Buffalo Bills: Preseason Week 1 Team of the Week

Defensive Line: Greg Rousseau

The best performance from any Buffalo likely came from the team’s first-round rookie Gregory Rousseau. Rousseau got to the quarterback early and often including an impressive third-down sack where he beat Lions tackle Penei Sewell, the consensus top offensive lineman from this past draft.

That was far from the end for Rousseau who finished the game with three pressures in his limited action. While many of the players on this list succeeded against backups, Rousseau primarily worked against the Lions first-stringers which makes his debut that much more impressive.

Linebacker: Andre Smith

It was a pretty impressive game for the Buffalo Bills linebacking core, Tyler Matakevich had a big pass breakup on the first series, and there was a time that I was sure Tyrel Dodson would make my team of the week.

That was until Andre Smith took control of the game. Smith flew around the field making an athletic interception (that was called back due to roughing the passer) and flowing sideline to sideline to finish with a team-high 8 total tackles.

Smith is a good special teams player who was awarded a 2-year contract extension back in March. It’s clear the team sees something in him and if he can keep this level of play up we could see him get some reps at linebacker this year.