There’s a new version of Greg Rousseau showing up in Buffalo, and the first two games of the season have made that impossible to ignore.
For much of his early NFL career, Rousseau was the kind of player who did a lot of damage without always getting the spotlight. The Bills took him 30th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, and he arrived with obvious upside as a 6’7”, 266 pound defensive end.
He flashed right away as a rookie, but in Sean McDermott’s 4-3 scheme, he often seemed boxed in. Playing tight to the line, Rousseau didn’t always get the room to use what makes him different: the burst, the length, the reach that can overwhelm offensive linemen.
That’s not the story anymore.
Now working as an outside linebacker/edge rusher in Jim Leonhard’s 3-4 base system, Rousseau has been turned loose, and the results have been loud. Through two games in five days, he has become a problem for every offense in his path.
After Buffalo’s primetime win over the Detroit Lions in Week 2, Rousseau had four sacks in two games. That’s more than half of what he produced last season, and it matches the sack total from his rookie year.
Only one other Bills player has ever done that: Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith.
That’s the kind of company that tells you how well Rousseau is playing right now, and it also reinforces why Brandon Beane believed in him ahead of the 2021 draft. The start to this season has been as productive as Buffalo could have asked for.
Against Detroit, Rousseau posted two sacks, four quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss among three total tackles. Those plays helped wreck the Lions’ offense early, with the first quarter hole proving too deep to climb out of.
Week 1 was just as damaging in a different way. Rousseau opened the game in Houston by ending the Texans’ first drive with a strip sack that handed the ball back to Buffalo. Later, on the final defensive stand, he got home again with another strip-sack and turnover, shutting down any remaining hope for the home team.
It’s hard to look at those two plays and not wonder whether Buffalo wins in Houston without them. Still, Rousseau did not get AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for Week 1.
Maybe the national stage in Week 2 changes that. Maybe not.
Either way, he doesn’t seem interested in the noise. The focus, at least from the outside, looks aimed at winning and getting to the final game of the season in Los Angeles rather than stacking All-Pro or Pro Bowl recognition.
Even so, this is the kind of start that can change how a player is viewed around the league. Rousseau has long felt underappreciated, but that may be shifting fast if this is what his season looks like under Leonhard. A full 17-game pace is another matter, of course, but right now Rousseau is tracking toward 34 sacks.
For a player who has spent years hovering just outside the national conversation, that would be a massive leap. More importantly for Buffalo, it looks like a career renaissance is underway. Bills Mafia is watching the climb.
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Bills Passing Game Takes A Hit With DJ Moore Suddenly Out
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For a team trying to keep its offense moving, losing a receiver in that spot changes the feel of the game immediately. It leaves Buffalo waiting on word about the shoulder, while also forcing the staff to adjust on the fly against a Lions defense that had already seen enough of Moore to know how much of a factor he can be when he is on the field. [Read more 🡒]