CBS Sports will have the broadcast of the Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills AFC Divisional Round playoff game on Sunday afternoon. They will feature their top team in what could be the best game of the weekend. The winner of the Ravens-Bills game will play in the AFC Championship Game next weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Announcers for Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills
- Lead Play-by-Play Announcer: Jim Nantz
- Color Commentator: Tony Romo
- Sideline Reporter: Tracy Wolfson
Nantz attended the University of Houston, where he played on the men’s golf team, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television Broadcasting in 1981.
Nantz started his broadcasting career immediately following his graduation when he worked as an anchor and sportscaster for KHOU in Houston in the early 1980s. He also became a weekend sports anchor on KSL-TV in Salt Lake City from 1982-1985. Nantz finally joined CBS Sports in 1985, where he’s been ever since.
He initially worked as a studio host for college football and basketball coverage as well as an on-course reporter for the PGA Tour. His first NFL coverage experience came in 1987 when he did play-by-play for the NFL on CBS Radio. He then became the play-by-play lead for the NFL on CBS from 2004 to the present day.
Additionally, he was host for “The NFL Today” from 1998-2003 and lead play-by-play broadcaster for Thursday Night Football from 2014-2017. Nantz is a two-time Sports Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play in 2009 and 2010. He is also a five-time NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year winner in 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Nantz was inducted into the NSMA Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2021.
Nantz has received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nantz has also written two books: “Always By My Side – A Father’s Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other,” and “Always By My Side – A Heartwarming Story of Faith, Loyalty, Love, Optimism, Courage, and Grace.”
Nantz and Romo have the second-longest tenure of any broadcast duo as this is their eighth season together, and they are one of the most respected broadcaster tandems.
Ravens vs. Bills Game Preview
- Location: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
- Time: 6:30 p.m ET
- Channel: CBS, Paramount+
The Bills will look to avenge their 35-10 loss to the Ravens in Week 4. The Bills Mafia will be out in full force and the stadium will be rocking.
This was the only game in which Allen neither passed nor rushed for a touchdown. Allen was sacked three times in this game, compared to a total of 11 sacks across their other 16 regular season games.
Josh Allen’s QB+ score against the Ravens was his lowest of the season, according to PFN’s QB+ metric. He recorded a QB+ score of 86.5 (B) against the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round.
Lamar Jackson’s QB+ score in Week 4 was his 10th-best of the season. He also posted a QB+ score of 86.5 against the Steelers in the Wild Card Round.
The Bills’ Offense+ score in Week 4 ranked 29th, while the Ravens’ Offense+ score was also the 29th best in the NFL this season. Meanwhile, the Ravens’ Defense+ score was their third-best of the season, while the Bills registered their second-worst of the season.
Since Week 9, Jackson has been exceptional on non-pressured passes, completing 75.8% of his attempts for 20 touchdowns and just one interception on 161 throws.
Over their past five games — all victories — Baltimore has scored touchdowns on 40.8% of their drives, an improvement from their already elite 33.3% rate earlier in the season.
Defensively, the Ravens have been dominant on fourth downs, with opponents going 0-for-6 in the past four games. This is a significant improvement from their previous stretch, where opponents converted 12 of 23 attempts.
On Saturday, Jan. 11, Derrick Henry made history as the first NFL player aged 30 or older to record four games in a season with at least 130 rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns.
Excluding the one-snap Week 18 game, Allen has been remarkably efficient on third downs, completing 13 of 16 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions over his past two games.
The Bills have taken excellent care of the football, avoiding a turnover in six of their seven games since their Week 12 bye.
Buffalo’s red-zone defense has also shown improvement. After allowing Baltimore to score touchdowns on all four red zone trips in their Week 4 meeting, the Bills have given up just two red zone scores on six trips over their past three games (Denver went 0-for-1).
Notably, the Bills didn’t lead for a single second in their first matchup against the Ravens. This could be significant for James Cook, as his production over expectation this season is 16.4% higher when Buffalo is playing with a lead rather than from behind.
Jackson and Allen are widely expected to be the top two vote-getters in this season’s MVP race. This matchup could mark only the ninth instance in the past 45 seasons where the top two MVP vote-getters have faced each other in the playoffs.
The MVP winner’s team has emerged victorious in six of the last seven such meetings. The last runner-up to win was Drew Brees in Super Bowl 44 after the 2009 season when his New Orleans Saints defeated Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.
Per Pro Football Network’s Playoff Predictor, with 10,000 simulations, the Ravens are an underdog and given a 47.9% chance of winning against the Bills.