Josh Allen and his Buffalo Bills will look to be title contenders once again in the upcoming NFL season, though they’re well aware that several rivals are aiming to derail their goals. One of those threats is Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens — and it was a key teammate of the quarterback who made that very clear.

Week 1 will feature a head-to-head clash between these two teams at Orchard Park, and Roquan Smith is one of the players most eager to kick off the season on the right foot — especially against a team with serious Super Bowl aspirations.

Once the full schedule was released, the veteran linebacker from John Harbaugh’s team spoke to the media, and one of the standout takeaways was his clear hunger for revenge as he looks ahead to the matchup against the Bills.

“Yeah, just how I like it,” the former Georgia Bulldogs stated during an appearance on NFL Schedule Release ’25. “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.”

Roquan Smith #0 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland.

“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,” Smith also added. “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. 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.”

Smith shares his thoughts on facing the Bears

Facing the Bills won’t be the only highlight for Smith, as he’ll also go up against the team that selected him with the 8th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 Draft: the Chicago Bears.

“I’m very excited for that one, you know,” Smith said. “I have a couple guys over there that I still know, keep up with and a lot of my friends are still in Chicago. So, I know a lot of them are going to be here at the game. It’s going to be one that I’m looking forward to for a little while now. I’m very excited about it so whenever and wherever we play them, I’m excited about that one.”

The highly anticipated matchup for the linebacker will take place on Sunday, October 26, during Week 8 of the upcoming season. The stage will be the iconic M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens hope to turn it into a true fortress.