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The Bills and Buffalo both know the importance of Von Miller to their team’s defense.
Miller was cruising in his first season in western New York in 2022 until a knee injury derailed it. He had eight sacks and Greg Rousseau only surpassed him by half a sack by the end of the season to lead Buffalo in that department. Miller only appeared in 11 games for the Bills and was still right there.
Along with that, the fancy stats also explain Miller’s importance. Pro Football Focus named Miller Buffalo’s most important non-QB player in 2023.
It remains to be seen when Miller can get back on the field from his knee injury next season, but when he does, the Bills may need him to hit the ground running. When Miller is on his game, it makes the whole unit better.
Here’s how PFF’s analytics add to Miller’s importance for the Bills:
Early in 2022, the Bills looked like the NFL’s best team following the addition of Miller’s Hall-of-Fame-worthy pass-rush skills. He tore his ACL on Thanksgiving Day and, despite the team continuing to win games, the team’s defense wasn’t quite the same.
Miller was Buffalo’s highest-graded defender last season, at 85.8 overall. Through Week 12, when Miller was active, the Bills ranked third in team pass-rush grade. From Week 13 onward, they ranked just 13th and their pressure percentage dropped precipitously. He was also the Bills’ only defensive lineman who finished with a 70.0-plus run-defense grade. The Bills have to be better in the trenches if they want to make a Super Bowl run. It starts with a healthy Von Miller.
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