Buffalo Bills stun Ravens 41-40 with 15-point fourth-quarter rally in season opener

A fourth quarter that flipped the script

The Buffalo Bills walked to the brink, looked over the edge, and then sprinted back. Down 15 points with four minutes left in their season opener, Buffalo ripped off 16 points and stunned the Baltimore Ravens 41-40 on Sunday Night Football, a wild swing that felt part miracle, part muscle. It was the kind of finish that turns a loud stadium into a roar you feel in your ribs.

This one had all the star power and tension the league could ask for: the last two MVPs on the same field, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, trading haymakers in a primetime shootout. For three and a half quarters, Baltimore’s plan looked airtight. Derrick Henry pounded between the tackles, Jackson stressed the edges, and the Ravens dictated tempo. Then the game broke open—fast.

Allen authored the chaos. He threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns, ran for another, and strung together a nine-play, 66-yard march in the final 86 seconds to set up a walk-off kick. The go-ahead sequence wasn’t smooth or pretty; it was stubborn. The moment that ignited it? A tipped-ball touchdown to rookie Keon Coleman in a thicket of hands, a play that felt improvised and inevitable at the same time.

Enter Matt Prater, signed midweek after Tyler Bass went down. The veteran owns the NFL record for 50-plus yard makes, but this one was about nerves, not range. From 32 yards, time expiring, with a sideline holding its breath, he drilled it. Just three days in the building, and he left like he’d been here for a decade.

“Our team didn’t quit,” Allen rasped afterward. “I think there’s people who left the stadium. That’s OK. We’ll be fine. But have some faith next time.” You could argue he’d earned the right to say it. His fourth quarter was pure control under chaos, the kind of stretch that explains why teammates and coaches trust him when the math says not to.

Sean McDermott didn’t sugarcoat it. “Josh wants the ball in key moments,” the Bills coach said. “That’s what the great ones do.” It wasn’t bravado. He’d just watched his quarterback run the two-minute drill twice and leave no time for a counterpunch.

For most of the night, Baltimore’s engine was Henry. He slammed through arm tackles, bounced off glancing blows, and hit open grass. He finished with 169 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 49-yard burst that cracked the game open in the first half and a signature stiff-arm run that felt like a throwback highlight. By the break, he’d stacked 123 yards and a score. If you thought the Ravens were going to cruise, you weren’t alone.

Jackson ran the operation with poise, spreading the ball and stressing Buffalo’s second level. The Bills couldn’t settle on a fix early—load the box and you open lanes outside, spread out and Henry keeps hammering inside. Baltimore rode that balance into the fourth quarter with a double-digit cushion, chewing clock and flipping the field.

Then came the stress points that define NFL games. Buffalo forced a crucial fumble from Henry—contact at the right angle, help arriving on time—and followed it with a quick defensive stand. A three-and-out isn’t sexy, but in that window it was oxygen. The Bills offense took the hint.

What changed? Buffalo leaned into tempo, spread formations, and quick reads. The ball started flying to the sideline, then up the seams. The Ravens had to adjust their fronts and backers, and that extra half-step was all Allen needed. The tipped TD to Coleman wasn’t a schematic masterpiece; it was a quarterback trusting his guy in traffic, and a rookie making a play in a pile.

It wasn’t just points; it was feel. Allen got the ball out fast when pressure showed, then punished Baltimore when it backed off. On the rushing score, he saw space, didn’t hesitate, and finished through contact. Those yards late count double—on the field and in a huddle’s belief.

Special teams decided the rest. Prater’s debut wasn’t about leg talent; it was about the ability to blank out noise and hit a straight ball. For a team that had to sign a kicker in Week 1, that’s not a footnote. That’s a plot twist.

As the clock bled, the Bills’ sideline changed. Heads up, helmets on, nobody flinching. Baltimore’s side felt tighter. That’s what late-game swings do: the team chasing plays fast and free, the team protecting plays careful. Buffalo exploited that gap.

• Key moment: Forced fumble on Henry created the possession swing that cracked Baltimore’s control.
• Key drive: Nine plays, 66 yards in 86 seconds—Allen attacked the hashes, hit intermediate throws, and worked the clock without panic.
• Key kick: Prater from 32 as time expired—clean snap, clean hold, clean strike.

What it means for both teams

For Buffalo, the win is more than a neat comeback. It’s confirmation of identity at the start of a season loaded with expectations. This is the final year at Highmark Stadium before the franchise moves into its new home, and the opener felt like a statement to the building itself: one last round of goosebumps before the move. A 1-0 start doesn’t crown anyone, but it sets tone. And tone matters in a locker room chasing January—and more.

The Bills also learned something useful about their new-look kicking situation. You don’t want Week 1 to hinge on a kicker signed on Thursday, but if it does, you want a veteran who’s been there. They got that. If Bass needs time, they bought some.

On offense, Buffalo showed it can toggle styles. Early, they traded blows in a track meet. Late, they played urgent and precise. That flexibility wins in this league when opponents take away your A-plan. The fourth quarter served as an on-the-fly proof of concept.

The defense had a rough night on the ground, but the late takeaways and quick stops matter. You can’t erase Henry; you can only disrupt timing and tackle well enough to force long downs. In the fourth, Buffalo finally hit those checkpoints—one punch on the ball, one disciplined series, and suddenly the door opened.

For the Ravens, it’s a gut punch, but not a collapse that rewrites who they are. They ran the ball at will for three quarters and put up 40 on the road. That travels. What won’t sit well is the swing in situational football—protecting a lead, finishing drives, and handling tempo when the other team speeds up. Those are fixable, but they require reps and a short memory.

Baltimore’s staff will also revisit late-game decisions: run-pass balance with a lead, spacing in two-minute defense, and how they handled Allen’s designed runs after halftime. You can’t give him daylight and live with the result. They know that, but knowing and stopping are different things when he’s rolling.

Zoom out, and the quarterback duel delivered. Jackson was efficient and dangerous, moved chains with his legs, and kept the Bills guessing. Allen was the closer. Games between these two have a way of tilting to the final series, and this one followed the script—big plays early, the best player with the ball late.

As for the spectacle? A primetime opener rarely gives you this many swings—explosive runs, a tipped-touchdown spark, a defensive takeaway at the perfect time, and a kicker who didn’t even know everyone’s names on Wednesday winning it at the horn. It felt like three games in one.

There’s also the psychological carryover. Comebacks like this change the room. Players remember what it felt like not just to win, but to refuse to lose. Coaches can point to tape and say, here’s the standard in crisis. For the Bills, that travels to every road sideline. For the Ravens, the film is a reminder: finish, or someone else will.

Don’t ignore the line of scrimmage, either. Baltimore owned it for long stretches, which is why the loss will burn. Buffalo’s late surge didn’t erase the body blows they absorbed earlier—it just outpaced them at the horn. If these teams meet again, trench play decides it, same as always.

And yes, the building mattered. Last season at Highmark, a crowd that thinned late filled back up with noise when the door cracked open. Fans who stayed got a story. Fans who left got a lesson they’ve seen before in this town: Buffalo comebacks don’t follow polite timelines.

It’s Week 1, so everything feels bigger than it is. Still, the checklist is clear. The Bills proved resilience, versatility on offense, and trust in a quarterback who refuses to blink. The Ravens proved they can bully a good defense up front and create explosive runs on command. The difference Sunday night was four minutes of perfect timing—and one kick that didn’t drift.

If this is how the AFC heavyweights are going to treat us this year, clear your Sunday nights. These two didn’t just put on a show—they set a bar.