Buffalo Bills vs Baltimore Ravens Match Player Stats On Sep 11, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Sep 11, 2016

BALTIMORE -- Quarterback Joe Flacco appeared fully recovered from last year's season-ending knee injury and helped the Baltimore Ravens escape with a 13-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the season opener Sunday.

Flacco was playing in his first regular-season game since Nov. 22 when he tore both his ACL and MCL against the then-St. Louis Rams. That surgically repaired left knee was tested often on Sunday as Flacco dealt with pressure all afternoon and was sacked four times.

He completed 23 of 34 passes for 258 yards with a touchdown (99.9 rating). Newly signed wide receiver Mike Wallace caught three passes for 91 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown that provided a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Bills led the league in rushing last season, but managed just 65 yards on the ground. Buffalo was also hampered by mistakes, and committed eight penalties for 89 yards.

The offense for both teams sputtered in the second half. A 37-yard field goal by Justin Tucker gave Baltimore a 13-7 lead with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter. Buffalo had another key holding penalty on the next possession that forced a punt and never got the ball back as the Ravens held on for the win.

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor took several jarring hits from the Ravens' aggressive pass rush and was sacked twice. He completed just 15 of 22 passes for 111 yards. Running back LeSean McCoy was held to just 58 yards on 16 carries.

The Bills managed just two yards of offense in the opening quarter and trailed 3-0 after Tucker hit a 50-yard field goal.

The Ravens extended the lead with 10:11 left in the half when Wallace ran past safety Duke Williams and caught a pass in stride from Flacco for the 66-yard score on a third-and-1 play.

Buffalo pulled to within 10-7 on a one-yard run by McCoy on fourth down. That touchdown was set up when Taylor escaped a sack with a spin move and found tight end Charles Clay for a 33-yard gain.

But that was all the Bills' offense could muster on a frustrating afternoon.

Buffalo punter Colton Schmidt did an effective job keeping the ball away from Ravens returner Devin Hester, who has 14 career punt return touchdowns - the most in league history.

NOTES: Bills OLB Jerry Hughes posted an Instagram video of himself with fellow LB Zach Brown travelling via Uber to M&T Bank Stadium after they missed the first team bus. Both players were active for the game. ... LT Ronnie Stanley and LG Alex Lewis were in the starting lineup for the Ravens, who became the first team since the 1995 Carolina Panthers to start a pair of rookies at those spots in a season opener. ... Bills WR Sammy Watkins, the fourth overall pick in 2014, was in the lineup after undergoing offseason foot surgery. ... Ravens RB Buck Allen, a second round pick last year, was a healthy scratch. ... Bills starting LT Cordy Glenn injured his ankle in the second quarter and did not return.