The Buffalo Bills defense has been the glue holding together the squad for the last two seasons. With Leslie Frazier at the helm, the team has certainly fielded some duds, even to the point of head coach Sean McDermott taking a larger role in calling the defense early in 2018. That being said, they’ve averaged out to be very, very good under Frazier.
Here’s the tale of the tape for 2018. Vote in our approval poll below.
- Inserted Tremaine Edmunds as starting middle linebacker, managing a 20-year-old play caller and defensive leader. Edmunds was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month in December.
- Inserted Vontae Davis into the starting lineup before his abrupt retirement, replacing him with Phillip Gaines, Ryan Lewis, and eventually Levi Wallace.
- Started rookie Taron Johnson at slot cornerback over Gaines, only to have to replace him with safety Rafael Bush after multiple injuries to Johnson.
- Finished second in yards allowed, first in passing yards allowed, and 16th in rushing yards allowed.
- Finished the year 18th in points allowed and 30th in red zone scoring percentage. (Should be noted they had the worst starting field position of any defense in the NFL.)
- Totaled 27 turnovers to finish eighth in the NFL.
- Allowed four opponents to score more than 30 points in a game in 2018, including two who topped 40.
- Ranked eighth in third-down conversion percentage (36.5%).
Poll
Do you approve of the job Leslie Frazier did in 2018?
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