Bills defense comes up big in win over Jets

Oliver and Epenesa lead Buffalo's defense in dominant win. They are ready to go in playoff form.

DT Jordan Phillips pumps up the crowd as the Bills' defense gets ready to make another play against the Jets / Bill Wippert

On a day where the Buffalo Bills scored 40 points, set multiple team and individual records and saw QB Josh Allen add to his MVP resume, it was the Bills' defense that really set the tone Sunday afternoon against the New York Jets.

Over the past three weeks, Buffalo had allowed 375+ yards of total offense to each of their opponents. Sunday was a different story, as they held the Jets to just 281 total yards and 14 points, with all of those points coming in garbage time in the fourth quarter. The Bills ended the game with four sacks, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and a defensive safety.

Bills DT Ed Oliver said after the game that this was a get-right type of game.

"Sometimes you just need that win to kind of refresh your mind on who you really are," Oliver said. "Everybody had fun [and] everybody got a piece of the action."

Oliver and the rest of the defensive line have faced some criticism this year for their performance, or lack thereof, especially of as late. But everyone came ready to play on Sunday, as they all impacted the game in some capacity.

As great as Josh Allen and the #Bills offense were today, I want to give a shoutout to the defensive line for stepping up their game:

▫️Ed Oliver (1 sack, 1 FF, 3 TFLs)
▫️A.J. Epenesa (1 sack, 1 safety, 2 TFLs)
▫️Greg Rousseau (0.5 sacks, 4th down tkl)
▫️Jordan Phillips (INT)…

— Kevin Siracuse (@kevin_siracuse) December 29, 2024

"Confidence is a hell of a drug," Oliver said in response to a question about making big plays.

The Bills finished 8-0 at home this season for just the third time in franchise history and the first time since 1990. DE A.J. Epenesa, who recorded his first career safety and first sack since Week 10, said that they have been doubted all season but continue to find ways to get it done, especially at home.

"I've been apart of a lot of good teams here and this team, in particular, was doubted more than any of the teams I've been apart of as a Buffalo Bill," Epenesa said. "It just goes to show that our guys work hard, they put the work in, they put the time in and we're getting it done and that's what we're going to keep doing."

With Sunday's victory, Buffalo secured the 2-seed in the AFC as they will now face either Denver, Cincinnati or Miami in the first round of the playoffs. Regardless of who their opponent is, they will need their defense to continue to step up and make game-changing plays.