The Buffalo Bills opened the NFL season with a bang on Thursday night. They took it to the defending Super Bowl champion Rams with a 31-10 win in Los Angeles.
The Bills are the Super Bowl favorites and they showed why in that game. In fact, they showed that they may finally have what it takes to get over the hump.
Sal Capaccio and Matt Bove of Audacy’s “It’s Always Gameday in Buffalo” podcast talk about the dominant showing from the Bills defense in the blowout win.
“The Bills are really good. The things that they struggled with last year, it felt like they addressed in the offseason and that was on full display,” Bove said (3:21 in player above). “We talked about their lack of consistency with the pass rush and oh my goodness was the pass rush unbelievable. And I know the Rams lost Whitworth and they don’t have an unbelievable line and everything like that. But that pass rush, I mean they had seven sacks. What are they going to have against most teams? Four or five? That’s still really good. We had questions about the secondary. They held their own. They weren’t great, but they held their own.”
Buffalo excelled in all areas of the game in Thursday night’s win but the defensive effort was especially impressive. That defense may be the key for the Bills this season.
“More than anything, Matt, I think what we saw on Thursday night is maybe – and this is crazy to say because they have Josh Allen. I’m not trying to say it’s more important than Josh. But I think if the Bills do reach their Super Bowl aspirations this year – they get to the Super Bowl, win the Super Bowl, whatever – it might be because of the defense. It might be because of the defensive line,” Capaccio said. “Yes, of course it’s because of Josh Allen. I’m not dismissing that, folks. Of course. The guy could win the MVP. But maybe the difference of getting over the hump over the last few years to this year is how good this defense could be.”
Capaccio saw how good the defense was in training camp, saying that it was the best he’s seen since covering the team, but real game action is different.
“They were so dominant. I think, to me, the story of this season might be about the defense and how great they can be.”
It’s not just one or two players that make the Bills’ defense so good. They have a variety of options they can turn to.
“They’re so deep, too. Shaq Lawson didn’t play in this game,” Bove said. “I think when you look at the depth, there will be injuries, so as we continue to get further down the season, these are the little added layers that they have that they haven't had in years past. OK, you have an injury to an edge rusher? Not like you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. You have all of these other guys you can call upon. Something happens with the linebackers? You love Terrel Bernand. You really like Tyrel Dodson. You have these guys like Siran Neal and eventually Christian Benford and probably Kaiir Elam who won’t be on the field a ton whenever Tre’Davious White comes back.
“It’s nice to have that insurance policy because for so many years they haven’t,” he continued. “And then of course the biggest thing is just the dynamic ability that Von Miller brings. And we’re not just talking about the sacks Von Miller gets. It’s how much attention he requires and what that opens up for the other guys around him.”
Miller’s addition was felt in Week 1. He had four tackles, including three for a loss and two sacks. With Miller leading the charge, the Bills may have found what they need to fulfill those Super Bowl aspirations.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram