2 defensive players who need to shine for the Buffalo Bills in Week 4

The Buffalo Bills are coming off a strong Week 3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, beating them by a score of 47-10. This week, the Bills will have another primetime game as they travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Sunday Night Football. This may be their toughest test yet, as the Ravens have been one of the best teams in the AFC for years now, and they continued to add to their roster this offseason with Derrick Henry. 

A lot of focus will be on the Ravens' new run game. But there’s another position that the Bills need to watch for as well, and that’s the Ravens tight end group. Buffalo will look to improve to 4-0 on the season before traveling south to play the Houston Texans and old friend Stefon Diggs. Let’s examine two players on defense the Bills need to step up. 

Linebacker Dorian Williams

The Bills will put a lot on Dorian Williams’ plate this week. Williams is making his sixth career start, and fourth this year. He’ll be tasked with spying on Lamar Jackson and covering the Ravens great tight-end duo of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely. Up to this point, the first-year starter has played well for the Bills, totaling 30 tackles and a fumble recovery. The Ravens run game has been elite again this year, this time led by All-Pro Derrick Henry, who has been notorious for beating up on the Bills. The Ravens have rushed for 593 yards between their running backs and Lamar Jackson. 

The Bills have seen enough injuries to their linebacker position this year between Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard. However, Williams, who was thrown into the starting lineup late in training camp, has stepped up nicely. The Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott will put even more on Williams' plate this week too.

Safety Taylor Rapp

Rapp will be another player in charge of the Ravens' dynamic tight ends, and he will likely be “the guy” the Bills rely on against Andrews and Likely. The Bills defense has seen it all this year. Fast wide receivers, tall physical receivers, and even a good run game, and were able to stop all of them. However, they haven’t faced a good tight end in the league like Mark Andrews. That, mixed with the speed of Zay Flowers will pose a new challenge for this secondary. 

The Bills have historically been able to beat the Ravens, from the 2020-2021 playoffs to the 2022 regular season matchup, containing Lamar Jackson has never been their issue. Now, they’ll have to contain both Jackson and Henry on the ground, along with Flowers and Andrews through the air. Buffalo’s secondary hasn’t shown us any flaws yet this season, so there’s no reason to worry. However, this will be the toughest task they’ve been given yet. If they can stand up to this, Buffalo’s defense will have no issues against anyone else.