The Buffalo Bills lost cornerback Tre’Davious White, a pillar of the team’s defense, last week in a victory against the Miami Dolphins. The defensive injuries continued on Sunday, as they lost linebacker Matt Milano to what look to be several lower body injuries and defensive lineman DaQuan Jones to an injured pectoral muscle.
Not to mention the three defenders who were injured and missed the Jaguars’ 25-20 defeat in London on Sunday, including starting defensive end Greg Rousseau (foot) and starting cornerback Christian Benford (shoulder).
“It was about halfway through the first or second quarter when you looked out there and some of the guys who were normally out there were gone.” “Milano, [Jones],” said safety Jordan Poyer after the game. “For the guys that stepped in [like linebacker Tyrel Dodson], I thought played extremely well, stepping in the role of Matt.”
The concern now is what happens for the remainder of the season for a Bills defense that has been among the best in the league, including stopping the Dolphins’ No. 1 offense to 20 points last week. The Bills’ (3-2) depth will now be put to the test.
“It’s tough to see guys get hurt, but flip side, I try to think about it, we do have depth, we do have a lot of guys that can play football at a very high level,” Stefon Diggs, the team’s wide receiver, said. “So, when you go into that deep, the depth that we have, the deep edge that we do have, guys need to play well, guys need to step up and it’s still a standard.”
So, who should step up at each level of defense?
Line of defense
Against the Jaguars, the Bills nearly ran out of defensive ends. Coach Sean McDermott was down to Leonard Floyd (who came in and out of the game), AJ Epenesa, Von Miller (who played limited plays in his comeback from right ACL surgery), and Kingsley Jonathan with Rousseau and Shaq Lawson out. Kendal Vickers, a practice squad defensive lineman, was called up for the game and ended up playing 43 plays, more than half of the defense’s total.
Epenesa, who had a breakthrough game, was the highlight. He ended with two sacks, including a strip sack, a fumble recovery, and three batted passes, all of which were career highs.
“[Epenesa] showed up,” said McDermott, who took over defensive playcalling for the first time as a head coach this season. “We were running out of players on the D-line, and we only had so many down the stretch.” But I observed A.J., and I felt he did well and put in a lot of effort.”
Epenesa is in his contract year and is playing with increased confidence. He also recorded four quarterback hits and a team-high five pressures in the contest. Overall, the pass rush was successful against Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, putting him under pressure on 22 dropbacks, the second most in his career. Lawrence was also sacked five times, which matched his career best. The Bills have 21 sacks this season after being tied for the league lead before the game.
Miller’s playing time should increase during the season, adding to what the Bills are capable of.
“Von was on a pitch count today, so we didn’t have him through the [whole] second half, like we would hope down the road here,” McDermott stated in a press conference. “But it was great to have him back on the field.”
Losing Jones for an extended period of time would be devastating. He has 2.5 sacks and has a good rapport with Ed Oliver. Jones has the highest pass rush victory percentage (26.9%) of any Bills defensive lineman with substantial snaps.
Veterans Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips, and, most likely, Vickers will be expected to do more without him.
Linebacker
If Milano, a 2022 Pro Bowler, loses time, no linebacker on the Bills’ roster can entirely replace him.
Dodson, a fourth-year linebacker, and freshman Dorian Williams will compete for the position. On Sunday, Dodson played 64.6% of the defensive snaps and Williams 35.4%.
“Next man up,” Dodson instructed. “Lano is the energy and leader of this defense, but that’s football; things happen, and it stinks.” I had to sneak in since I felt bad for him. And in the linebacker room, we wanted to play for him, because he covers so much ground and makes so many [big] plays.”
After being forced to replace Milano, Dodson made an impact with 5 tackles, 1 quarterback hit, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass defensed, and 1 forced fumble. Williams had four tackles and one pass defensed.
While Milano fills up the stat sheet, stats alone do not adequately demonstrate his effect. If Milano is out for an extended period of time, the younger guys will have to collaborate with second-year middle linebacker Terrel Bernard and the veterans around them to cover the vacuum as much as possible. The Bills might also try to add depth at the position.
“He’s one of our key pieces on that defense, and he flies around and makes a lot of plays for us,” said quarterback Josh Allen. “Hopefully he’ll get back on the field soon.”
Cornerback
With White out, Benford is the Bills’ top cornerback. However, he was ruled out of Sunday’s game due to a right shoulder injury sustained against the Dolphins.
Without him, fourth-year cornerback Dane Jackson and second-year cornerback Kaiir Elam battled for the position. Elam, the team’s first-round draft selection in 2022, sat out the first four games of the season.
“I just want to win and do my part to help this team win,” he stated. “I mean, I’d be happy even if we didn’t win and I didn’t make any plays.” But, at the end of the day, I want to make a difference, which is something I’m battling with.”
Elam was the closest defender, allowing six catches on nine targets for 93 yards and a quarterback rating of 100.7. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Jackson allowed three catches on six targets, including a touchdown grab, for a quarterback rating of 104.2.
“You’re playing, and you’re expected to perform well,” McDermott added. “Regardless of whether you’ve played or been active or inactive the week before, and guys have done that over the years.”
Late in the game, the Bills replaced Elam with practice squad defensive back Ja’Marcus Ingram, although Ingram only played eight defensive plays. McDermott said that getting another player on the field was a moment choice.
Even when Benford returns, the Bills will look to their young guys to fill White’s shoes. All of them continuing to improve will be critical for this defense in the future.
“Ultimately, it’s [Elam’s] job to go out there and perform,” Hyde went on to say. “And it’s our job to get those guys lined up and give them the confidence to play well.” So, although I believe [Elam] came in and performed his job, could he have made some better plays? Yes, I could have. So it’s a game that we’ll all learn from and build on next week.”
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