Ravens CB Reveals the Nightmare of Defending Josh Allen: Exclusive Insights into the Challenges of Facing Buffalo’s Star QB
Very few NFL quarterbacks are as tough to defend as Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, but Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills is absolutely one of those few.
Allen, who hails from the same draft class as Jackson, had arguably his best season to date, dominating with both his arm and his legs en route to 40 total touchdowns (28 passing, 12 rushing). He may be another dual-threat quarterback like Jackson, but his extra size gives him a much different play style compared to his shiftier counterpart.
With the Ravens and Bills set to meet in the Divisional Round on Sunday, both defenses will have their hands full trying to defend the star quarterbacks. On the Baltimore side, star cornerback Marlon Humphrey knows the challenge Allen presents.
“[Allen] is definitely a competitor,” Humphrey told reporters Wednesday. “Me and some of the guys were talking … We were talking about quarterbacks we hate playing the most, based off who would be closest to Lamar [Jackson and] how he’s able to keep a play going.
“The play is really never over, and then, when he runs, he is a big dude. He can juke you, but he can run you over and keep running very easily, so [he’s] just a super tough quarterback to go against. That’s the biggest thing, but if I had to put it on one thing, the play is just never over.”
In four regular-season games against Baltimore, Allen has completed 48.7 percent of his passes for 613 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, adding 126 yards and one touchdown as a rusher. The Ravens have done a very good job of containing him in the past, including limiting him to one of his worst games of the season back in Week 4, but every game is a different one.
“For us and for them, it seems like all their best numbers came after that game, as far as them, offensively,” Humphrey said. “Then, for us, we moved around a lot of pieces, as well, on defense, and that seems so long ago. We had to really look back and see what we did, what they did, but it’s definitely different on both sides. We haven’t really watched too much – as a team – tape of that game, because they’ve done so many things differently.
“They added ‘Coop’ [wide receiver Amari Cooper], got some guys back on the defensive side, so it’s just such a different … That was a game, on defense, we were actually able to play decently well, but some of the changes that we made since then – some of the calls we’ve changed – we feel like we have a different identity ourselves. It kind of seems pretty fresh, being that it was so long ago, so there really isn’t much comparison to that Week 4 game.”
Sunday’s game between the Ravens and Bills is one of the most-anticipated playoff matchups in recent memory, in large part thanks to the matchup between the two MVP candidates. The defense that does a better job of limiting the opposing quarterback will likely have the edge, so Humphrey and co. know they have to be ready for anything.
