Defense

Defensively the Bills have shown very little respect towards the line of scrimmage and have crossed it to make plays almost at will. They’ve allowed the 3rd fewest yards and points on the back of their smothering pass defense. They rank No. 3 in terms of passing yards allowed. The Bills have 37 sacks and 74 tackles for loss this season. These numbers are good for No. 8 and No. 1 respectively. 21.6% of drives against the Bills end in a score, a mark bettered by one team in 2019.

The Bills blitz on 32% of their defensive plays, No. 11 in the league. If there is one slight criticism of the Bills it is that they are not exactly experts at taking the ball away from opposing offenses. 10.4% of drives against them have ended with a turnover. This is the 13th lowest rate in the league. They sit at No. 19 in the NFL with just 15 takeaways.

Despite only allowing 6.3 yards per pass attempt, teams are still opting to pass on the Bills on 62% of their plays. Teams have lined up in 11 personnel on 61% of their offensive snaps against the Bills. They have passed 74% of the time when doing so. The Bills have given up 6.4 yards per pass attempt against 11. They enjoy an eight to seven interception to touchdown advantage. 26 of their sacks have come against 11.

One formation that has been somewhat successful against the Bills is 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end, and two wide receivers). Teams have only averaged 6.2 yards per pass attempt out of this formation. But they’ve averaged 6.1 yards per rush attempt. The Eagles hit on a huge play on the ground against the Bills back in Week 8 with both Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders on the field.

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