The Bills are 2-0, and no defender has stood out during those wins than Greg Rousseau.
Rousseau sees it as nothing new. In his mind, the league is just now noticing what he has always been.
The sixth-year defender dropped Jared Goff twice in the first quarter of Thursday's 41-31 win over the Lions at the new Highmark Stadium. He now has four sacks and three forced fumbles through two games.
That ties him with Hall of Famer Bruce Smith as the only Buffalo players ever to open a season with four sacks across the first two games. He has become the first Bills player since Smith to record at least two sacks in each of the first two games of a season as well.
Rousseau totaled 32 sacks across his first five seasons, yet never more than 8.0 in a season at
the pro level. He's already racked up half his season total in the Bills' first two contests of their 2026 campaign.
The scheme change has unlocked Rousseau at a new rate, but the abilities and level of play have been developing for some time now for the 30th overall selection by Buffalo in the 2021 NFL Draft.
"I feel like the scheme change helped for sure, but I feel like I've always been a good player," Rousseau said. "I don't feel like it's like I was just not good and now it's like, 'Oh wow, now he's good.' I feel like I've always been a good player and I feel super underrated, but it's cool. It's part of the game, just gotta keep on working."
The move to outside linebacker in Jim Leonhard's 3-4 has him rushing from a wider alignment, with Bradley Chubb working the other side.
The production is a leap but the abilities have been there since he was drafted, and Chubb's noticed Rousseau's development as well, having played against him previously with Miami and now alongside him in Buffalo.
"Yeah man, he's put his ability on film, and I seen it firsthand on the sideline so many years, the long arms he has, the ability to lift, his lift his incredible, he plays around really well," Chubb said after beating the Lions Thursday night. "He’s putting it all together man and his light's shining bright right now, it's been good to see, and we’re all just trying to catch up to him, play on the same level and do what we gotta do.
Week 1, when Rousseau recorded two sacks in the season opener against Houston, both were strip-sacks of C.J. Stroud, and the second one sealed the 36-31 win with 16 seconds left. He got back to work in the 1st quarter of Buffalo's Week 2 Thursday Night Football win over Detroit, logging two sacks and a forcing fumble against Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Four sacks and three forced fumbles later, the "super underrated" label is showing powerfully. If he keeps this pace, the pass rusher is in for a monster season.
His new head coach is among those who have enjoyed seeing him step up into his abilities as well in Leonhard's defense.
“It's been fun to see him grow in the scheme,” Joe Brady said.
In addition to the two sacks, Rousseau had two tackles for loss and four quarterback hits against Detroit. He'll have a chance for more a week from Sunday when the Bills host the Los Angeles Chargers and QB Justin Herbert.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills' Greg Rousseau on big start to season: 'I feel super underrated'
