Sean McDermott's walks on campus at St. John Fisher University during Buffalo Bills training camp each summer are an opportunity for him to reflect on each practice and look ahead to the next.
One thought kept flooding McDermott's consciousness during his ninth camp as the Bills coach and it revolved around Ed Oliver, the 6-foot-1, 287-pound defensive tackle who terrorized the Baltimore Ravens throughout Buffalo's unprecedented 41-40 come-from-behind win Sunday night.
Buffalo Bills vs Baltimore Ravens (copy)
Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver had six tackles, including three for a loss, on Sunday night against the Ravens. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
"It gets me emotional," said McDermott. "Ed Oliver came in here and was this wild horse rider. No pun intended. He loves horses, but on the field, he would drive the offensive line crazy. His own offensive line, our own offensive line, because he would just go 100 miles an hour in practice. And he would scare me because he would get near Josh at times and I would have to warn him."
Multiple times, McDermott kicked Oliver out of practice to teach the ninth pick in the 2019 draft that he can't get near the Bills' franchise quarterback, Josh Allen. Oliver didn't get near the reigning MVP as they prepared for the 2025 season, but he was as mean and relentless every snap as he was as a rookie.
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"I care too much about winning to get near 17," Oliver said after he spoke to reporters Wednesday afternoon. "Without 17, we don't win that game Sunday. We don't even come close. So, I'm gonna go hard in practice, but I learned a long time ago to stay away from him."
Oliver's maturation also has been noticeable off the field. In position meetings, he knows the answers to questions before they are posed to the defensive line. He will routinely ask questions because he wants his younger teammates – including rookie defensive tackles T.J. Sanders and Deone Walker – to hear the answers.
Now 27 years old, Oliver has emerged as the heartbeat of the Bills' defense. And he showed in the season-opening win that he may be the key to the group unlocking its potential.
Oliver set a career high with six solo tackles, tied for second-most by an NFL defensive lineman in Week 1, and he had three tackles for a loss, including a first-quarter sack of Lamar Jackson that caused the Ravens to settle for a 52-yard field goal.
Oliver crushed Jackson as the two-time MVP threw to DeAndre Hopkins on Baltimore's final offensive play of the game, forcing the Ravens to give the ball back to Allen, who led the Bills on a nine-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Matt Prater's game-winning field goal.
The most memorable play occurred early in the fourth quarter, when Oliver tackled future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry for a 3-yard loss and forced a fumble that Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard recovered. It was an elite performance that surprised none of the coaches who work with Oliver every day.
"Ed Oliver is one of the top three most explosive defensive tackles at getting off the ball in the NFL," Bills defensive line coach Marcus West told The Buffalo News. "Not many can get off the ball like Ed Oliver can. He has what coaches can’t coach – that’s twitch. It’s the first step. It’s his gift and when that gift shows, it lights up stadiums."
Oliver's stat line was underwhelming in 2024. He had 20 fewer solo tackles and nine fewer tackles for a loss compared to the previous season, when he looked like one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. Oliver also missed two games because of a hamstring injury.
It was easy to overlook how he was helping teammates win at the line of scrimmage, including edge rusher Greg Rousseau, who set career highs in solo tackles (36) and tackles for a loss (16) while matching his best mark in sacks (8). Opponents were focused on stopping Oliver, which led to one-on-one matchups for his teammates.
The Bills got Oliver's best late in the season. He had four tackles, including a sack, and forced a fumble in a Week 15 win over the Lions, whose quarterback, Jared Goff, got hit three times by Oliver. Two weeks later, Oliver had three tackles for loss, including a sack, and a forced fumble in a 40-14 win over the Jets. In the AFC championship game, Oliver hit Patrick Mahomes twice and recovered a fumble.
"Last season was an up-and-down season for me, but towards the end, I started putting it together," said Oliver. "I just think I picked up right where I left off. ... You can never really put your finger on it, but I started trending in the right direction toward the end of the year."
