ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – Ball security is something every offense preaches every game but for the Bills getting ready to face the Ravens, it has to be emphasized even more.
Baltimore led the league with 25 forced fumbles and recovered 12 of them which is good for third in the NFL. And the Bills wide receivers know when they get the ball, they have to hang on to it.
“They do a really good job of taking the ball away in the back end. That’s something that they do better than anybody so we’ve gotta do a good job of taking care of it as well. We know they’re gonna be coming for it,” Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley explained.
Any time you’re a defense that can get the offense extra opportunities that’s huge so and any team that has turnovers is gonna lose the game so we gotta do a good job of taking care of that and they’re one of the best at it.”
A big reason for why the Ravens have excelled in this aspect of their defense is the play of cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey who had eight forced fumbles in the regular season and Marcus Peters who had four.
“We came in at the same time, I actually played him in KC as well. He’s been a hell of a player ever since KC, plays the ball well, he has hell of a ball skills, he’s one of the few that tracks the ball extremely well, gets his hands on the ball,” Bills wide receiver Stefon Digg said when talking about Peters.
“He’s so active around the ball, that’s something that we’ve never seen as far as being able to punch the ball out, strip the ball out. They’ve got the most turnovers as far as any defense as far as forced fumbles so that’s something that you not only write down but you take pretty serious. So those guys not only are they great corners but they’re guys that are creating havoc for the defense so it’s definitely going to be a challenge for us.”
Ball security could have cost the Bills the game last week when Josh Allen when sacked for a loss of 17 and coughed it up but right tackle Daryl Williams saved the day and recovered it with less than four minutes left in the game as the Bills were hanging on to a 27-24 lead.
The Ravens make opposing offenses pay for mistakes like that.
“I gotta be smart with the football and put it in the right position for our guys to make the most out of their opportunities. It’s a team that you got Peters outside and Humphrey that are extremely, extremely good at punching the ball out so that’s a point of emphasis this week. Their front four or five guys they rotate quite a few guys that are really good football players so we’ve gotta be ready for everything they can throw at us,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen explained.