Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson; two of the NFL's best quarterbacks who are already used to giving us sporting spectacles, did it again in the first Sunday night game of the 2025 season.
When it seemed that the Ravens were going to take the victory, being up by 15 points in the last quarter, the Bills were able to recover the rhythm and forcefulness to turn the result around. Matt Prater, the kicker who replaced the injured Tyler Bass, kicked a last-second field goal to give the Buffalo team a 41-40 victory.
At the end of the road, the team that had more merit to do so ended up winning. With a total of 34 minutes and 49 seconds of possession, the Bills outgained the Ravens in total yards (497-432), yards per pass (389-194) and first down touchdowns (29-19). While the Ravens were much more consistent in the ground game with Derrick Henry, his fumble on a fumble in the fourth quarter ended up conditioning his team; and Josh Allen, unforgiving.
First quarter
After being eliminated at the hands of the Chiefs in the conference finals, the Bills came out to play the first game of the 2025 season with an insatiable desire to eat the Baltimore team.
On their first offensive series, Allen found Dalton Kincaid with a riffle to the middle of the end zone. The previous season's MVP opened the scoring, but the joy didn't last long.
Baltimore responded with a field goal, and after the Bills gave the ball back on their second offensive series, the visiting team continued to close in with their relentless ground game.
Score: 3-7
Second Quarter
Lamar and his team got into the rhythm of the game quickly, and it was Derrick Henry who was in charge of taking advantage of the blocks to take the ball to the diagonals and turn the score around.
Suddenly, the Bills lost confidence, and when it was their turn to punt once again, the Ravens responded with their second touchdown of the night after a run by Lamar Jackson.
Score: 17-3
Buffalo began to struggle under the suffocating pressure of the Baltimore defense. They got a field goal to shorten a little more the distance on the scoreboard, and in the offensive series of the opposing team, they responded with the same intensity; Joey Bosa and Ed Oliver were in charge of stopping Lamar to only settle for another field goal.
Baltimore's pressure began to be suffocating. Photo: Baltimore Ravens
Late in the first half, Allen connected with Kincaid and the tight end was barely able to get off the field to stop the clock with one second left, enough for Prater to kick another field goal. It was a key play for Sean McDermott's team.
Score: 20-13
Third quarter
As soon as the second half of the game started, John Harbaugh 's team came out to play with the same mentality; this time, Zay Flowers was in charge of taking the ball to the end zone, finding holes and hurting even more the Bills' defense, which was already having a hard time.
The Bills responded with a good offensive series, moving the chains through playactions, screen passes and good carries by James Cook, who up to that moment was having a discreet game.
They got the touchdown, and in addition, the excess of players on the field on the part of the Ravens allowed them to try the two-point conversion from the first yard; they accepted the challenge, but the delivery to Keon Coleman ended up being incomplete for having left the field before the reception.
Score: 27-19
Later, Baltimore responded with another touchdown after DeAndre Hopkins brought down Lamar's floated pass one-handed, making the game 34-19. The Bills' hopes began to fade little by little.
Led by Henry, Baltimore went into the final quarter with a 15-point lead. Photo: Ravens
Last quarter
Down by 15 points, Josh Allen and company didn't give up. After a screen pass, James Cook eluded Roquan Smith and advanced several yards; then, the Buffalo quarterback made the fake to advance alone to the end zone.
Eager to recover the extra point that was missed on the previous touchdown, the Bills again attempted the two-point conversion and failed again; it was the precise moment that began to condition the game for the home team.
Score: 34-25
For a change, Baltimore's offensive series was lethal; Lamar managed to get out of the pocket and run to the 50-yard line, then handed the ball to Henry on the next play and scored again. The Ravens were up by 15 points once again.
The outlook for the Bills was getting more and more complicated, and with each offensive series they were left with less margin for error. With less than 6 minutes left in the game, Allen connected with Coleman in the end zone to close the gap again.
Score: 40-32
Derrick Henry was the game's most reliable player, however, he made the serious mistake of fumbling the ball in his own end of the field. The Bills recovered and did not forgive; with a tush push, they scored once again.
When it seemed that the game was going to be tied, the third time was not the charm for the Buffalo team; they failed again in the two-point conversion.
Score: 40-38
The New York State team had no choice but to start burning timeouts when Baltimore intended to run down the clock; and it worked. Lamar connected with Hopkins, but they came up short and were forced to punt.
With no timeouts remaining, getting off the field and whipping the ball around, Buffalo slowly crept closer to the red zone. Finally, Josh Allen bent down to let the clock run down, and just like that, Prater nailed the field goal to give the Bills the win in an epic game.
Final score: 40-41
IT'S A BILLS WIN!!!@MandT_Bank | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/aFME8dW5R8
- Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 8, 2025