It was the type of run the Bills learned to expect from Oliver in 2023, when his 9½ sacks ranked third among NFL interior defensive linemen. If Week 1 was any indication, defensive coordinator Bobby Babich will use more stunts with his defensive linemen this season to create more chaos at the line of scrimmage. They blitzed a linebacker or safety to occupy a blocker, creating a one-on-one for Oliver and others to win.
Oliver's combination of speed and power overwhelmed the Ravens' offensive line. He shot through the B gap on one play and overpowered right tackle Roger Rosengarten to tackle Henry in the backfield. While facing 6-8 right guard Daniel Faaele, Oliver fought his way into his gap and spun back to his right to stop Henry before the Baltimore running back could hit a hole in the Bills' defense.
Buffalo Bills vs Baltimore Ravens (copy)
Ed Oliver has appeared in 93 regular-season games since joining the Bills in 2019. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
"Not only to me is that the best overall game he's played, but one of the better ... it was a really good performance," said Babich. "And it's a credit to the way he's practiced over training camp. I think you guys saw it, and how disruptive he's been. Really cool to see Ed, even from last year to this year, has matured in a tremendous way. I'm talking football maturity, and he's really becoming a leader, which is cool to see."
It's a trend the Bills need to continue. General manager Brandon Beane reshaped his defensive line this offseason with the signings of edge rushers Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht, and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Sanders and Walker were drafted in the second and fourth round, respectively. Beane also selected edge rusher Landon Jackson in the third round.
The Buffalo Bills, down 15 points in the fourth quarter, came back in dramatic fashion to win the game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Se…
In 2024, the Bills ranked 12th in the NFL in pressure rate, according to Next Gen Stats. They were 18th in sacks (39) and 23rd in sacks per pass attempt, while the run defense gave up the ninth-most rushes of 10-plus yards (62). On third down, Buffalo's defense had the fourth-worst success rate. Even though Sunday was arguably Oliver's best game in six-plus NFL seasons, the Bills allowed 10 rushes of 10-plus yards. It's an area they need to fix before they face the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Pro Football Focus graded Oliver as the best defensive lineman in the NFL in Week 1. In his 35 snaps, Oliver pressured Jackson three times. The Bills moved Oliver around throughout the game to make it more difficult for the Ravens to slow him down. According to PFF, Oliver had three snaps at nose tackle, four lining up against an offensive tackle and one lining up outside an offensive tackle.
"Bobby does a good job being able to play to the strengths of Ed’s gifts," said West. "We move him around to create a moving target and then hit it. That’s what happened the other night. Ed moved, for the most part, at the beginning of the game. Toward the end, he became a stationary vertical target and they didn’t know how to catch him at that point."
The fourth quarter, specifically the last three drives, showcased the potential of the Bills' defense. The Ravens had a chance to close out the win with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter and a 40-32 lead when Jackson handed the ball to Henry. Rosengarten drove his left shoulder into Oliver, but the Bills' defensive tackle overpowered him to reach Henry and knock out the ball.
Buffalo Bills vs New York Giants (copy)
Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver was drafted with the ninth pick in 2019. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Oliver has been viewed as an elite talent for a decade. The five-star recruit spurred Power 5 programs to play with his older brother, Marcus, at the University of Houston. Ed helped them upset No. 3 Oklahoma as a freshman in 2016 and declared for the NFL draft before he played a snap as a junior. His dominance led to a Heisman Trophy campaign and, eventually, a Bills jersey. In 2023, Beane signed Oliver to a four-year, $68 million contract extension with $45.27 million in guarantees.
Success on the field didn't transform Oliver into the leader that he's become in Buffalo. It was fatherhood that led him to start guiding younger teammates like Sanders and Walker. Children have a way of teaching you how to be patient and observant, he said. It made him grow up in a hurry. But on the field, Oliver's next step is consistency. He's had two sacks in a game just once in his 93 regular-season games with the Bills.
For the defense to be Super Bowl-caliber, Oliver must overwhelm offensive linemen the way that he did Sunday night.
"That's what you try to go into every game and do, whether that's the case or not," said Oliver. "But that's obviously the goal every game. To make those plays, it feels good. ... It rode my way this past game. I was happy it was me for my own personal reasons, but it could have been anybody and I would have been just as happy, yes sir."
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