New Look Buffalo Defense Mauls the Panthers

By Gregory Brown

Photo by James Witherspoon

No Daquan Jones, no Terrel Bernard, no Matt Milano, no Taylor Rapp - no problem. The Buffalo Bills have battled injury problems on the defensive side of the football all season. They have not played with the same eleven starters on the field for any single game all season long and the contest against the Carolina Panthers was no exception.

In a 40 – 9 romp at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, the Bills finally got back to their winning ways. They did so by playing opportunistic defense that featured three turnovers and seven sacks. They utilized a slew of previously seldom seen players and then rode the legs of their dynamic RB James Cook.

This was a game that caused worry in Bills Nation. The Panthers came into this contest as winners in all three of their home games. They welcomed in a Bills team reeling from two consecutive losses and a ton of questions on both sides of the football. But from this maelstrom of doubt and uncertainty, emerged a Buffalo defense that put the clamps on Carolina.  Though playing without their starting quarterback, Bryce Young, the Panthers have a stable of running backs that looked to gore the Bills shaky run defense, just as every other opponent - except the Jets - has done all season long.

Although missing the aforementioned defensive starters, the Bills got linemen, Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi, back from suspension, as well as rookie first round draft choice, Maxwell Hairston, back from season long injured reserve. But with so many faces in new places, there was not a lot of optimism that the Bills could stand up against the run-first offense of the Panthers. But not only did the Bills defense stand up, they dominated. Although they didn’t start, Hoecht and Ogunjobi made their presence felt on the D-line. At linebacker, the Bills alternated between a trio of Shaq Thompson, Dorian Williams, and ‘Buffalo’ Joe Andreeson, all of whom did a commendable job of holding the line against the Panthers talented running backs, as well as closing the gaps in Buffalo’s zone coverage.

On the back end, fans witnessed the return of veteran safety Jordan Poyer, along with guys like rookie safety, Jordan Hancock, and even CB Max Hairston getting playing time. Necessity is the mother of invention and with Buffalo’s alarming spate of injuries, this team sorely needed to reinvent itself.  Although there is a lot tinkering and tweaking that must still be done in the lab, especially with the loss of their stalwart DT Ed Oliver to a biceps injury, the Bills played an opportunistic brand of defense that at least puts them back into the conversation as to legitimate playoff teams.

The question now, is whether they can keep it up. With their arch-nemesis, the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town, we will have an answer soon enough. After some early season struggles, the Chiefs seem to have righted the ship. They especially benefit from the return of their speedy receivers, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown. Along with the even speedier Xavier Worthy, All-World QB Patrick Mahomes, now has his full complement of dynamic wideouts, which is sure to spell trouble for the rest of the NFL, including the Bills. This game will be a real test of whether the Bills’ defense can hold up against a bona fide playoff caliber team.

At this point in the season, teams have established their identities.  In that respect, the Bills have undergone an interesting transition from seasons past. They are no longer a pass-first team that rises and falls on the arm and legs of QB Josh Allen.  

At their best, the Bills now rely on a combination of Allen’s passing/running and Cook’s running/receiving to power whichever phase of their offense that the defense chooses not to take away. When both Josh and Jimbo are humming, it can be a matter of an opponent having to pick its poison.  That can be a winning formula for Buffalo, but only if the defense can hold up.  They don’t even have to be great – just good enough to get by.