Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Trailing 40-32 with just 3:10 remaining in the game and the Baltimore Ravens holding the football, Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver made, what turned out to be, arguably, the play of the game.
Just as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson handed the ball off to running back Derrick Henry, Oliver was beating his man and penetrating into the Baltimore backfield. Once there, he met Henry near the line of scrimmage, then clawed the football away from him.
Middlie linebacker Terrel Bernard pounced on the loose ball as it bounced on the Highmark Stadium turf.
Four plays later, the Bills scored a touchdown to pull within two points after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
Just 1:58 after that, the Bills won the game on a Matt Prater 32-yard field goal, completing a remarkable comeback on opening weekend.
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While Oliver's forced fumble is the play that will be remembered, it was his play the entire night that stood out to his head coach Sean McDermott.
"Yeah, big game. Ed had a big game," McDermott told reporters Monday afternoon.
"You could feel his play out there. Whether it was the run game, the pass game, a couple good hits on the quarterback, a couple big plays in the run game behind the line of scrimmage, and then forcing the fumble. Like the entire team, he didn't quit. There was no quit in that team, in our team. And that's a good thing as we look to move forward."
Oliver finished with six total tackles, including three for loss, a sack, a quarterback hurry, and the forced fumble that led to the eventual touchdown in the fourth quarter.
McDermott felt it was significant for his seventh-year defensive lineman to step up in a key situation like he did on Sunday.
"You want to continue to grow and improve and evolve, and he wants to continue to take his game to another level," McDermott said. "He's shown that he's worked and to put himself in that position. Now it's the week-in and week-out intentionality that you take into every week, and you see what he can do when he's in that space."
