Defensive tackle Ed Oliver was rewarded Sunday. The Bills’ 26-11 victory moved his team to 5-2. And after a disruptive individual performance, Oliver thinks he still has a bit more coming his way.
“Oh yeah, Jerry (Hughes) owes me some money,” Oliver said. “I forgot, yeah, Jerry definitely owes me some money. It’s all good, I’m gonna get it out of him.”
Allen and the Buffalo Bills’ offense showed up for less than a half against the worst defense in the NFL, in a frightful performance that was nevertheless enough to deliver a decisive 26-11 victory against the Dolphins.
In the fourth quarter, a would-be nine-yard sack by Oliver on Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was called back due to an offsides penalty on Hughes. While Oliver’s gotten close, he has yet to get a sack this season.
“That’d have been number one,” he said. “A long, long way coming. I’ve hit the quarterback so many times, I ain’t got no sacks. So Jerry owes me something. Something.”
A benevolent veteran, Hughes at least mulled the idea.
Jay Skurski grades the Buffalo Bills on their 26-11 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“Oh man, I’ve got to watch the tape because I thought we were both moving at the same time as the ball,” Hughes said. “You know, you’ve got to go with what the officials call, so tell Ed we’ll just chalk it up to a veteran’s mistake.”
In the win on Sunday, the Bills' defense held the Dolphins to 11 points, their second lowest total of the season, the lowest of course being when the Bills shut them out Week 2. The Dolphins were held to 262 net yards, their third lowest, and were 4 for 14 on third down.
A former first-round pick, Oliver was a big part of stifling the Dolphins and of the Bills' continuing effort against the run, as he continues to be make a bigger impact in his third season. Miami's 68 rushing yards were the second lowest allowed by Buffalo this season.
But it wasn’t a perfect day for the defense, and Hughes wasn’t the only one who addressed a mistake. Oliver nearly scooped a fumble late in the game, but got ahead of himself in the process.
“To tell you the truth, I think I had fell on it, and then I just tried to get up with it,” Oliver said. “And when I tried to get up, somebody fell on me. I was like, ‘Where’d the ball go?’ Then I’d seen some o-linemen jumping, and I was like, ‘Dang, oh well.’ So, think I was just trying to get up with it instead of securing it.”
The Miami Dolphins’ defense made things difficult for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills’ offense in the first half. But Allen made them pay for their heavy blitzing tactics in the second half.
It wasn’t exactly a lesson learned though, at least not according to Oliver.
“I’m trying to score. I’m trying to get in the end zone,” he said.
It turned out quite fine: safety Jordan Poyer intercepted Tagovailoa the very next play. And Oliver had been all over the field before that.
His first tackle for loss of the day came on the Dolphins’ second drive, bringing running back Salvon Ahmed to ground for a loss of three. Shortly after, on a third-and-20 screen attempt to start the second quarter, Oliver got right to Tagovailoa. The Dolphins quarterback was able to throw it away, only for the team to punt the next play.
Oliver said he’s happy to help at any point in the game, but also that he’s able to build on top of big plays as the game goes.
Don't miss Katherine Fitzgerald's quarter-by-quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“Them impact (plays) though, they do something to you. Once you get one, especially at home, you hear that crowd go crazy, and you’re like, ... I need another one of those. And then another one, I need another one, I need to hit the quarterback, I need to do something,” Oliver said, his voice getting faster with the repetition.
“So, just that feeling, it just overwhelms. It takes over your body. You’re playing so free. You’re just trying to impact, get another one, get another one. So I just let that take over me and just let that just guide me.”
His teammates aren’t surprised based off what they’ve seen in practice.
“He’s getting a good jump off the ball,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “Anytime you get a d-lineman penetrating like that, it just causes havoc for the offense, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game. ... The offense has to respect it and it draws more attention his way. You can just see how fast he’s getting off the ball.”
There are logical reasons for Oliver’s performance Sunday. But he's also fine throwing some credit simply to the time of year.
“You know, it’s getting cooler in Buffalo, it’s time to play football,” Oliver said. “And then we just had a bye week last week – how could you not be feeling good? Everybody should be feeling good right now.”
Ed Oliver talks to the media after the Buffalo Bills' 26-11 win over the Miami Dolphins.
