One Bills player that faced a ton of pressure throughout the summer was DT DeWayne Carter, who many people thought wouldn’t even make it onto the initial 53-man roster. With the change in the defensive scheme, the Bills had more than enough depth at defensive tackle and with Carter returning from his Achilles injury he suffered before the 2025 season, it was reasonable to assume that he was in roster trouble.
However, Carter was able to make the initial 53-man roster and maybe part of it was because of Phidarian Mathis having to serve a 3-game suspension due to violating the league's substance's of abuse policy. Either way, Carter has stepped in and has actually been producing at a high level as much as he can.
Pressure DeWayne Carter faced is being responded well by him
According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, Carter currently ranks 2nd among defensive tackles in ESPN's run stop win rate metric. Lysowski mentioned how Carter was credited with 11 wins in 21 snaps against the run, which is beyond impressive considering that Carter isn't even the best defensive tackle on the Bills.
Bills defensive tackle DeWayne Carter ranks second among NFL DT in ESPN's run stop win rate metric.
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) September 22, 2026
Carter credited with 11 wins in 21 snaps.
Buffalo's run-defense has been solid through their first two games, allowing 124 yards against the Houston Texans in Week 1, but then only allowed 66 yards against the Lions despite them having one of the top backs in Jahmyr Gibbs. Carter has played a great role in slowing down the run, which is fantastic to see after he missed all of last season, and didn't really play for Buffalo in his rookie season after a wrist injury took him out for a little bit.
There is still plenty for DeWayne Carter to prove moving forward
Carter has looked solid through the first two games, and he got a lot of reps in Week 2 when Ed Oliver was a last-minute inactive due to a hip injury he suffered during warmups. At the same time, it’s still early and Carter has to show that he can be a building piece for this new defense this season and beyond.
We obviously know that Deone Walker is the star in the middle of the trenches, but we can't ignore what Carter has done to help the Bills in the trences to limit the run. Last season, Buffalo's run-defense was atrocious and it played a role into why they lost games.
With the Los Angeles Chargers coming to town this Sunday, Carter will have another opportunity to shine against a struggling Chargers offense that has a young up-and-coming running back in Omarion Hampton. If he can continue his success, he will definitely have the attention of more fans across the league.
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