Jay Skurski
News Sports Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today
Ultimately, there is one stat that matters above all others for the Buffalo Bills.
That, of course, is their 4-0 record through the first quarter of the 2025 season.
That perfect record, however, has been obtained despite some imperfect moments in each of the four wins. Whether it’s a leaky run defense, inability to get off the field on third downs or too many three and outs on offense, there are clearly things for the Bills to clean up.
Oliver, linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) and right tackle Spencer Brown (calf) were limited on Wednesday. It was the first practice back for Oliver since Sept. 10, and the first for Milano since getting injured in the Week 2 game against the New York Jets.
When the schedule starts to get a bit tougher, will the Bills’ flaws come back to bite them? Buffalo’s next two opponents – the Patriots and Falcons – are a combined 4-4. Nobody is confusing either of them with the ’85 Bears, but consider this: Buffalo’s first four opponents are a combined 2-14.
“We could play better, for sure. I know I could play better. I’m excited for the future. Moving forward, we’re 4-0 now, but there is room to grow,” defensive end Greg Rousseau said Wednesday. “It would be scary if we were peaking right now and there was no room to grow. I know I’ve got a lot to work on, the rest of the team, we’ve all got ways we can get better.”
Defensively, the Bills rank 17th in points per game allowed at 22.5, and 11th in yards per game allowed at 290. The defense is allowing 164.3 rushing yards per game, which is 31st in the NFL, while the pass defense has given up just 125.8 yards per game, which leads the league. Opponents are converting 42% of their third downs, which ranks 25th in the league.
“I don’t feel like you want to play your best ball early in the year. You don’t want to peak too early,” defensive back Cam Lewis said. “Every game, you’re going to have stuff to clean up on. At the end of the day, we’re trying to get a win. We’re trying to go 1-0 each week. Us winning a game and still having stuff to clean up on Monday, it’s not always a good feeling, but we know we have room for improvement. Our best ball is ahead of us.”
There is truth in that. Over the past three seasons, the Bills are a combined 12-1 in December. It’s in that part of the calendar, and beyond, when they want to be at their best. Winning games, even if they are not in complete control at all times right now, is the end goal.
The first month of the season for every team involves a good deal of self discovery, learning what works and what doesn’t on offense, defense and special teams.
“There is always issues to clean up. Always,” defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “The season is a journey, right?”
During one of Babich’s first seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, he worked with Ron Meeks, who won a Super Bowl in 2006 as the defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack
That season, the Colts had the worst rushing defense in the NFL, allowing a whopping 173 yards per game on the ground.
What Babich took from that was this: Rarely are things going to be perfect. There are going to be situations within games and within the course of a season that will need to be addressed.
The Bills held the Jets without a third-down conversion in Week 2, then couldn’t get off the field against Miami on third down just four days later. The defense generally had not had a big issue with missed tackles until Sunday against New Orleans, when it appeared the Saints’ ball carriers were coated in Teflon.
“It’s just kind of a reset on where you’re at,” Babich said. “The problem is going to be if the theme keeps occurring.”
That’s why Babich sounded most concerned with the run defense. The team’s “gap integrity,” as Babich refers to it, has been a problem far too often.
“We can sit there as coaches and say it all we want, but we’ve got to take initiative and we’ve got to come together,” he said. “We’re still building that connectivity as far as across the whole board. We’ve got to be one heart beat. We’re working in that direction. We’re going to keep growing in the areas necessary.”
Offensively, the problems on the surface aren’t as dire. The Bills rank second in the league in both yards and points per game, at 404 and 33.3, respectively.
Despite those numbers, offensive coordinator Joe Brady has seen some inconsistency. The offense, for example, has gone three and out more than Brady would like, which puts the defense in a tough spot.
Consistency has lacked at times. In the first and fourth quarters, according to research from ESPN, the Bills have averaged 10.9 points and 112.3 yards. In the second and third quarters, those numbers drop to 5.8 and 89.8.
“We have a standard by how we perform, and look, we get eight, nine drives in a game, we need to capitalize on them,” Brady said. “I’m just as (mad) every time we don’t score on a drive. Are we chasing perfection? Yes. Are we going to be able to score on every single drive? I know we had the playoff game that I wasn’t here, but that’s really freaking hard. But that’s what our aim is, and that’s what we’re going for.”
That has made for some tough conversations during the film review of games – as it should be. As Brady pointed out, win or lose, accountability remains imperative.
Losing does not mean everything went wrong, but winning does not mean all is right, either.
“Those are the smoke detectors that are going to get us beat in the long run,” Brady said. “We’re playing really good football, and there’s a lot of good out there. But we’re leaving stuff out there.”
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Jay Skurski
News Sports Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today