The Buffalo Bills defense has perenially been one of the league’s best since head coach Sean McDermott took the reins of the team in 2017, consistently finishing near the top of the NFL in total defense and points allowed. Buffalo is coming off a 2023 season in which it finished ninth in yards allowed per game (307.2) and fourth in points allowed per game (18.3), marking the team’s third consecutive finish among the league’s top 10 leaders in total defense and fifth under McDermott’s leadership.
Buffalo’s defense underwent a bit of a revamp in the 2024 offseason, however, with the team moving on from stalwart safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer and cornerback Tre’Davious White, all of whom have started for the team (when healthy) since 2017. While key cogs like Matt Milano, Greg Rousseau, and Taron Johnson are set to return, the turnover at the position has sparked concern from some; in his recent ranking of every defensive unit in the NFL, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine listed the Bills’ defense as the 17th best in the league, noting the aforementioned departures and the losses of rotational pass rusher Leonard Floyd and linebacker Tyrel Dodson as reasons for concern.