Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver voted Pepsi NFL rookie of the week

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver, the team’s first selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, was voted Pepsi NFL rookie of the week for his performance against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.

For the first time in his career, Oliver had two sacks in a game, taking down Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott twice in Buffalo’s 26-15 win. Oliver totaled four tackles, one for a loss, one quarterback hit, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble to go with his two sacks in yet another solid performance following a mid-season benching.

In Oliver’s first nine career games, he combined for one sack, 20 tackles, one tackle for loss, and four quarterback hits. The last of those games, a 19-16 loss against the Cleveland Browns, saw Oliver not register at all on the stats sheet, as he only played 23 of 69 defensive snaps in the game.

Since then, Oliver has played like a man possessed. In the three games since, Oliver has four sacks, registering at least one in each game, with eight total tackles, three of which went for a loss. He also has three quarterback hits and a forced fumble.

Oliver now has five sacks on the season, good for third on the Bills overall. He trails only Jordan Phillips (7) and Shaq Lawson (5.5) in sacks on the year.