both teams will be judged.
Both teams have Super Bowl expectations and have rightfully been the favorite picks of many to represent the AFC this season in the Super Bowl. Their quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, will also be favorite picks to win MVP this season.
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