Lamar Jackson is back. Can he spark a Ravens victory over the Bills?

The Baltimore Ravens will be desperate for a victory against the Buffalo Bills this weekend coming off a humbling loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last week. The Ravens blew a 13-0 halftime lead and played a simply horrendous second half in their 35-13 defeat to AFC North rival Cincinnati. It got ugly in Baltimore as Cincinnati scored touchdowns on five straight possessions in the second half while the Tyler Huntley-led offense had zero response, netting just 87 yards after the intermission.Now the Ravens (4-3) go on the road to face a Bills team (5-1) coming off a bye. The Bills have faced a number of opponents (Chargers, Patriots, Raiders) this year coming off dispiriting losses. So if the Ravens are going to be a mad bunch Sunday, it will be nothing new for Buffalo in 2026.“In every game, we’ve proven that we’re good enough to be the type of team that we want to be, and we’ve proven that we’re bad enough to be a not very good team as well,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. “There’s a consistency level that we need to find, where it’s less riding the wave of momentum and more about staying even-keeled and finding a way to have each other’s back and finding a way to pick each other up. You can look at really all three phases in the second half of completely momentum-losing type of plays. That is what it is.”The biggest reason for optimism for the Ravens is the expected return of star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who missed the last three games with a high ankle sprain. Baltimore went 1-2 with backup Tyler Huntley taking snaps in Jackson's absence. So while it's better in Buffalo’s world than it is Baltimore’s right now, that could change in a hurry.Buffalo Bills key to victoryIt’s all about the defense for the Bills. It simply can’t continue to be as awful as it has been, especially in a game where the Ravens might be getting star QB Lamar Jackson back. With Jackson handing off to Derrick Henry or running himself, and then throwing to Zay Flowers who is as dangerous and dynamic as any WR in the NFL, the Ravens have the potential for big plays and the Bills’ defense that allows 28.5 points per game is scarily susceptible to those types of game-altering plays.Baltimore Ravens key to victoryIf Jackson returns to action after missing the last three games, he’s going to need to knock the rust off in a hurry because the Ravens are currently sitting in last place in the ultra-competitive AFC North despite a 4-3 record. He was off to a great start completing 70.8% of his passes for 967 yards, six TDs and just one interception and a league-best passing success rate of 57.3%. Huntley has been fine, but he’s not Jackson and the Ravens have now dropped back-to-back division games to the Browns and Bengals.Bills vs Ravens matchup to watchHenry has been a nightmare for the Bills throughout his career, be it with the Titans or the Ravens. He has played Buffalo eight times counting the postseason and he has averaged 102rushing yards with 11 touchdowns. But Henry has been ineffective the last two weeks as he has rushed for just 103 yards and an average of 3.02 yards per carry in the losses to Cleveland and Cincinnati. The Bills have been a little better against the run this season - mainly because teams spend all day passing - but this will be the biggest test for Jim Leonhard’s run defense since Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 2.Who wins? Bills 28, Ravens 24The Bills have had the Ravens’ number in their recent meetings, last year’s incredible 41-40 season-opening comeback victory, on the heels of their 27-25 divisional round playoff victory in 2024. Having had a week to rest and reset, particularly on defense, the Bills should be ready to come out rolling, and Josh Allen has never lost after a bye, 7-0 in his career.The key to this game is going to be whether the Bills’ defensive coaching staff learned a few things in their self-scouting the past week and can start finding answers to the myriad problems that confront this group. At some point, Allen won’t be able to bail them out of a bad performance, and the Ravens defense - with defensive-minded Minter at the helm - will be looking to make amends after its meltdown against the Bengals.There are still plenty of proud star players on that side of the ball, led by S Kyle Hamilton, DT Nnamdi Madubuike, DE Trey Hendrickson, LB Roquan Smith and CB Marlon Humphrey who could cause trouble for Buffalo’s offense, even if it gets WR DJ Moore back as expected.What time does the Bills vs Ravens game start?Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.Who is favored to win Bills vs Ravens?The Bills have opened as a 3.5-point favorite for the game. The money line is Bills minus-190 (bet $190 to win $100) and Ravens plus-155 (bet $100 to win $155). The over-under is 53.5.What channel is Bills vs Ravens game?Cable/Network TV: CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC channel 8 (Rochester area), WIVB channel 4 (Buffalo area), WTVH channel 5 (Syracuse area), WKTV channel 2 (Utica area), WENY channel 36 (Elmira area), WRGB channel 6 (Albany area), and WBNG channel 12 (Binghamton area).How can you stream Bills vs. Ravens game?Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.TV streaming: You can also stream games if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV Choice, Fubo Sports, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTubeTV + NFL Sunday Ticket, and Paramount+.On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Ravens gameYou can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 195 (Bills feed) and channel 264 (Ravens feed). Other local radio options include:Hagerstown, MD (WARK 1490 AM)Pocomoke City, MD (WBBX 106.1 FM)Salisbury, MD (WAAI/WZBH 100.9 FM/93.5 FM)Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Lamar Jackson is back. Can he spark a Ravens victory over the Bills?