Bills Coach Reveals How Run Defense 'Stays on Attack' Despite Imperfections

Buffalo Bills assistant head coach Eric Washington commented about his team's improving run defense in 2023.

The Buffalo Bills trounced the Las Vegas Raiders in a 38-10 victory at home on Sunday to get themselves into the win column for the first time this season. What stood out most may have been the complete erasure of Raiders running back Josh Jacobs.

Jacobs led the league in rushing yards (1,653) and touches (393) last season on his way to a first-team All-Pro selection. But in Week 2, he rushed nine times for -2 yards. His longest run of the game went for three yards.

Shutting down the Raiders’ run game, and thus forcing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo into more true passing downs, gave way to an utter unraveling. Buffalo had 40 minutes of possession and out-gained Las Vegas 450-240 in its home opener.

Bills assistant head coach Eric Washington spoke on Monday about the strides the run defense has taken.

“It first starts with the fundamentals of each position group, and that’s alignment, assignment, eyes,” Washington said. “Great coordination between the call and the run concept that’s being presented to us.”

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Buffalo was able to limit the Raiders to just 55 rushing yards, and Jacobs himself only managed 51 yards as a receiver. That defensive success, at least partly, is due to the Bills’ aggressiveness.

“We just stay on the attack,” Washington said. “It’s not going to ever be perfect, but if you start with that and you apply great effort … you have a chance to do some nice things and be consistent with that.”

In Week 1, Buffalo gave up 127 rushing yards to New York Jets running back Breece Hall. They lost, 22-16, and while the defense wasn’t to blame, preventing Hall’s 83-yard run could have shifted fate in the Bills’ favor. They made it a point to improve their run defense heading into Week 2 and did just that.

With running backs Brian Robinson, Travis Etienne, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Joe Mixon on the schedule before the bye, continuing to excel against the run will be vital to staying competitive in the AFC East. Sunday’s performance should give fans confidence in the unit’s ability to do so.