Since the 2020 season, the Buffalo Bills have been one of the NFL’s best teams and while that is always the hope, that also comes with high expectations and great competition that they are destined to face each year. Whether it’s in the regular season or playoffs, the Bills are consistently going up against the best because they are one of the best.
While there are teams who are great overall, they are made of some of the best players in the league on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Bills have the best quarterback in Josh Allen who can make any kind of play. However, one position that they are still trying to seek is consistency with his pass rusher, which some of their top competition this season have solidified.
Pass rush competition for Bills is extremely tough in 2026
Some of the league’s best pass rushers are on Buffalo’s schedule this season, and ESPN’s Seth Walder has put together a list of the top sack leaders in which the top five on that projection list will be facing the Bills this season.
Here are the listed edge rushers on Walder's list and when they will see the Bills this season:
Edge rusher & when Bills will face them: |
|---|
1.) Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions (Week 2 - Thursday Night Football) |
2.) Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers (Week 14 - Sunday Night Football) |
3.) Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans (Week 1) |
4.) Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos (Week 16 - Christmas Day) |
5.) Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams (Week 5 - Monday Night Football) |
In addition to these pass rushers being ranked in the top five that are set to face the Bills, new Ravens' edge rusher Trey Hendrickson also made it onto Walder's list at No. 9 overall. Each of these listed pass rushers are being projected to have atleast 9 sacks, and Hutchinson is being projected to be the leader by the end of the regular season.
Elite pass rush competition set to put Bills in various tough spots
Don’t get me wrong, Josh Allen is the type of player that can make opposing defenses pay the price for any mistake that they make. We have seen time and time again, but there is only so much he can do at times. He is going to not just need to be on the lookout for these elite pass rushers on a consistent basis, but he will need to depend on his protection upfront in Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown.
The first big test that the Bills will face is Will Anderson Jr., who had himself 2.5 sacks and 6 total tackles last season against Buffalo when Houston’s defense completely crushed the offense for the Bills. Then Buffalo will have to face Hutchinson just four days later, and then head out to Los Angeles three weeks after that where they will face Myles Garrett.
Later on in the season, the Bills will be facing Micah Parsons and Nik Bonitto in a time where playoff pushes become big. Buffalo is going to need to bring their A-game for every single game, but they are going to need to play nearly perfect in order to keep these elite edge rushers from impacting the final result of the game.
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