Young defensive end Greg Rousseau could be in the middle of his breakout.
Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau has been flying under the radar a little bit since being a late first-round pick in 2021. Now in his fourth NFL season, he could be in the middle of a huge breakout after a dominating performance against the Arizona Cardinals.
Rousseau had the first big play of the day for the Bills defense in the first quarter. When the Cardinals were driving and Buffalo didn’t have an answer to open the game, Groot got his hands on QB Kyler Murray for a sack. The Cardinals still scored on the drive, but it was the one negative play they had.
At the start of the third quarter, the Bills tied the game and when the Cardinals took the field, Rousseau forced a punt with an 8-yard sack on third down. It was the first punt of Arizona.
The biggest play was still to come, though. On the very next series in a tie game, Rousseau fought through a block and knocked the ball loose. Dorian Williams recovered it. With a short field, the Bills scored the go-ahead touchdown a few plays later.
BILLS BALL‼️
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 8, 2024
: @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/ZyD4F5j7BP
Rousseau will play on the fifth-year option in 2025, so there are still another two seasons on his deal, but we advocated for him to sign a contract extension this offseason. The main reason for that advice? We thought he could have a breakout season in 2024.
Without Leonard Floyd and playing ahead of Von Miller, maybe he’s well on his way to that. He will probably be leading the NFL in sacks at the end of Week 1.