The Bills fought through four quarters for a hard-earned win in Week 8. The Dolphins were pesky, especially on defense, but came up short in the second and final matchup between the two teams this season.
While the Bills offense broke out for two passing touchdowns and one big running TD by QB Josh Allen, it was a defensive player who was given the game ball from Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver was a disrupter at the line of scrimmage all day during Sunday’s contest, making things consistently difficult for the Dolphins offense.
His 45 defensive snaps were the most among Buffalo’s defensive linemen, he brought three pressures while adding two tackles (one for loss) and was a big factor in the Bills run defense that limited Miami’s ground attack to only 3.0 yards per carry.
“I just felt free,” said Oliver after the game. “I was just out there just playing, just feeling free, playing, hitting the quarterback. When you’re having so much fun, it’s hard to tell how good you’re playing.”
Not all of how much Oliver brought to the game made it on the stat sheet,
He nearly recovered a loose fumble late in the game and had his first sack of the season in the fourth quarter as well, though it was negated due to an offsides call on DE Jerry Hughes.
“That’d have been number one,” added Oliver. “A long, long way coming. I’ve hit the quarterback so many times, I ain’t got no sacks. So, Jerry owes me something.”
Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier spoke on how, during the offseason, the Bills coaching staff has challenged Oliver to take the next step in developing his understanding of the game and mental approach.
“He’s such a gifted athlete, we wanted him to get to the point where he was becoming more of a thinking man’s player and being able to anticipate things by personnel on the field, by down and distance, looking at a guy’s stance, having an idea of what may be happening before the play actually begins.” Frazier said.
“He’s really grown in that area with his film study and really having a better understanding of what our defense is asking him to do within a certain call. So, that growth alone I think has helped him to become a better player, a more all-around player. And we’re the beneficiaries of that.”
For the second time this season following a game against Miami a game ball went to a player on defense. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds took home the honors after a Bills win in Week 2.
Oliver was the Bills ninth-overall draft pick in 2019, and the step forward he has taken in his development this year has been noticed by his head coach as well.
“I thought he played really well,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “He’s really developing and he’s putting in a lot of time, so give him credit for it. He’s really starting to process what it looks like to play that position in a complete way, run and pass. So, real proud of what he’s done the last couple of weeks.”
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