Bills Central

Super Bowl-winning HC praises Bills backup OT who was forced to start vs. Chiefs

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark has earned significant praise for his Week 11 outing against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kyle Silagyi

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The Buffalo Bills’ offensive line has been routinely discussed as one of the league’s best throughout the entirety of the 2024 campaign, but it was without one of its anchors for the team’s hotly anticipated Week 11 bout with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Starting right tackle Spencer Brown suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s Week 10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, and though he expressed optimism throughout the week that he would be able to suit up for the AFC Divisional Round rematch, he was ultimately made inactive. With the offensive tone-setter sidelined, third-year swing tackle Ryan Van Demark was forced to step in and log considerable snaps on the right side of the line, and the unit didn’t miss a beat.

Ryan Van Demark
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Though quarterback Josh Allen faced occasional pressure throughout the game, Kansas City’s defense did not record a sack throughout the bout while tallying only four quarterback hits. Van Demark, in what was his first career start, was not among those who allowed a defender to get a hand on his quarterback, as though Pro Football Focus credited him with two allowed hurries, he did not allow a sack or hit.

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It was a promising outing from the 26-year-old that not only cements his status as a solid depth option, but speaks volumes to the quality of Buffalo’s coaching staff, namely offensive line coach Aaron Kromer; with a critical lineman who had started every game for the Bills throughout the past two seasons unavailable due to injury, a former undrafted player came in and played admirably. Van Demark’s solid performance has been highlighted by former Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, who circled the tackle as one of his “Gruden Grinders” for Week 11.

“The next Gruden Grinder is an offensive tackle,” he said. “I mean, the Buffalo Bills take down the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, and right tackle Spencer Brown is not playing. They’ve got to go to the next man up, Ryan Van Demark, No. 74 out of Connecticut. Van Demark played 74 plays, 73 at right tackle, one at left tackle, gave up no sacks, and Buffalo didn’t miss a beat. Way to go, Ryan Van Demark, hell of a job, man.”

Brown was listed as questionable on Buffalo’s final pre-Week 11 injury report and now has the bye week for further recover, so one could imagine that he’ll be available when the Bills next take the field for their Week 13 clash with the San Francisco 49ers. That said, Van Demark proved against the Chiefs that he can be trusted in a pinch, and in a contemporary NFL where quality depth offensive linemen are a finite resource, that’s not a bad weapon to have.

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Kyle Silagyi
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