It wasn’t a dominant win, but the Buffalo Bills got the job done against the Cleveland Browns in their 23-20 Week 16 win. With this win, the Bills have swept the entire AFC North and improved to 11-4 on the season. Since the Bills won, if the Colts lose tonight against the 49ers, then Buffalo will be officially playoff bound.
This game was a lot closer than Bills fans wanted, but at the end of the day, a win is a win. There is plenty to clean up on going into the final two weeks of the regular season, but one thing that fans should be grateful for is seeing edge rusher Greg Rousseau finally exceed expectations and step up in a big way.
Greg Rousseau was Buffalo's best defender vs. Browns
In Buffalo’s win, the defense definitely had their moments of showing their weaknesses, but one of them was not Rousseau. Throughout this season, Rousseau has not been the best pass rusher. He has been solid against the run, but his pass rush was inconsistent at best. That was a different story yesterday.
Rousseau had two tackles for a loss, along with 2.5 sacks and he also had 7 (that’s right, 7!) QB hits. He was all over the place for this defense. He had more sacks himself than the Browns did as a team.
Coming into this game, Rousseau had just four sacks all season long. From a pass rush standpoint, this was his best game for Buffalo. Without his impactful plays, who knows if the Bills’ defense would have held their own in crucial moments to avoid an upset loss.
Now, it was great to see this performance from him but Bills fans are hoping that it continues. With his contract extension this past March, Rousseau should be able to be a true pass rusher rather than someone who can just stop the run.
Rousseau will have a tough task next week when he will be asked to provide pressure on Jalen Hurts, going up against a tough Philadelphia Eagles offensive line.