In 2024, the Buffalo Bills got off to 3-0 start. They outscored the Cardinals (34-28), Dolphins (31-10), and Jaguars (47-10) by a combined 112-48 count. Then, came a Sunday night appearance at Baltimore.
Ravens' running back Derrick Henry rolled early and often, and Sean McDermott's club was on the short end of a 35-10 score.
Henry gained 209 yards from scrimmage and scored via the run and the pass. Buffalo's offense was limited to 236 total yards.
Ravens' linebacker Roquan Smith finished the evening with six tackles. The teams would meet again four months later in the divisional round of the playoffs -- this time at Buffalo. Once again, John Harbaugh's club won the total yardage battle (416-273), but Baltimore also turned over the ball three times. The Bills moved on to the AFC title game via a 27-25 victory.
In the rematch, the Ravens' All-Pro defender rolled up eight tackles in a losing effort. Smith and his team won't have to wait long to avenge that setback. The reigning AFC North champions will be in Orchard Park for the first Sunday night game of 2025, and that suits Smith just fine.
"Yeah, just how I like it," said the seven-year pro Wednesday on NFL Network. "Revenge is best served as a cold dish, you know. So, it will be nice to get up to Buffalo and get a little payback for those guys from the end of the year."
RELATED: AFC East record projections tab new regime to challenge Bills' top dog status
The result was somewhat of a surprise considering how the Ravens pushed around the Bills in the first meeting, combined that with the fact that Harbaugh's club entered the rematch riding a five-game overall winning streak. Still, Smith gave credit where credit was due.
"Honestly, man those guys won the game fair and square last year, you know that. Misery sets in all offseason and you use that as motivation throughout the offseason. So, just knowing that we have everything it takes to be the best team in the NFL."
"You have to show that game in and game out and it's going to start up there in Buffalo," added Smith. "Just like everything we've gone through throughout the offseason and how it ended, it's just about unleashing it on those guys. And I'm sure they have the same plan."
If the Ravens are going to exact a little vengeance, they must find a way to do something that no other team could do in 2024 -- knock off the Bills (10-0, including playoffs) at home.