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The Buffalo Bills defensive line had a strong outing against the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving.
The Saints (5-6) only managed one touchdown in the 31-6 Bills win. Overall, Buffalo’s defense didn’t allow much room for the New Orleans offense to work.
Saints quarterback Trevor Siemian was hit six total times by the Bills (7-4). New Orleans only averaged 1.8 yards per carry as well.
Such efforts always start, and sometimes finish, with the defensive line. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott knows that and via video conference following the victory he said he wasn’t surprise that was the case.
“That’s what I expected, to be honest with you. That’s what veterans leaders do, lead by their play,” McDermott said.
Of those those leaders, one was certainly Mario Addison. The pass rusher had two sacks against the Saints, one game after Buffalo’s defensive line was nothing short of terrible in a blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Changing the narrative, and quickly, is something Addison said he has seen happen many times in his decade-long career.
“We work so hard and the way we came up short [vs. the Colts], it can be demoralizing. Like I said, I’ve been in this league a long time. I’ve kicked a lot of peoples a–, and I’ve got my a– kicked, too. That’s just the nature of the business. But you’ve got to flush that and do it all over again and everybody had a great mindset going into this game and we were ready,” Addison said via video conference.
In terms of other defenders stepping up, Ed Oliver can be thrown into that bunch.
Oliver isn’t exactly the long-term vet like Addison.
Rather, his motivation might’ve come from home… literally.
Born in Louisiana and then raised in Houston, Texas, Oliver had a lot of friends and family in New Orleans for the game. He said around 40.
Simply put, Oliver wanted to make their ticket purchases were worth it.
“I’ve got a lot of family in Louisiana and a lot of family in Texas. I get in front of my folks… I didn’t pay for all these tickets for y’all to come here [and not play well]. I gotta go hard, it’d be a waste of money, really,” Oliver said with a laugh.
Whether it be veteran poise or an investment in family, getting such efforts from their D-line will be something Buffalo needs throughout the rest of the 2021 season.
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