The Buffalo Bills are two days away from hosting the New England Patriots on ‘Sunday Night Football’, and they could be getting back two key players.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver and linebacker Matt Milano have missed the past few games. Still, head coach Sean McDermott expressed optimism about their performance during practice this week.
“They’ve looked good,” McDermott said Friday when asked about how Oliver and Milano have looked this week. “Extremely competitive, they go out to practice every day, and they work hard. It’s good to have both of them out there practicing again for sure.”
Oliver and Milano were both limited at practice all week, and they are both questionable heading into Sunday’s contest.
 Milano and Oliver Are Close to Returning
Oliver has missed the last three games due to an ankle injury, while Milano has missed the previous two contests because of a pectoral injury.
The Bills will need both Milano and Oliver to return this week if they want to stop the Patriots’ rushing attack, which has been effective over the last few weeks.
New England ran for 104 yards on 29 carries last week in a 42-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, and they are looking to do more damage on the ground this week.
Buffalo has given up 310 rushing yards in its last two games combined against the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
The Bills Need to Fix Their Rush Defense
The Bills need to find a way to stop opposing teams’ rushing attacks; otherwise, they risk getting caught in a lot of close games. It’s challenging to beat Buffalo since it has one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, Josh Allen. However, if teams can effectively run against the Bills defense, they can control the clock and maintain possession. This means Allen will have fewer opportunities to touch the ball, leading to fewer chances for the team to score points.
Even Oliver knows the Bills can improve their run defense.
“Probably in the run game,” Oliver said Wednesday when asked about what way the defense can improve. “A few little things can make this defense elite in the run game. Just clean up a few little things. Somebody can be out of their gap just a little bit, and that could lead to a 10 to 15-yard run. That little detail can make this defense elite, like we don’t give up a lot of yards in the pass game, and if we can get the run game as same as the pass game, we will be all right.”
Oliver is correct that the Bills are exceptional against the pass, allowing only 125.8 passing yards per game this season, which is the best among all 32 teams.
Is Buffalo doing well against the pass because its secondary is elite, or is it because teams run on them all day, and there is no need for them to drop back and pass a ton?
The defense will only know when Oliver and Milano return how they will be against the run for the rest of the season.
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