BALTIMORE — In the darkness, the Ravens found the light — or at least their identity.

A week after Baltimore ran over and through the Dallas Cowboys for its first win of the young season, it validated that victory with another punishing ground attack and Derrick Henry setting the tone on the Ravens’ first offensive play of an eventual 35-10 demolition against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

With the Ravens decked out in all black for the prime-time affair, Henry shot through a gaping hole on the right side of the line and never stopped until he reached the end zone 87 yards and 12 seconds later. It was the longest run in franchise history and the longest first play from scrimmage for a team since Terrelle Pryor had a 93-yard run for the then-Oakland Raiders in 2013.

Just how fast was the Ravens’ biggest offseason free agent acquisition?

Henry reached 21.29 mph on the run, tied for the fourth-fastest speed by any ball carrier this season and his eighth-fastest mark since 2018, according to Next Gen Stats. To put that in context, the 30-year-old has reached 20-plus mph 27 times since 2018, trailing only Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Henry finished with 199 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries and caught another score, while quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 13-of-18 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards and another score on six carries as Baltimore bullied the previously unbeaten Bills.

With the win, Baltimore (2-2) moved into second place in the AFC North, one game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost earlier in the day to Joe Flacco and the Indianapolis Colts.

It also made a statement.

Equally as impressive as the Ravens’ offense, which racked up 427 total yards and scored on each of its first three possessions of the night, was its previously much-maligned defense.

The Bills came into Week 4 leading the NFL in points per game (37.3) with quarterback Josh Allen also top in the league in passer rating and ESPN’s quarterback rating along with 634 yards passing, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Baltimore had managed to torment him in the past and did so once again.

Allen was held to just 42 yards on 9-of-16 passing in the first half, and Buffalo had just 90 total yards by the break. He finished 16 for 29 for 180 yards with no touchdowns, was sacked three times and had a fumble.

The Ravens, of course, had no such trouble moving the ball.

After Henry’s opening touchdown, Baltimore marched 70 yards in nine plays on its next series with Jackson capping the drive by finding Henry on a 5-yard touchdown pass. Then they went 81 yards in 10 plays, highlighted by a 26-yard dart to tight end Isaiah Likely, a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Nelson Agholor through a tight window over the middle on third-and-11 and a short drop off to Justice Hill, who sped 15 yards to convert a third-and-14.

Two plays later, Jackson lofted a perfectly thrown pass to Hill in the back right corner of the end zone for a 19-yard score. The Ravens led at halftime, 21-3.

Still, there were moments of trepidation, if only for a moment or two.

After running through the Bills’ defense, Baltimore came out throwing to open the second half and paid for it. Linebacker Dorian Williams raced through to pressure Jackson, who was flagged for intentional grounding, and two more incompletions later the Ravens were punting for the first time.

Buffalo didn’t waste any time taking advantage.

On third-and-5 from their own 45, Allen scrambled and eventually the Ravens’ defense broke down, with Khalil Shakir slipping behind the secondary and Allen hitting the wide-open receiver for a 52-yard gain. One play later, running back Ty Johnson, who hails from Cumberland and played at Maryland, trotted around the left side and into the end zone to cut the deficit to 21-10.

But there would be no Ravens collapse this time, and that was as close as the Bills would get.

With Buffalo facing second-and-7 from the Ravens’ 44, Kyle Van Noy stripped Allen on the Bills’ next possession, Kyle Hamilton recovered the ball and the offense went to work on the ground again. Henry ripped off a 25-yard run around the left end, Hill caught a short pass on third-and-7 for a 17-yard gain and Jackson raced around the right side for a 9-yard touchdown.

Then the Ravens put the game out of reach with Odafe Oweh sacking Allen on third-and-14 and kicker Tyler Bass pulling his 48-yard field goal attempt left.

The only thing that stopped Henry from scoring a third time was a fumble as he plunged ahead from the Bills’ 2-yard line early in the fourth quarter. But fullback Pat Ricard recovered the ball in the end zone for one final touchdown.

Week 5

Ravens at Bengals

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

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