Greg Rousseau didn’t sound interested in calling Buffalo’s latest defensive showing a one-off.
Eight days after the Bills rolled past the Baltimore Ravens 36-10 in Week 8, Buffalo’s defense went right back to work Monday night and made life miserable for Minnesota quarterback Carson Wentz in a 23-6 win at U.S. Bank Stadium. After the game, with the Bills sitting at 7-1, Rousseau made it clear he sees a pattern forming.
“Last week wasn’t a fluke,” Rousseau said in reference to Buffalo's win over Baltimore, per Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. “It’s what we are.
It’s what we can do. We just have to keep going.”
The numbers backed up the message. Wentz finished 8-of-25 for 81 yards with two interceptions, and the Vikings never found the end zone on offense. Lysowski also noted that Rousseau finished with a sack, a fumble recovery, a pass defended and three quarterback hits in the win.
Still, the Bills’ recent defensive success comes with some context. On Nov.
1, Baltimore had to turn to undrafted rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano after Lamar Jackson and primary backup Tyler Huntley were injured. Monday’s game also came against a Minnesota team starting Wentz because Kyler Murray is dealing with a hamstring issue.
Even so, Buffalo’s defense leaned into the moment and kept pressing.
“When you see them frustrated, it makes you want to keep going harder,” Bills outside linebacker Bradley Chubb said about a Minnesota offense that recorded zero touchdown drives on Monday night. “Keep your foot on their neck and squeeze the life out of them as much as you can. With that comes opportunities to make plays.”
The Bills’ next chance to back up that confidence comes Nov. 15 at the rival New York Jets, where Buffalo will try to show those last two dominant outings were no accident. As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Bills as 8.5-point favorites.
Inside linebacker Dorian Williams said the group knows the standard has to hold.
“We’ve got to keep doing it,” Williams added following Monday’s win. “We have to continue to grow and get better.
It’s something everybody here wants to do. Nobody here is satisfied with this performance.
We have to keep growing and get closer.”
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