The Buffalo Bills were 13 seconds away from a second-straight trip to the AFC Championship game. But when their defense failed to get a stop at the end of regulation — and again in overtime — the Bills instead watched the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate a win on the opposing sideline for the second year in a row.
It appears Brandon Beane is trying to avoid that fate in a third-straight year.
The Bills have been aggressive in free agency, and it makes one believe that the draw of playing alongside Josh Allen and having a chance to emerge out of the AFC is attracting free agents to Buffalo. Perhaps the best example? A pass rusher who just won a Lombardi Trophy: Von Miller.
Buffalo signed Miller to a six-year deal, $120-million deal on Wednesday, giving the Bills a formidable pass rusher off the edge. Miller joins a defensive front that now sports last year’s first-round selection Gregory Rousseau and last year’s second-round pick Carlos Basham Jr. on the edge, as well as 2020 second-round pick A.J. Epenesa. Buffalo also has veteran Jerry Hughes in the rotation as well outside.
In the interior Buffalo can rely upon Ed Oliver and Star Lotulelei, as well as two other free agent acquisitions, Tim Settle and DaQuan Jones.
Sounds scary, right? Well, there is also the fact that this acquisition of Miller is a prime example of an organization doubling-down on a strength.
Why? Consider this. Last season the Bills generated pressure on the opposing passer on 30.8% of their defensive snaps. That was the most in the NFL, and Buffalo was the only team to eclipse 30% in this statistic. Buffalo also hurried the opposing passer on 15.4% of their defensive snaps, again placing them atop the NFL in that category.
However, not all of those pressures or hurries were converted to sacks. Buffalo notched 42 sacks a year ago, ranking them 11th in the league. Still good, but not as good as what they did in terms of creating pressure.
Now, there is a school of thought that pressure equals production, and the Bills perhaps proved that given their success a season ago. But when you consider that Buffalo now adds Miller into the mix, you can see how an already impressive pass rush now is even more fearsome.
Because now you are dropping in a player with this kind of ability off the edge into the equation:
On this sack of Tom Brady from the Divisional Round, you can see how Miller bursts off the edge and converts speed-to-power, driving Donovan Smith back before flattening his path to the quarterback for the sack.
One of Miller’s most impressive plays from last season was his final sack in the Mile High City. On this play against the New York Jets, Miller dips around the running back and the right tackle before bending towards Zach Wilson, taking advantage of the rookie quarterback’s hesitation for another sack:
While his ability to get after the passer is what moves the needle for fans, Miller was equally impressive, if not more so, against the run. Miller tallied 19 tackles for a loss last season between Denver and Los Angeles, his highest total since the 2012 campaign. Miller works just as hard at setting the edge in the running game as he does attacking the pocket, and it shows up on plays like this against the San Francisco 49ers:
San Francisco tries to run Elijah Mitchell on a toss play towards Miller, with George Kittle trying to block the pass rusher. Miller, however, sets a hard edge and denies Mitchell the outside, forcing the running back to cut inside of Kittle’s block. For good measure, Miller scrapes off the tight end and cuts down Mitchell for a loss on the play.
His quickness off the ball also makes him a force against the run. Here against the Ravens, watch as Miller wins off the edge with a quick swim move, getting to the running back and dragging him to the turf for a loss of one:
Then in the NFC Championship game, that quickness again shows up against the run, as Miller dekes around the tackle and gets into the backfield for another tackle for a loss:
This is a home run signing for the Bills, as reflected in Touchdown Wire’s running free agency grades. Miller’s ability against the run will certainly make Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier happy, but his ability to get after the passer is a prime example of an organization identifying a strength, and then making it even stronger in the off-season.
Good luck to the quarterbacks on Buffalo’s schedule next fall.