The Buffalo Bills don’t have a finished defense right now. Two games in, they’ve already given up 62 points, and the offense has been doing the heavy lifting.
That can work for a while when the attack is humming, but it won’t be enough if Buffalo wants to get back to the Super Bowl. Eventually, the defense has to start pulling its weight.
One reason for optimism is that at least one young piece is already making that kind of leap. Deone Walker is starting to look like a difference-maker for Buffalo, and his Week 2 performance against Detroit put him squarely in the spotlight.
In a recent piece on Pro Football Focus, Gordon McGuinness highlighted the top offensive and defensive performers from Week 2. Buffalo showed up twice on the defensive line side, with Gregory Rousseau earning attention after posting two sacks for the second straight week. But the bigger story was Walker, who was named PFF’s top defensive player of the week after what the site called a dominant showing against the Lions on Thursday Night Football.
“Walker has blossomed in his second NFL season and was outright unblockable in the Bills’ win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football. He produced a 17.9% PFF pass-rush win rate, racking up two quarterback hits and five hurries while also batting three passes at the line of scrimmage.”
That kind of production would stand out on any day. What makes it even more impressive is that Walker did it without Ed Oliver, who was scratched just minutes before kickoff. With Oliver out, Detroit had even more reason to focus on Walker, and it still didn’t slow him down.
Buffalo would love to get Oliver back in the coming weeks and pair him with Walker to form one of the league’s better interior duos. But the Bills may not need to wait for that to see impact plays from Walker. He’s already shown he can be the kind of disruptive force this defense needs.
There are still areas for him to clean up. His pad level remains a work in progress, which is no surprise given his height, and his conditioning could improve so he can stay on the field for more snaps. Even with those issues, though, Walker has already established himself as a player Buffalo has been missing up front.
If Walker, Oliver, T.J. Parker, Bradley Chubb, and Gregory Rousseau can stay on the field, Buffalo has a real chance to see this defense take a big step forward as the season unfolds. Walker looks like exactly the kind of force multiplier this unit has needed, and the ceiling in this defense is obvious.
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Bills Just Let A Divisional Rival Take This Low-Risk QB Chance
Will Levis has landed in an AFC East neighborhood the Bills know well, signing with the Jets practice squad after Tennessee moved on from him and he cleared waivers. It is a low-risk shot for New York on a quarterback who was once a starter in Tennessee and still has enough draft pedigree to make the move notable, even if the path to real playing time is anything but clear.
For Buffalo, the immediate concern is not that Levis is suddenly a direct threat, but that a division rival is stockpiling another arm with starting experience. Levis opened 21 games for the Titans before last season vanished because of a shoulder injury, and now the Bills will have to track whether the Jets decide there is more upside here than just a practice-squad flyer. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Allens New Bills Drop Means More Than Just Another Collectible
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The sale also continues to support the Patricia Allen Fund, which helps patients and families at Golisano Childrens Hospital of Buffalo, giving the drop a charitable purpose that fits the spirit of the project. It follows another well-received release in the same collection, this one built around artwork from Jack, and shows how the Bills keep finding ways to turn a collectible into something more personal for their fan base. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Face A Brutal Test In A Game That Could Get Wild
The Bills have opened 2-0 with a burst of offense that has them looking every bit like a contender, topping 36 points in each of their first two games while Josh Allen has already pushed himself into the NFL MVP conversation. Allen has been piling up both passing and rushing production without turning the ball over, and Buffalo has needed every bit of it because the defense has been leaky, giving up 31 points in each game and sitting near the bottom of the league in opponent EPA per play.
The Chargers arrive in an even rougher spot at 0-2, with both losses coming at home and plenty of concern about how theyll keep pace if this game becomes a track meet. Buffalos offense can make almost any matchup feel dangerous, but the bigger question is whether a defense that has struggled this much can avoid turning a promising start into something more stressful than it should be. [Read more 🡒]