Ed Oliver has arrived
The Bills drafted Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver in April in part because of his ability to rush the quarterback from the interior. The Bills were counting on Oliver’s pass rush skills translating to the NFL level and helping to fill the void left by Kyle Williams’ offseason retirement.
Oliver was slow to produce for the Bills through the first two months of the season. In fact, Oliver’s spotty play earned him a demotion as the coaching staff decided to get more playing time for Jordan Phillips in his place.
Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier have slowly eased Oliver back into his regular spot in the defensive rotation the past few weeks. As a result, the Bills have received exactly what they’ve been looking for from their first-round pick.
Thursday’s game was Oliver’s best performance of the season, one that shows why the Bills made him a top-10 pick.
Oliver came up with one of the biggest plays of the game for Buffalo in the second quarter when he sacked Dak Prescott and stripped the ball from behind. Trent Murphy recovered and gave the Bills a short field with a drive start in Dallas territory.
The sack/ fumble came one drive after Star Lotulelei picked off a Prescott screen pass that set the Bills up at the Dallas 29. But Buffalo went backwards on three plays before Stephen Hauschka missed a 50-yard field goal. It looked like it was going to be a huge missed opportunity in the game for Buffalo.
But Oliver got the ball right back just three plays later, stripping Prescott on a first-and-10 play from the Buffalo 49. This time, the Bills cashed in after Josh Allen converted a 4th and 1 sneak and Brian Daboll dialed up the reverse pass touchdown from John Brown to Devin Singletary.
Oliver’s play was a game changer for Buffalo and helped them get out in front of the Cowboys. From there, they never looked back.
Oliver then added a second sack of Prescott on the next drive as he blew through his blocker and ate up the Dallas quarterback for an eight-yard loss.
Oliver’s breakout performance came at the perfect time as he got to show off his skills in front of a national audience. For the Bills, Oliver’s recent play is a huge boost to a defense that already has its fair share of talent. If he can play to the level that made him a first-round pick, the level he’s played at the last few weeks, he can help take an already very good Bills’ defense to another level.
That’s a scary proposition for AFC offenses.