The Buffalo Bills needed linebacker AJ Klein to step up against the New York Jets in Week 10. Buried under big 45-17 scoreboard and five takeaways from the Bills’ secondary was Klein doing exactly that on Sunday.
Against the Jets, Klein was filling in for the injured Tremaine Edmunds. Typically, Klein has done so for Matt Milano in the past, but this time he started next to him.
The results were the good ones we’ve become familiar with. His teammates were quick to notice as well.
“There’s really no fall off with him going into the game,” safety Jordan Poyer, who had an interception himself, said via video conference. “He had a hell of a game.”
From the onset, Klein looked ready to go. He had an early tackle for loss, gathering two of those in the outing. Overall, Klein had seven total tackles and a pass defended as well.
“He ran the defense just as if Tremaine was out there,” cornerback Taron Johnson said, echoing Poyer. “I feel like that’s the story of our defense all the time. One guy goes down, we have another guy come right back. There’s no drop off.”
Such praise also came from Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott, who deserves some credit.
Early in Klein’s Bills career, things were bad. In his first spot filling in for Milano, Klein struggled in a big way. People were calling for him to be benched.
Instead, McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier adjusted and the rest is history… a story which even included an AFC Defensive Player of the Week Award win for Klein in 2020.
“We need and want Tremaine out there, he’s one of our leaders, one of our captains but I think what you saw was a lot of faith and trust in AJ,” McDermott said.
Naturally, Klein was grateful for the compliments. He also dusted off something his coach would love: Klein said he’ll always be ready, any time the Bills need him.
“It means a lot from the guys,” Klein said following the game. “I just try to do my best to help this team win. Whether it’s playing will (linebacker), mike (linebacker), or special teams, whatever it is, whatever my role is.”
At this time, it’s not exactly clear how long Klein will be needed to fill in for Edmunds. But one could expect him to return soon since the Bills opted to not put him on their injured reserve list.
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