It doesn't take a lot of football knowledge to understand the Buffalo Bills will strongly miss Von Miller while he's away. He's one of the best defenders in the league and his impact has been felt every single week of the 2022 NFL regular season.

But to fully understand the extent of his injury, you have to look at the entirety of the Bills defense and not just its pass rush specifically.

Even before Miller's injury, the Bills had been changing their philosophy as defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier started to call more blitzes as the team navigated the injuries of Gregory Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa. As such, linebacker Matt Milano has been used significantly more to rush the quarterback among other defenders in the last few games.

Naturally, that means fewer players in coverage which in turn limits Buffalo's ability to play zone. Forced to play man-to-man coverage, the whole thing puts a lot of stress on the Bills' cornerback group.

Just look at the numbers Joe Buscaglia outlined in a recent article for The Athleticon the Bills' win over the Detroit Lions:

"They went from being cautious about blitzing to blitzing with regularity. In the second half, the Bills blitzed on 57.9 percent of the Lions’ dropbacks, and in the fourth quarter alone, they blitzed on 72.7 percent of Detroit’s passing plays."

Just like we talked about Ken Dorsey being under the spotlight if Josh Allen missed time after suffering an elbow injury, Frazier should be under a microscope on Thursday. Can he scheme up QB pressure without Miller?

The Bills will need it on Thursday Night Football.

What does this mean for the Bills defense against the Patriots?

The Patriots offense woke up last Thursday after being mediocre for most of the season as it scored 26 points in a Thanksgiving loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Despite not getting the win, Mac Jones had his best game of the season as he fired shots down the field and made big plays.

The biggest difference between that game and the previous unproductive ones for the Patriots? Pass protection.

Jones has played against a shaky offensive line all year and the Bills understand they need to pressure him to force him into errant throws and mistakes.

"I think the Vikings game also illustrated that Mac's mind and anticipation that he had as a rookie haven't gone anywhere," wrote Mike Dussault of Patriots.com. "It just highlighted the need for good protection and trust amongst the offense."

Whether or not the Bills can mess up that protection will be one of the biggest storylines in this game. Buffalo's edge rushers not named Von Miller combined for zero QB pressures against the Lions.

Fortunately for the Bills, they might be getting Rousseau and Epenesa back on Thursday. Both have been full participants in both practice sessions this week.

Featured image via Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports