Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about the qualitative differences between the (thus far) 2026 version of the Buffalo Bills defense and the 2025 iteration under former head coach Sean McDermott. In short, the 2026 version is:
- running heavier defensive personnel
- running heavier boxes
- running the most cover 4 in the league
- running a less diverse selection of coverages
- pressing a lot less
- still not blitzing much
The results, specifically in pass defense through six games, were suboptimal. Before the Bills faced the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday, their defense rankings were:
- 30th in EPA per play allowed
- 28th in EPA per drop back
- 25th in EPA per rush
- 28th in success rate against
- 28th in explosive play rate against
Then the Bills rolled out a differently looking defense to face off against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and
the expected-to-be-explosive Baltimore offense…or maybe they would have. We can’t be sure. Jackson injured the thumb on his throwing hands on the Ravens first play from scrimmage and was promptly replaced by former Pro Bowl backup Tyler “Snoop” Huntley (who then was replaced by emergency quarterback and undrafted free agent Joe Fagnano).
This means that while we can (and should) discuss the changes we saw for the Bills defensive tendencies against the Ravens, all of them must be heavily couched through the lens of Jackson’s injury. The Bills set season-high marks in man coverage rate (54.8%), blitz rate (61.3%), and middle-of-field closed coverages (67.7%) while rolling from two-high pre-snap looks to one-high post-snap looks at the season’s highest rate (25.8%). They also completed abandoned the idea of pressing opposing receivers (0.0% after a previous season-low of 7.9%). In addition, Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard spent the game calling plays from the booth and commented that it helped him smooth out the operation.
The only one of the changes mentioned above that we can definitively say is likely to continue moving forward is Leonhard’s presence in the booth, confirmed by head coach Joe Brady during his press conference on Monday. Every other differentiation could have been influenced heavily by the immediate removal of Jackson from the Baltimore offensive equation after one snap. Would the Bills have blitzed as much if they had one of the greatest rushing quarterbacks of all time across the line of scrimmage? Would they have run as much man coverage and turned their backs to the signal caller if that signal caller was Jackson?
The Bills had a defensive identity against the Ravens: off man and a high blitz rate. We’ll keep an eye on it moving forward to see how much of it was “new-look Bills defense”, how much of it was “the Ravens don’t have Lamar”, and how effective it can be (if it persists).
…and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!
