CLEVELAND — Shedeur Sanders made Greg Rousseau miss once. Rousseau wasn’t going to miss twice.
Sanders ducked under Rousseau’s long arms and escaped for a 13-yard gain in the second quarter. But with the game on the line, the Buffalo Bills defensive end didn’t let Sanders break free.
Twice Rousseau hauled down the Cleveland Browns quarterback in the fourth quarter and then forced a key intentional ground call, all coming on the final two drives and in a span of four plays. Without Rousseau’s pressure, the Bills may not have survived the 3-12 Browns in a 23-20 win Sunday.
Rousseau was given a four-year, $80 million extension during the offseason with hopes he was going to be the sack machine the Bills drafted him to be as a 2021 first-round pick. But after a career-high eight sacks and 16 tackles for a loss last season, Rousseau entered Sunday’s game with just four sacks and four tackles for a loss.
Before a sack of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye last week, Rousseau hadn’t recorded a fourth-quarter sack since Week 4 of 2023. But Rousseau showed up in the critical moments Sunday and he’s logged 2 ½ sacks in the fourth quarter over the last two games, adding a big punch to an inconsistent pass rush.
“We just want to win the play,” Rousseau said. “It doesn’t matter what the clock says or what the score says. We just go out there and play hard. I feel like we all embody that mentality and that’s what we go out there and do.”
Rousseau has notoriously downplayed lack of sacks at various points during his career. And the Bills rely on him more to push the pocket and disrupt quarterback timing than sacks.
His 3.44 seconds from snap to pressure is the second-longest among defensive ends with at least 25 pressures this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. And that’s a year after averaging 2.78 seconds from snap to pressure a season ago.
But despite having just 6 ½ sacks this season, Rousseau ranks 18th in pressure percentage (14.4%) among defensive linemen. He has six games with at least four pressures this season.
An often polarizing figure amongst fans because of his low sack production, Rousseau has been a menace over the last three games. He has 19 pressures and 10 quarterback hits, tying a season-high with nine pressures and seven quarterback hits against the Browns.
“We needed that from Greg,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “We believe he can do that. He can impact the game. So it’s good to see him get back in that kind of mindset.”
Everyone saw Rousseau sack Sanders on fourth and 2 in the fourth quarter, but Rousseau’s coverage set up the play. On third down, the Bills dropped both defensive ends in coverage and Rousseau took away Cleveland’s biggest receiving threat, tight end Harold Fannin Jr., which forced Sanders to check down to Cedric Tillman, who was tackled short of the first down marker by Joey Bosa.
“You can’t put all your hope and confidence in numbers,” Rousseau said. “You can play a good game and not get a lot of sacks and you can play a not-so-good game and then get some sacks.”
On the fourth-down sack, the Browns lined up wide receiver Jerry Jeudy just outside left tackle Cam Robinson. Rousseau lined up outside of Jeudy, which allowed him to take a straighter path to the quarterback.
Rousseau got both his hands into Robinson’s chest, and once he gained leverage, Rousseau used his outside arm to lift Robinson’s arm off his body, called the forklift technique. Rousseau knocked Robinson off balance and out of the way, allowing him an efficient path to Sanders.
On the intentional grounding play, Rousseau simply used a straight bull rush and knocked Robinson backward before Sanders had a chance to get the ball out safely.
He also had a big sack on Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel on third and goal in the second quarter. The Browns tried to block Rousseau with a tight end, but it was clear Rousseau was trying to keep Gabriel in the pocket more than get a sack.
Bosa looped from the opposite side, forcing Gabriel to step up. It appeared Gabriel had a running lane, but Rousseau quickly disengaged from his block and sacked Gabriel.
“I think he’s been playing well all season,” Bosa said. “They just kind of fell his way today. And it could have happened any week. He’s a heck of a player and I’m really proud to be playing alongside of him.”