Bills DE earns AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after breakout performance

Buffalo Bills defensive end Grey Rousseau picked up an AFC Defensive Player of the Week after dominating the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

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Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau has been nationally recognized for his stellar performance in his team’s Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, as he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.

Rousseau was relentless in getting after quarterback Kyler Murray in last week’s 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals, picking up three sacks, six tackles, and a forced fumble. Rousseau tied a franchise record for the most sacks in a season opener, joining Ben Williams (1983) in the ranks of Buffalo players who have accomplished the feat.

Rousseau's most impactful play in the contest was a third-quarter strip sack that ultimately led to the Bills taking a 24-17 lead over the Cardinals. This was the first lead of the game for Buffalo after being down 17-3 at halftime.

Greg Rousseau has been named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. pic.twitter.com/ciUU0Due8v

— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 11, 2024

Related: Two defenders ruled out, another doubtful for Bills Week 2 clash vs. Dolphins

Rousseau has been an oft-talked about player throughout the summer given his consistent flashes throughout training camp and the preseason. He has said all the right things as his focus has been on improving his craft, stating in August that he knows that he hasn’t yet arrived.

Though he's now on track to dramatically best this total, his current career-high in sacks in a single season is eight, a number he reached in 2022. While the sack numbers last year were lower than in 2022 (five), he had more tackles (42), tackles for loss (12), and quarterback hits (18) in 2023.

The signs were there in preseason that Rousseau was ready for a big season after a 2.5-sack performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He appears to have gotten faster and elusive off the line than in previous seasons.

Buffalo has a challenge this week with a short turnaround as it's set to face the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked three times in their win against the Jacksonville Jaguars; Rousseau could potentially feast on an offensive line that struggled to keep Tagovailoa upright.

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