Bills overcome early mistakes vs. Ravens, but turnovers becoming an issue

By Henry McKenna
FOX Sports AFC East Writer

The Buffalo Bills (3-1) have an unfortunate habit of making a mess for themselves in the first 20 minutes of games — before spending the next 40 minutes cleaning up that mess.

The Bills' 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens (2-2) on Sunday was further proof. It followed the script of what the Bills did in their season-opener against the Los Angeles Rams. 

The elements? Early turnovers, sloppy execution, unremarkable defense. After they get that out of their system, the Bills play terrific football.

Against the Ravens, Josh Allen threw a first-quarter interception. Running back Devin Singletary fumbled the ball away on the team's third drive. Because the Ravens' offense was rolling, Buffalo came out looking almost arrogant in falling behind 20-3.

The Bills won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. They thought they'd jump out to a quick lead, in part because — as coach Sean McDermott explained after the game — they had good weather to start the game, and they were expecting rain to come later. (And it did, indeed, rain.) 

So the Bills wanted the ball before the rain came. They tried to take control in this battle of MVP candidates bwteen Allen and Lamar Jackson.

Instead, Baltimore flattened Buffalo in that first quarter.

But anyone who danced on the Bills' grave did so prematurely.

Something changed in Buffalo's demeanor at the end of the second quarter. The Bills didn't jump out to the early lead they wanted. So they flipped the script. They went after the double score: getting points at the end of the first half and at the open of the second half. It's a move typically reserved for the team that defers to start the game. But the Bills put up a touchdown, their first of the game, on a pass from Allen to Isaiah McKenzie with a few seconds left in the second quarter. Then the Bills' defense forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter. So Buffalo scored again, with a field goal to open the second half.

Anyone who has watched the 2022 Bills knew they were going to get back in the game.

Fast-forward to the three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh made a foolish decision to go for it on fourth down in a tie game. Jackson threw an interception. Safety Jordan Poyer, who caught his second takeaway of the day, downed the ball in the end zone. That put Buffalo on the 20-yard line instead of the 2.

So the Bills' offense went back to work. And there was a nice parallelism on the impressive final drive when compared to their failed opening drives. While Allen and tight end Dawson Knox simply could not seem to connect (including one attempt that went for Allen's interception), the quarterback found his top tight end for a 20-yard pickup on that final drive with about two and a half minutes left in the game. 

And while Singletary had that fumble, Allen and the running back managed to link up for a 16-yard pickup. Even better, Singletary decided not to score inside the 5-yard line. Baltimore seemed to let him into the end zone. He didn't take the opportunity and kneed near the 2-yard line. That actually won the game, with a first down that allowed the Bills to bleed the clock and set up their game-winning field goal.

"[Singletary] knew not to score," McDermott said postgame.

On the 1-yard line, Buffalo drained the clock and kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired. Harbaugh's game management appeared to draw the ire of cornerback Marcus Peters, who was spotted yelling at his coach on the sideline in the final moments of the game.

Woof.

All right. Do you need a deep breath? I need a deep breath. 

The Bills needed excellent play from their guys and questionable decision-making from the opponents to get a W.

They need to take a hint. If the Bills aren't careful, they're going to start beating themselves.

"If you look at the complexion of the game overall, it wasn't going our way early due to multiple variables, right?" McDermott said. "But I thought again, the coaches adjusted in some ways. We stuck with the plan in other ways. They adjusted and then the players executed."

That's an optimistic way of looking at it.

Headed into Week 5, the NFL is going to make teams pay for bad turnovers. The first four weeks of the season are a good time to work out the kinks. It's OK to slap an "under construction" sign on a team's coaching staff, schemes, playbooks and personnel — for those four weeks. 

Now, it's time for Allen to quit it with those first-half turnovers. The running backs need to stop fumbling the football, which they've done ad nauseam this season. 

If Buffalo's offense improves in those two areas, the Bills will roll through teams like they did against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. If the mistakes continue, they'll let lesser opponents hang around and equal opponents win. 

The Bills have developed a blueprint for losing in the first half and a blueprint for winning in the second. It's time they started inching toward playing their best for 60 minutes.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.