Bills defense minus Miller vs. Patriots
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Von Miller has led the way for the injury-filled Buffalo Bills defense this season.
With Miller out indefinitely with a knee injury, his teammates are looking to repay the favor.
“We’ve got to hold together,” defensive tackle Ed Oliver said. “Von did the same thing for us.”
It’s been that kind of year for the Bills defense, which has dealt with several injuries.
The Bills (8-3) have found a way to persevere because of their depth on defense and their ability to score on offense, but they know Miller’s absence presents a new challenge. The standout pass rusher was injured in Buffalo’s 28-25 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving and Miller has been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots.
“He’s a future Hall of Famer for a reason,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “That said, we’ve got to move forward.”
Injuries have affected every position group on the defense for Buffalo this season.
The Bills opened the season with a banged-up secondary. Top cornerback Tre’Davious White missed the first 10 games of the season as he made his way back from a torn ACL. White played for the first time on Thanksgiving with limited snaps and could receive more playing time against New England. Safety Micah Hyde is out for the year with a neck injury, safety Jordan Poyer missed games on two separate occasions with an elbow injury. And cornerbacks Christian Benford, Cam Lewis and Dane Jackson have also been injured. Benford was placed on injured reserve on Saturday with an oblique injury.
At linebacker, Tremaine Edmunds has missed Buffalo’s past two games with groin and heel injuries and Matt Milano has missed time with an oblique injury.
On the defensive line, the news isn’t all bad for Buffalo — Miller is out, but others are returning. Buffalo’s other starting defensive end, Greg Rousseau, practiced Wednesday after missing the previous three games with a high ankle sprain. A.J. Epenesa is getting closer to returning from an ankle injury as well.