The Buffalo Bills were hard on themselves following their second-straight poor performance as a defense against the run during their loss to the New York Jets.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott was perhaps the toughest.
“That’s something we have to seriously look at,” McDermott said via video conference. “That’s where the game starts, up front.”
A few days removed, the Bills’ on-field leader is taking a step back. Defensive end Von Miller is not overreacting.
“Definitely no panic from my end and definitely no panic from the coaches or anything like that,” Miller said via video conference on Wednesday.
Miller’s reasoning is simple. He said he’s seen the Bills (6-2) play well against the run. It’s happened just earlier this year in his mind.
“I’m not concerned because I know we can stop the run. I’m not concern… I know that we can stop the run. I don’t think that we’ve got to come with any schemes or anything special to stop the run,” Miller said. “We’ve got everything we need. We’ve played the run well all the way up until this point.”
Following the Jets loss, Miller did say he “didn’t do enough.” Miller specifically said that regarding defending the run.
And even with his new-found confidence, it’s the truth that Buffalo must improve against the run.
The Vikings (7-1) sport an offense that only averages 102 rushing yards per game. However, Minnesota still has Pro Bowl rusher Dalvin Cook carrying the ball. He can break things open at any time.
Even so, it’s more complex than just that. While all eyes in Buffalo are on the defense, the offense will play a part too.
Defensively Miller is right, the Bills did play against the run better earlier this season.
Something that helps is a strong offense.
When Buffalo would get ahead on opponents, they end up bailing on rushing the ball. That plays right into the hands of the Bills’ strong secondary.
Against the Vikings, enough has to be done offensively and defensively to slow down their rushing attack en route to the Bills getting back into the win column. Easier said than done with the uncertain status of quarterback Josh Allen and his elbow injury.
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