Lamar Jackson Bills
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Lamar Jackson runs a play against the Buffalo Bills.
Labor Day weekend is officially over, which means the NFL season is about to start. The Buffalo Bills will have no easy cupcake in their first contest since they welcome the Baltimore Ravens, who finished 12-5 last season.
Both teams feature two outstanding quarterbacks, the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson. Last season, Allen won the NFL MVP, beating Jackson by 21 points in the voting. Allen also took down Jackson in the AFC Divisional Round last year, so the Ravens signal caller is looking to get his revenge on a few different things this week.
Last season, Jackson accounted for 45 touchdowns, 41 passing and four rushing. The 28-year-old quarterback is looking to improve on that this season, which could start in Week 1.
Douglas Fritz from ClutchPoints published his bold predictions for the Baltimore vs. Buffalo matchup, predicting Jackson to score three touchdowns.
“Look for Jackson to get a rushing score in this one while also tacking on a pair of touchdown passes. The Ravens will likely need points to stay ahead of the Bills’ curve,” Fritz wrote on September 1st.
Lamar Jackson Has Receivers to Watch For
Last season, Jackson accounted for three touchdowns in a game nine times, with the first one being the Week 4 35-10 win against the Bills. He threw for 156 yards and two scores while picking up 54 rushing yards on six attempts and a touchdown.
That night, Jackson completed a pass to seven different Ravens pass catchers, so the Bills’ secondary will have their hands full on Sunday.
Fritz thinks Ravens receivers Rashod Bateman and Zay Flowers could have a few targets down the field that the Bills will need to pay attention to.
“Jackson will take a couple of shots down the field. Look for him to hit on one of those to Bateman or Flowers for a touchdown,” Fritz wrote.
Bateman is entering his fifth NFL season after being drafted in the second round out of Minnesota in 2021. Last year was his best, bringing in 45 receptions for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in only 14 games.
All of Bateman’s hard work paid off last season since the team rewarded him with a three-year, $36,75 million contract extension.
Flowers was in his second NFL season last year, recording 1,059 receiving yards and five scores. The Ravens receivers can stretch the field, and that doesn’t even account for veteran wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who signed with Baltimore this offseason.
The Bills Added Pieces This Offseason to Stop The Passing Game
Buffalo ensured to add help to their secondary this summer to stop big plays like the Ravens will try to run. The Bills drafted Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston in the first round of the NFL Draft. However, a right LCL sprain in late July caused him to miss the entire preseason.
The Bills placed Hairston on injured reserve last week, meaning he will miss at least four games. With Hairston unavailable, the team brought back a familiar face, signing safety Jordan Poyer last Wednesday.
Poyer, a 12-year veteran, spent seven seasons with Buffalo from 2017 to 2023. In 107 games with the Bills, he recorded 682 combined tackles, 11 sacks, and 22 interceptions, being named to the 2022 Pro Bowl. Last season, Poyer left Buffalo and headed to the Miami Dolphins. After one season in Miami, Poyer became a free agent. All summer, he was sitting on the open market, and Buffalo finally wanted him back.
The 34-year-old was waiting for the Bills to call him because he told reporters last week that Buffalo is home.
“This is home. This is where I want to be… This is where I want to retire,” Poyer said via Alex Brasky.
The Bills have the defensive pieces to stop the Ravens. Now it’s up to them to neutralize Baltimore and get a Week 1 win.