Buffalo Bills: Grades for every position group from Week 1 loss
Defensive Ends
The Buffalo Bills had their second round pick Boogie Basham inactive this week but even without him this is clearly a group that is going to be better this season. Mario Addison made a big play early in the game registering the first sack of the 2021 season and forcing a fumble.
In addition, A.J. Epenesa had a QB hit while Jerry Hughes and Greg Rousseau combined for three total tackles.
Grade: B
Defensive Tackles
The Buffalo Bills went into this game without Star Lotulelei but the other players on the roster stepped up in his absence and all four (Vernon Butler, Ed Oliver, Justin Zimmer, Harrison Phillips) all played well.
However, it was Oliver who really stood out among this group with three total tackles, one tackle for a loss stopping Najee Harris behind the line, and one QB hit. Leslie Frazier thought Oliver was heading for a breakout season and this was a great first step.
Grade: B+
Linebackers
The duo of Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano is a strength for this defense as the two complements each other so well. The Buffalo Bills never really seemed to get that last year with both players dealing with injuries over the course of the season.
In Week 1, we had a chance to be reminded of how good these two are with Edmunds and Milano combining for 8 total tackles and each having one pass defended. Milano also added a tackle for a loss.
Grade: B+
Secondary
The Steelers have an excellent trio of wide receivers with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, and Diontae Johnson but all three only combined for 12 receptions on 23 targets for 133 receiving yards with Johnson catching the only passing touchdown the Steelers had.
The player who will be singled out in this group will be Levi Wallace, who was called for a few penalties and was the player in coverage on Johnson’s touchdown. While the penalties are hard to dismiss, on the touchdown Wallace did get a hand on it but unfortunately, it was tipped right to Johnson for a good catch. That felt more like bad luck than necessarily bad coverage.
Grade: B