Buffalo Bills Revamped Defensive Front Primed To Make a Big Impact

Undoubtedly, the reigning AFC East champions were determined to make a statement in the team’s second preseason outing of 2022. The Buffalo Bills played their share of starters in the 42-15 dismantling of the visiting Denver Broncos – who sat their regulars. Quarterback Josh Allen was perfect in a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter. Sean McDermott’s club rolled up 510 yards of total offense.

Seriously, a preseason win is a…preseason win. But there was a ferocity surrounding Buffalo’s defensive front. Perhaps playing against backups made the group look more fearsome.

Changes In The Defensive Trenches

A season ago, the club’s starting defensive line for the AFC divisional round clash at Kansas City featured ends Greg Rousseau and Jerry Hughes. Inside were interior presences Ed Oliver and Harrison Phillips. This offseason, Hughes and Phillips were allowed to test the open market and signed with the Texans and Vikings, respectively.

The reserves were ends Mario Addison and Efe Obada and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (Vernon Butler was inactive). All four of those performers are no longer with the team.

Joining Rousseau and Oliver in the starting lineup this year are defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and two-time Super Bowl champion Von Miller. Meanwhile, returning to Orchard Park after playing elsewhere are interior standout Jordan Phillips and veteran end Shaq Lawson.

The latter was a first-round pick by the Bills in 2016. After four years with the club, he spent 2020 in Miami and played for the Jets in 2021. Phillips played four games with Buffalo in 2018 (after beginning his career in Miami in 2015), led McDermott’s with 9.5 sacks the following year but spent the past two seasons in Arizona.

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Going Forward

Something would give after the team’s 42-36 overtime playoff loss at Arrowhead Stadium to Andy Reid’s Chiefs. But some of the defense’s issues began earlier than that, especially when it came to slowing down the run. In late November, Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts had their way with Leslie Frazier’s unit. Conversely, a team that allowed the fewest yards per game and fewest points in the league in 2021 was torched for 42 points and 552 total yards at Kansas City – both season-worsts for the Bills.

Of course, the reigning AFC East champions will get the ultimate test in Week 1. They visit SoFi Stadium and take on the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the league’s Thursday night opener. Aaron Donald and, ironically, Von Miller can tell you a little something about what a formidable defensive front can do when it comes to hoisting a Lombardi Trophy.

Without question, McDermott’s team is loaded offensively. But if the organization is to finally win that elusive Super Bowl, Frazier’s defense – in particular the group in the trenches – must step to the forefront.