ORCHARD PARK — Sean McDermott should have been chipper Monday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours earlier, his Buffalo Bills defense played perhaps its best game of the season in a 40-9 win over the Carolina Panthers. Sure, it was aided by subpar quarterback play from Andy Dalton, but a defense that had been gashed at a historical rate the first six games, held Carolina’s No. 3 rushing attack to 114 yards.
The win came at a cost.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver has been the team’s top defender this season, but he’s only played two full games this season. First Oliver missed four games with an ankle injury and then left Sunday’s game after 18 snaps.
Oliver had seven tackles for a loss and three sacks — one in each game he’s played — in just 108 snaps. But McDermott announced Oliver will be out indefinitely following surgery to repair a torn left biceps.
“Tough loss,” McDermott said. “Ed’s a really good player. … We’ll miss having him, but it’s an opportunity for someone to step up here.”
Oliver leaves the Bills with more defensive tackles on injured reserve (three) and than healthy ones — Deone Walker and Larry Ogunjobi — on the active roster. And Zion Logue and Jordan Phillips have met their quotas on practice-squad call-ups.
DeWayne Carter (Achilles) won’t return this season, while rookie T.J. Sanders has two more games before he can return from IR after sustaining a knee injury.
McDermott seemed hopeful DaQuan Jones would return from his calf injury against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. But that would still only provide the Bills with three defensive tackles, meaning they are going to have to make a trade or find someone in free agency.
The return of Michael Hoecht temporarily mitigated some of the blow from Oliver’s early exit against the Panthers. Hoecht logged 15 snaps at defensive tackle — 10 of which came on third downs — to take advantage of his unique combination of strength and quickness.
It’s not a logical every-down solution for a 270-pounder, but Hoecht can help maintain some of the punch Oliver provides on passing downs moving forward. Hoecht had three tackles, 1 ½ sacks and a forced fumble in his Bills debut coming off a six-game suspension.
“Bigger people are going to create more power,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “… He certainly provides some flexibility for us in a lot of different ways. … We have a lot of different ways we can skin that cat.”
McDermott takes role in play-calling
The Bills took advantage of a backup quarterback and an offensive line that struggles to pass protect by tallying a season-high seven sacks from seven players. And they produced a season-best three turnovers.
They also held the NFL’s third-ranked rushing attack to 4.1 yards per carry after entering the game giving up 5.8, the worst in the league since 1940.
The Bills sit in the middle of the pack with eight turnovers this season after finishing in the top-10 the previous seven years and in the top-four over the last five. One reason might have been because of a shift in play-calling.
McDermott was seen wearing glasses and carrying a call sheet during Buffalo’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. He was again against the Panthers and he admitted to a collaborative relationship with defensive coordinator Bobby Babich.
Babich on Monday downplayed any outright changes by saying the whole staff has input and that “every week is different.” He also said McDermott’s input can change from game to game, drive to drive and play to play.
McDermott was a defensive coordinator for eight seasons between Philadelphia and Carolina and called the defensive plays for the Bills in 2023 after Leslie Frazier’s departure, ranking fourth in points allowed and ninth in yards.
Babich arrived in Buffalo with McDermott in 2017, spending time as a safeties and linebackers coach before being named a first-time coordinator in 2024. The Bills had the 17th-ranked defense last year and are 12th this season.
“We do things together and I think that’s the right approach,” McDermott said. “Sharing information, sharing tendencies and how we see things. I thought it was good teamwork yesterday.”
Hairston solid in uneventful debut
Maxwell Hairston and Jordan Hancock got extended action against the Panthers. With practice-squad call-up Jordan Poyer starting at safety, Hancock mixed in at times and logged 16 defensive snaps after not getting any in his first two games.
Hairston, meanwhile, made his NFL debut after being activated from injured reserve Saturday following an LCL sprain that kept him out since July 30. Hairston rotated with starter Tre’Davious White and played 27 snaps to White’s 41.
The first-round pick was on the field for 12 passing plays, but wasn’t targeted. And after questions about his willingness to tackle during the draft lead-up, Hairston delivered a strong tackle on Panthers receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. on third down, knocking him out of the game.
“He doesn’t have training camp, he doesn’t have any preseason games, he doesn’t have regular-season games, so that physical aspect of the game is where you’re curious,” Babich said. “… He was pretty good in coverage. There’s always things we have to improve, but it was nice to see those guys out there and do some good things.”
At some point the Bills will have to make a decision at safety because Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin are on injured reserve, while Poyer has one call-up remaining. As for Hairston, McDermott didn’t offer much as to whether his rotation with White would continue or if one would be the outright starter.
“When you’re trying to work with a young player and see how they do — especially a player that’s missed some time — that’s the right approach rather than just throwing them in in full,” McDermott said. “We’ll see as we game plan this week and get another medical update on things and we’ll go from there.”
NOTES: Along with Jones, LB Terrel Bernard (ankle), LB Matt Milano (pectoral) and WR Joshua Palmer (ankle/knee) are all “improving,” according to McDermott.