The Buffalo Bills' defense struggled against Joe Burrow. That’s not unique to them. Burrow has been electric in the few games he’s played this season, and the snowy elements in Highmark Stadium last Sunday didn’t change that.
Of course, Burrow did throw back-to-back interceptions that helped Buffalo steal a late lead and, eventually, the victory. That covered up one of Buffalo’s biggest flaws against the Bengals, namely their struggles to prevent third-down conversions.
Cincinnati converted 10 of 12 third-down attempts on Sunday, seven of which were 3rd and 5 or more. Head coach Sean McDermott stressed after the game that the issue stemmed from a lack of pressure generated by the defensive front.
Not having Joey Bosa in the lineup, on top of missing players like Ed Oliver and Michael Hoecht, who have been out for a while and won’t be back any time soon, it’s not terribly surprising that Buffalo’s pass rush took a dip. But, at the same time, it begins to highlight the shortcomings of one player, Greg Rousseau.
Sean McDermott calls out Buffalo Bills' lack of pressure as Gregory Rousseau goes quiet
In his Monday press conference, McDermott didn’t single out Rousseau or anyone else on the defensive front, but he did stress that Sunday’s efforts to pressure Burrow were not up to snuff, and they can’t lean on the excuses of who isn’t available.
“Way too many converted third downs,” McDermott said. “That’s an important part for us as a football team to be able to get off the field on third down, and how well we can rush and affect the quarterback, and then certainly cover on top of that.”
McDermott mentioned that guys like Hoecht and Oliver won’t be back, so the team has to have confidence in who is available and develop a plan that works for them without resorting to uncharacteristic changes to compensate.
“We always talk about being able to get there with four. You’ve got to be able to get there with four,” McDermott said. “And then, with that, you pair that with the coverage working together with the rush. All in all, we need to do a better job of our level of execution there.”
The Bills recorded just one sack on Burrow, and it came from a Christian Benford corner blitz late in the first half. Otherwise, the Bills’ pass rush was shut out, which is becoming too familiar a theme for Rousseau in particular.
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Rousseau, a 2021 first-round pick with two 8-sack seasons on his resume, signed a four-year, $80M extension last offseason, and fans are growing concerned with his lack of production against opposing quarterbacks. Rousseau is a great run-stopper on the edge, but his flailing production as a pass rusher only became more obvious without Bosa on the field.
Rousseau hasn’t logged a sack in the last five games, so it’s not as though Bills fans should have felt blindsided by another quiet day as a pass rusher. But it’s not like they have to take it on the chin either.
The Bills need defenders to begin stepping up, much like Benford has, especially when veteran leaders like Bosa and Oliver are out of action. Being that Rousseau is in his fifth season, it’s certainly not unreasonable for Bills fans to wonder why he isn’t filling that space when the team is desperate for him to do so, at least from a production standpoint.
McDermott said Bosa is day-to-day and has a shot to return in next week’s game against the New England Patriots. But regardless of whether he does, Bills fans are going to continue to keep an eye on Rousseau, waiting for him to make a bigger impact for his defense.