Bills Central

Underrated Bills DE reflects on dominant preseason outing vs. Steelers

Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau recently spoke about his dominant performance in the team's recent preseason win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kyle Silagyi

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Though Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau has been a quietly well-rounded and generally stout player throughout his young professional career, he hasn’t consistently flashed as a pass-rusher. He hasn’t been poor in that area of the game (recording eight sacks in 2022 before tallying a career-high 62 total pressures last season), but the flashes have been infrequent; though he’s an immensely talented and defensively integral player, he hasn’t yet maximized his 6-foot-7 frame to become the vaunted pass-rusher he has the potential of being.

He flashed that potential in Buffalo’s preseason Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, recording 2.5 sacks on just 11 snaps. Each of his individual sacks were incredibly impressive; he executed a bullrush on Pittsburgh tackle Broderick Jones on the first drive, moving the sophomore back and also working past running back Najee Harris to take quarterback Russell Wilson to the turf. He beat Jones again later in the game, pushing him back to create a lane to Wilson that he promptly attacked.

It was an encouraging outing from Rousseau, who is eager to take the next step in his development and establish himself as one of the league’s top pass-rushers in his fourth professional season. He reflected on his performance against the Steelers during his Wednesday media availability, breaking down his first sack.

“It happened the way I wanted it to happen,” Rousseau said. “I want every play to go like that, you know what I’m saying? Really it was just a good get-off, I feel like, just threatening the upfield shoulder, kind of getting the offensive lineman to turn his shoulders a little bit, and he kind of just left the inside exposed. I went speed-to-power and fell off inside.”

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Each sack prompted a spirited reaction on social media, a response that was echoed within the Bills locker room. Though he understands the plays were, for lack of a better term, cool, Rousseau has already moved on and set his sights on the regular season.

“It was a cool reaction,” Rousseau said. “Dudes were happy about it, they were like ‘Nice move, nice move,’ and all that. But yeah, I’m glad it happened, but at the end of the day, it’s a long season. I’ve already put it behind me, there are way bigger things we’re working towards team-wise and individually. You have to go out there and keep doing it every single practice, every single game. I’m excited for the future.”

Greg Rousseau
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rousseau is already one of Buffalo’s most important defensive players, his ability against both the run and pass making him a key player that the team would likely hopes will be around for the long haul. He has two years remaining on his rookie contract (the fourth year on the base deal and his recently picked-up fifth-year option), and he could realistically receive an extension at any point over the next two years; becoming a consistently impactful pass-rusher would drastically increase his salary.

Rousseau knows that developing into that player starts off the field.

“My mindset is really just to go out there, game, practice, walkthrough, lift, whatever it is, just keep on getting better, keep on chipping away, keep on putting the work in and just making sure that I’m doing my part out there,” Rousseau said. “I’m one of the 11 dudes flying around the field and giving max effort all the time, and I’m also being intentional, like coach says, and trying to better myself because I know if I play better, it helps the team in the long run.”

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Kyle Silagyi

KYLE SILAGYI

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