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While the Buffalo Bills have been able to handle most guys on the field pretty well, there’s one player who gets under their skin.
The Buffalo Bills don’t have much to worry about heading into the new season, knock on wood, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to take things for granted. MVP-winning quarterback Josh Allen and company have come too close too many times to let another season go by without getting to the big game, and they’re going to do everything in their power to get there.
While the Bills have been able to handle most guys on the field pretty well, there’s one player who always seems to get under their skin. It’s interesting to see, because it’s not a very intuitive pick.
Buffalo Bills Have Issues With 1 Player
In a June 4 feature for PFF, Dalton Wasserman names every NFL team’s Achilles’ heel from the past few seasons. In the piece, they look at the highest-graded player, offensive or defensive, against each NFL team over the past five seasons.
In the story, he notes, “The only requirement is that said player has to have played at least 100 snaps against a team, effectively ensuring that at least two games occurred between the opponents.”
It’s a fascinating piece, because it points out the NFL player who has performed best against each NFL team. Some of these players are surprising, including the player for the Buffalo Bills.
Wasserman says Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers has somehow always been able to get to the Bills in the worst possible way.
“The Bills have boasted a dynamic offense for several years, but they haven’t found a way yet to block Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward,” he notes in the piece. “In their four matchups since 2020, Heyward has recorded an elite 93.2 PFF overall grade against Buffalo.”
Wasserman adds that, “While he mustered only one sack in those games, Heyward racked up an incredible 24 pressures. He also dominated the Bills on the ground to the tune of an 89.8 PFF run-defense grade in those four games.”
Some Key Positives for the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are looking solid going into in 2025, and in a separate June 10 feature for PFF, Wasserman gives a reason for optimism for each NFL team in 2025. The reasons usually have to do with certain players who are expected to help their teams immensely, and when it comes to the Vikings, he could have gone with a range of positives.
“Every NFL team will enter the 2025 season with a clean slate — no wins, no losses,” he states in the story. “While those records will shift dramatically in the following weeks, each franchise has some hope of finding success until then.”
For the Bills, while having a MVP quarterback may seem like the best part of the team, Wasserman applauds their defense, pointing out that, “Buffalo spent most of its offseason trying to improve a defense that finished 28th in PFF grade last season.”
From there, he highlights a range of defensive players the team has brought on, stating, “The Bills used free agency to bolster the defensive line with Michael Hoecht, Larry Ogunjobi and Joey Bosa. Further complementing that set of players up front are recent draft picks T.J. Sanders, Landon Jackson and Deone Walker.” He adds that cornerback Maxwell Hairston will likely start at cornerback.
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson