Bills DT Ed Oliver shows out against the Browns

Things have been tough for former first-round pick Ed Oliver who has had to battle a lot of injuries this season. A healthy Oliver had his best game to date though against the Cleveland Browns. The Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle had three tackles for a loss, one quarterback hit, and was overall extremely disruptive. Let’s review the film from Week 11 to see just how dominant Oliver played.

Ed Oliver lights up Jack Conklin

Oliver wins a matchup against star right tackle Jack Conklin. At the snap, Oliver extends his hands out and pushes Conklin back. The power from Oliver forces Conklin to stand straight up and move aside to the left. Oliver then goes to make the tackle on running back Nick Chubb, pushing him backward on the tackle. What makes this tackle so impressive is that Chubb regularly churns his feet and drives through contact to get extra yards when opposing players attempt to tackle him (none of which happens when Oliver tackles Chubb).

Oliver drops Chubb for a loss in the backfield

Here we have Oliver matched up against right guard Wyatt Teller (one of the best guards in the NFL). When the play starts, Oliver does a club & rip to move past Teller (easily getting by him). Oliver then makes an easy routine tackle on Chubb in the backfield with the tackle for a loss.

Oliver negates Teller, frustrates Jacoby Brissett

Oliver lines up on the outside shoulder of Teller here. At the snap, Oliver gets inside of Teller pushes him back, and moves his feet until he is right on quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s heels. The inside pressure from Oliver forces Brissett to leave the pocket and get off his progression. Brissett now has to make a scrambling throw on the move because of Oliver’s pressure.

Oliver manhandles Conklin

Pre-snap, Oliver is standing up on the outside shoulder of Teller. When the ball is snapped Oliver engages Conklin. Oliver uses his hands to get inside Conklin and rushes while on his outside shoulder. He then races towards Brissett to force yet another pressure. Oliver wins another matchup against one of the Browns’ best offensive linemen on this play.

In Summary

This was Oliver’s best game to date in the 2022 season. We saw Oliver matched up against some of the best offensive linemen in the NFL in both Conklin and Teller. Oliver excelled against both the pass and run game. Let me know in the comments how you think Oliver has performed so far this season and what your expectations are for him going forward.