Bills' defense doesn't want to be the spoiler for Buffalo

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas was near to watch the team's Week 15 triumph complete the Detroit Lions from his home.

Douglas, who was retired pinch a knee wounded suffered successful a Week 14 nonaccomplishment to the Los Angeles Rams, said watching the crippled connected TV near overmuch to beryllium desired.

"It's trash. They beryllium showing bad angles. I beryllium conscionable trying to watch [cornerbacks Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam]," Douglas said. "... I'm conscionable trying to spot the corners and the safeties."

Douglas said Thursday that he feels fresh to return to the section for Sunday's crippled vs. the New England Patriots (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), though he is listed arsenic questionable. As for what he watched connected TV, location is still activity to beryllium done.

"We won, but it wasn't Bills defense," Douglas said. "... We conscionable sewage to do a batch better. We can't beryllium allowing group to people 40. That's crazy, like, travel connected man. So, we conscionable sewage to get backmost to what we do."

The Bills person allowed 42-plus points successful back-to-back games. For a squad pinch the biggest of aspirations, the defense's lingering issues request to beryllium corrected. While backmost Josh Allen is playing astatine an MVP level connected the different broadside of the ball, the defense -- pinch a number of players still occupying the wounded study -- is challenged to play its champion shot and study from caller high-scoring miscues.

"We conscionable don't want to make the aforesaid correction twice," protect extremity Von Miller said. "We are capable to fto [the Lions] travel backmost by 21 points. ... And we want to springiness Josh arsenic galore opportunities that he tin to spell retired there, truthful he tin spell retired location and beryllium special, truthful he tin spell retired location and make plays and the much shots that he has connected goal, the likelihood are he's going to do thing crazy. He's going to do thing dope."

The only squad successful the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to let 40 points successful aggregate regular-season games and spell connected to triumph the Super Bowl was the 2007 New York Giants (2), per ESPN Research. Only 1 squad made the Super Bowl allowing a completion percent greater than what the Bills are presently giving up (68.5%, 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Buffalo allowed the Lions to enactment successful the crippled while the Bills were without 3 starting protect backs. The Bills besides mislaid rookie information Cole Bishop during the game, but he has not been connected the wounded study this week. And seasoned linebacker Matt Milano missed the past 4th of the crippled owed to injury.

Until heavy into the 3rd quarter, the Bills had held the Lions to an awesome 14 points. Detroit past put together 4 consecutive touchdown drives. After allowing Los Angeles to tally the shot and frankincense stay two-dimensional passim the game, the Bills fto the Lions to unreserved for only 48 yards. The Lions' rushing discourtesy had not been held nether 100 each season.

Third-and-long has been an rumor for the Bills astatine times this twelvemonth -- allowing conversions connected 78.8% of specified plays (14th worst) -- pinch the Lions' consecutive scoring started by a 66-yard touchdown from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown connected third-and-17.

"Work successful advancement overall," coach Sean McDermott said of the third-down defense. "I really liked what we did past week successful the tally game, and the messaging during the week, the players being together connected that and being connected successful the tally game. And so, we've sewage activity to do successful that area, to your point, and we're moving connected that arsenic we spell to practice."

Turnovers person been a agleam spot for this protect unit, arsenic Buffalo is 3rd successful takeaways per thrust (16.3%). The team's only games pinch 1 aliases less takeaways are 5 of the six one-score games the Bills person played and the nonaccomplishment to the Baltimore Ravens; the only crippled this play without 1 was against the Rams.

"The takeaways that the defense has gotten this year, I deliberation person been a large facet for us, successful immoderate of those aliases a batch of those wins," McDermott said. "So, we person to enactment connected that and past proceed to amended the item astir the tally and the walk crippled collectively."

This defense has flooded injuries passim the season, though the Bills person the fewest players connected IR successful the NFL (3). The squad still has a number of injuries to benignant done pinch Douglas, safeties Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin and linebackers Milano, Dorian Williams and Baylon Spector questionable against the Patriots this weekend.

The Bills will decorativeness the regular play against 2 struggling AFC East opponents successful the Patriots and New York Jets, matchups the squad tin usage to get patient and to amended the walk defense. This week, the defense has spent other clip gathering aft believe and preparing to overcommunicate up of the large location environment.

"We conscionable person to find ways to conscionable get disconnected the field," protect backmost Cam Lewis said. "So, first we conscionable sewage to return attraction of the run, and I consciousness for illustration we did that past week. ... But we conscionable sewage to make judge erstwhile we do get a 3rd down, third-and-longs, conscionable getting disconnected the field, conscionable giving the shot backmost to 17. See what he been doing the past mates weeks, we're trying to springiness him the shot backmost arsenic overmuch arsenic possible."