Things looked bleak in Baltimore for the Buffalo Bills toward the end of the first half vs. the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4. The preseason Super Bowl favorites — coming off a Week 3 loss to division-rival Miami Dolphins — were looking at going into halftime down 20-3. However, on the last drive of the first half, the Bills offense came to life. And in the second half of Bills-Ravens, the defense joined in and contributed big plays as well. Players on both sides of the ball helped turn what looked like a sure Buffalo loss into a big Bills win. Here is why Josh Allen, Matt Milano, and Jordan Poyer are the three Bills most responsible for the team’ Week 4 win vs. the Ravens.

3. Josh Allen

When the Bills win games, it’s usually on the back of quarterback Josh Allen. The 2022 MVP candidate is among the best signal-callers in the game and is the driving force of the Bills offense.

On Sunday, Allen wasn’t great overall, but he was excellent when it mattered most, and that was huge for Buffalo. His numbers were bad. Allen finished the game 19-of-36 for 213 yards with a touchdown and an interception. However, he also rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown, and sloppy, wet conditions leading to drops caused at least some of his poor completion numbers.

Despite his early struggles, Allen led an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive with 1:47 left in the first half, and that got the Bills back in the game.

In the second half, the Ravens dominated possession, but Allen and the offense looked more like themselves, scoring a touchdown and two field goals to win the game. That last field goal drive was masterful by Allen as well.

That final drive went for 12 plays and sucked up over four minutes to give the Bills an opportunity to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. And most importantly, it kept Lamar Jackson on the bench with the game on the line.

It wasn’t a gaudy-numbers MVP performance by Josh Allen, but it earned a gutsy Bills win, and that’s what is most important.

2. Matt Milano

The unsung hero of the Week 4 Bills win over the Ravens was linebacker Matt Milano. The six-year veteran did it all on Sunday. As one of the best coverage LBs in the league, he blanketed star tight end Mark Andrews at times, helping hold him to a season-low two catches for 15 yards and his worst performance since Week 13 of the 2019 season (against Milano and the Bills).

Most of all, though, Milano was a tacking machine. The former Boston College Eagle led all players in the game with 13 tackles, 11 of which were solo, and two were for a loss.

On the Ravens’ epic 9:29 drive in the fourth quarter, Milano had three massive solo tackles on Lamar Jackson. The QB who has shaken so many NFL defenders out of their cleats in his career wouldn’t get past Milano — the Bills D’s last line of defense in several cases — to break the big run.

Without those open-field tackles by Milano on Jackson, the Bills likely would not have been able to force a fourth down on that final Ravens drive, which brings us nicely to the third Bills star who was most responsible for the Bills win in Week 4.

1. Jordan Poyer

Losing star safety Micah Hyde for the season in Week 2 was a massive blow for the Buffalo Bills. However, it looks like one silver lining with that injury is that his running-mate, Jordan Poyer, has taken his game to another level.

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While Matt Milano did the dirty work on every play to help the Bills win, Poyer made the splash plays to seal the deal. The Bills safety had six tackles, had three pass defenses, and made two big interceptions.

The interceptions were huge, but the way Poyer made the picks were even more impressive. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lamar Jackson dropped back and threw a pass, and undrafted rookie defensive tackle Prince Emili batted it up in the air. When the ball came down, Poyer was settled directly underneath it to make the pick.

The next INT for Poyer was the deciding play of the game.

At the end of the Ravens’ nine-plus-minute drive, Jackson faced a 4th-and-Goal with the game on the line. The Bills D-line forced the QB to scramble backward, and he tossed a desperation heave to the back of the end zone. While the ball was in the air, Poyer came from halfway across the field to make the pick.

The Bills secondary is banged-up and won’t be the same all year with Hyde out. That said, if Poyer keeps playing like this, it could still be one of the best units in the league when it’s all said and done.