Bills don't need to rush Von Miller back into action
A lot of things went wrong for the Buffalo Bills during their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the pass rush bears no responsibility for the final outcome. Throughout the majority of the game, Bills pass rushers -whether it was a typical rusher or a guy blitzing Trevor Lawrence- were all over the place, making […]
A lot of things went wrong for the Buffalo Bills during their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the pass rush bears no responsibility for the final outcome.
Throughout the majority of the game, Bills pass rushers -whether it was a typical rusher or a guy blitzing Trevor Lawrence- were all over the place, making big plays when the team needed them most. Overall, the team finished with 5.0 sacks, eight quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries on the day.
And the pass rush managed to make all this happen without Greg Rosseau and with Von Miller on a snap count.
Going back to Miller, it's wild to see how his absence hasn't affected the pass rush in 2023 like it did last year. Coming into the game, the Bills boasted a league-high 16.0 sacks and 32.1% pressure rate. They also knocked down quarterbacks at the second-highest rate (15.5%), despite blitzing at the NFL's third-lowest clip (17.6%).
They were also one of three teams to have three players with at least 3.0 sacks and just one of two teams to have five or more players with at least 2.0 sacks through the first four weeks of the season. Only the Seattle Seahawks had more players (6) than the Bills. And of course, they had two players with 2.0 sacks on Sunday in A.J. Epenesa and Leonard Floyd.
Miller played just 20 snaps against the Jaguars and the team needs to continue bringing him back at a slow pace over these next few weeks. Over the next three weeks, the Bills face the New York Giants and New England Patriots before hosting the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Those are two one-win teams and what appears to be a pretty solid Bucs team.
Plus, all three teams aren't the strongest up front. Especially the former two. The Bills pass rush could easily be a factor against them as Miller continues to climb the proverbial hill that is his recovery.
Now where the Bills could certainly use Miller is in situations in the fourth quarter where the Jaguars scored two touchdowns in about 11 minutes. The pass rush came up with a clutch strip-sack of Lawrence at the beginning of the quarter, but couldn't contain the Jags offense during its next two drives and it helped the Bills lose.
If the Bills want to save Miller's snaps into the fourth quarter, that's certainly logical and there are ways to do that. Either way, they don't need to rush him back into action. Having him fully healthy by the time November rolls around would be key and can certainly help the Bills push for yet another AFC East title and playoff berth.
