ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills have produced some superb defenses during Sean McDermott’s tenure as coach, but they haven’t had a player who could single-handedly disrupt quarterbacks.
After recording 10 ½ sacks last season, Leonard Floyd became the first player to hit double-digits since McDermott became coach in 2017. Lorenzo Alexander (2016) is the only other Bills defender to accomplish that feat in the last decade.
Greg Rousseau might be ready to change that.
The fourth-year defensive end has talent oozing from his 6-foot-7, 265-pound frame and the Bills have been waiting for a consistent drip from the 2021 first-round pick. The Arizona Cardinals felt that talent pour out in Buffalo’s 34-28 season-opening win.
Rousseau played a career-high 79% of the snaps against the Cardinals, with McDermott saying he was playing too well to take out, as he made a career-high three sacks, six tackles, three tackles for a loss and two quarterback hits.
More pleasing to the Bills than the production was Rousseau using a variety of tricks to do so. On the opening drive, Rousseau used his hands to quickly get inside Cardinals right tackle Paris Johnson Jr., then split Johnson and Hjalte Froholdt to drop running back James Conner for a 3-yard loss.
Later in the drive, he used an inside rush to collapse the pocket on Murray, who was forced to scramble. When the Cardinals ran away from him, Rousseau worked his way down the line of scrimmage and tracked down Conner for a 1-yard gain.
In the second half, Rousseau used his 34-inch arms to keep Johnson off his body and once he gained the proper leverage, Rousseau dipped underneath Johnson’s arms and sacked Murray for an 8-yard loss on third and 6. On his next sack, a well-timed blitz by linebacker Dorian Williams gave Rousseau and defensive tackle Ed Oliver one-on-one blockers, with Rousseau using a straight bull rush to send 13-year pro Kelvin Beachum — who actually beat Rousseau off the snap — and threw him into the backfield, reaching out his left hand to swat the ball away from Murray.
“I kind of saw a little tell before the snap or whatever, and then just got off the ball, used my hands and fell underneath,” Rousseau said of the strip-sack.
There were a few plays where Rousseau lost contain on the play, including his first sack of the game. He used his power to throw left tackle Jonah Williams off-balance, but Murray was able to escape and Rousseau was credited for a sack by chasing him out of bounds.
Late in the game, Rousseau used another powerful bull rush, but Murray just ducked out of the pocket and scrambled for 29 yards. He made up for it, though, on a sweep by Conner.
Rousseau took on tight end Trey McBride and then Arizona pulled two linemen. Simultaneously taking on McBride and guard Evan Brown, Rousseau held his ground, creating a logjam that Conner could run around and cornerback Cam Lewis was able to drop him for no gain.
Throughout his career, Rousseau has shown various skills at different times, but has yet to put them all together consistently. If Rousseau can combine his length, strength and quickness, opponents will have to game plan around him every week.
Miller still has some juice
Von Miller might be 35 instead of 25, but he’s still got some life left in his legs. Miller notched his first sack since November 2022 and he showed in 29 snaps that he can still make an impact on the game, even if it comes in spurts.
He nearly eclipsed his entire tackle total in 12 games last year (three) by making two against the Cardinals. The first came when he tracked down Conner from the opposite side of the field and deliver a big hit, the sound echoing through Highmark Stadium.
Then, on third and 10 with the Bills leading 31-28 with 5 minutes to play, Miller shoved Beachum into the backfield, forcing Murray to step up into the pocket and tripped. Miller didn’t get his arms around Murray, but still got the sack.
“it definitely felt good after the type of season that I went through and the type of season that we all went through last year,” Miller said. “To come in here and get multiple sacks and really just do what we do and go out there and showcase everything that we’ve been working on throughout the offseason, it definitely feels good.”
Even when Miller didn’t get his hands on the ball carrier, he still used his quickness and power to affect the play, creating opportunities for teammates to clean it up. On a red zone run play, Miller split two blockers and forced Conner to cut back, tackled by Rousseau for a 1-yard gain.
Finally, on the last defensive play of the game, Miller beat Beachum off the snap, got around his outside shoulder and was ready to close in on Murray. Miller’s presence not only forced Murray to throw off-balance, but he had to do so earlier than desired and his pass down the sideline to Greg Dortch was incomplete.
Since his ACL tear in 2022, Miller added more power moves to his repertoire. At 35 years old and three major leg injuries, Miller’s speed isn’t what it used to be, but he’s got enough left to give the Buffalo pass rush some more punch.