Ravens Named Among Biggest Week 1 Losers

No compilation of Week 1's biggest winners and losers can be taken seriously without both of Sunday Night Football's participants getting included among the regular season debut's biggest takeaways.

The Baltimore Ravens had to have thought they and their 15-point lead were safe entering the final four minutes of their high-stakes opener against the Buffalo Bills, just a few ticks of the clock away from starting the season off with a win, getting some vengeance for their previous playoff elimination and stunning a rival in hostile territory all with one swing of the bat.

But when the once-lauded Ravens defense slipped, Josh Allen smelled blood. He capitalized on every halted Baltimore drive and turnover in scoring 16 unanswered points to positively steal this win, backing up his recent MVP win and postseason victory over Lamar Jackson and co. in his first time hosting a game in Buffalo in eight months.

The Ravens, thanks to their managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, were the unquestioned first mention in NFL.com's arrangement of the six biggest storyline takeaways from the NFL's first weekend back from the offseason.

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver sacks Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson before he can get the pass off during first half action against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 7, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jeffri Chadiha was reverential to Allen's leadership in the clutch and the Bills' ability to make plays on both sides of the football, but he was much more focused on the Ravens' part in this contest.

"This is a team that has been cursed with self-inflicted errors over the last two years," he wrote. "This was yet another reminder of what John Harbaugh's group must overcome to win a championship."

"This crushing setback came in the same stadium where the Ravens lost in the Divisional Round last year, when tight end Mark Andrews dropped a two-point conversion late in the 27-25 defeat and Baltimore committed three turnovers. The Ravens also lost to Kansas City in a mistake-filled 2023 AFC Championship Game, when Baltimore was favored to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2012 campaign."

The Ravens' inability to look the part of the contender they seem to always look like on paper has leaked into the regular season during several big-time matchups, raising questions as to how a Jackson-led operation can hold up in the most important moments. It's been a consistent problem in the past, as recently as January during their divisional round loss to these same Bills, and as Chadiha asserts, "Week 1 told us this is still an issue."

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