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Bills report card: Josh Allen struggles, Greg Rousseau outplays Myles Garrett
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- Bills report card: Josh Allen struggles, Greg Rousseau outplays Myles Garrett
CLEVELAND - There was a multi-media bonanza taking place this past week regarding whether Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett would become the NFL's single-season sack record-holder Sunday against the Buffalo Bills .
Buffalo's Greg Rousseau just nodded his respect for a player who will someday be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, then went out and completely outplayed him, taking over the game in the final few minutes to save the Bills from what would have been a horrifying and damaging loss.
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The Bills survived 23-20 in large part because on Cleveland's last two possessions - when it was trailing by the final score and had a chance to tie or take the lead - Rousseau recorded 1.5 sacks and had the pressure/QB hit that resulted in rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders being penalized for intentional grounding and putting the Browns into an impossible third-and-32 with 1:55 left to play.
In all, Rousseau finished with 2.5 sacks, three tackles and seven QB hits while Garrett had just one tackle and a half-sack, and that half-sack was a total gift that was awarded to him about a half-hour after it happened on a play where Josh Allen tripped while losing 22 yards , and Garrett and Mason Graham both touched him while he was on the ground to end the play.
It was the type of performance that we've been waiting quite a while for from Rousseau.
"Just doing my job," Rousseau said. "I felt like all four of us up front were rushing well. We're all working off each other, so just doing my job, my 1/11th. (Sanders) made some throws, he's doing his thing. I felt like we had a good plan, but he was trying to extend some plays. He was making some good throws. I think he's a good player."
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Coach Sean McDermott had a little more to say about Rousseau than Rousseau, who came into the game with just four sacks in the first 14 games.
"Yeah, that was huge, and we needed that from Greg," said McDermott, who a few weeks ago acknowledged that very fact that he defense needed more of an impact from its highest-paid edge rusher. "We believe that he can do that, that he can impact the game, so it's good to see him get back in that mindset.
"It's not that he hasn't been trying. He's been giving great effort, Greg's built that way. He's a very conscientious young man. I think when you just go back and look at it, hey, we felt like we had a chance to get after their O-line a little bit today. They've got some guys out. But having said that, it takes the physicality in one's rush and it takes all four guys to do that as well. His production today was certainly significant and needed and felt, as you saw it down the stretch there."
Here's how I graded the Bills:
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PASS OFFENSE: F
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is sacked by Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger during the second half. Schwesinger was the Browns' most potent defender with 12 combined tackles and this sack.
Wow, what a mess this was. It's not too often when Allen plays this poorly and the Bills find a way to win because usually when he has a clunker, there's no coming back from it. But it was clear that Allen was off as he completed just 12 of 19 passes for 130 yards. He also took the terrible 22-yard sack at the end of the first half, a play on which he hurt his foot , though he was able to continue playing.
This was the rare game when he did not produce a TD running or passing. He should have had one at the end, but Dawson Knox had an awful drop that would have put the game safely out of reach with 2:47 remaining.
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As usual, Allen also had no help from his WRs, an incredibly lame day where Khalil Shakir had four catches for 34 yards, and Brandin Cooks , Tyrell Shavers , and Joshua Palmer combined for two catches for 23 yards. Dalton Kincaid was also blanked, and Knox had just one catch for 10 yards. It was a pitiful display all around, with the exception of the work the line did in keeping Garrett away from Allen.
RUN OFFENSE: B+
James Cook got off to a great start, but like the rest of the offense, he disappeared for the final 2 ½ quarters. He had 68 yards in the first quarter including a gorgeous 44-yard TD run, he had 100 at the half and added a second TD run of three yards, but then gained just 17 yards on seven second-half carries.
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He joined O.J. Simpson as the only two players in team history to have a season with at least 1,500 yards rushing. Simpson did it three times - in 1973 (2,003), 1975 (1,817) and 1976 (1,503). Cook is now up to 1,532 yards with two games to play. Of course, Simpson achieved all three of those figures in a 14-game season.
Ray Davis and Ty Johnson combined for 30 yards on six attempts with Johnson scoring the Bills only other TD, and Allen had just 17 yards on seven carries. The Browns did an excellent job adjusting after Cook gashed them early and Buffalo had a mere 31 rushing yards 62 total yards total after the break.
PASS DEFENSE: B-
Daquan Jones #92 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball after an interception in the third quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on December 21, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jordan Poyer 's first-quarter interception, a ball that bounced off Browns' RB Quinshon Judkins and popped in the air, was his first since the 2022 season when he had four for the Bills. Poyer also made a great read and tackle on a key third-down play in the fourth that forced the Browns to settle for a field goal, and he finished with a game-high 11 tackles, but he suffered a late-game hamstring injury and did not finish.
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In the third, Joey Bosa deflected a pass and the ball floated into the arms of DaQuan Jones at the Browns 25, the first interception of his 12-year career. However, the Bills kind of wasted that by only managing a field goal, though it did prove to be the winning points.
Buffalo tried to blitz Sanders on numerous plays and they simply didn't work. In fact, the Browns burned them for a few big gains either with Sanders throwing short passes, or scrambling. But Rousseau showed up just in time to save the Bills as he dominated the final few minutes.
Sanders finished 20 of 29 for 157 yards, but his two longest gains of 26 and 21 yards were both catch and run plays by Trayveon Williams and Isaiah Bond . The Browns' best receiver, Jerry Jeudy , had only three catches for 12 yards.
RUN DEFENSE: D
Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns carries the ball against the defense of the Buffalo Bills in the third quarter of the game at Huntington Bank Field on December 21, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Browns had the 29th-ranked rush offense in the league at 92.4 yards per game when the day started, and they lost their best RB , Judkins, in the second quarter. Didn't matter. Like most teams, they blew through this terrible Buffalo run defense for 160 yards and 5.2 per attempt.
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Sanders was a big problem on scrambles with 49 yards, while Raheim Sanders took over for Judkins and pounded out 42 yards. At one point Cleveland was 8-for-10 on third-down conversions due mainly to its ground game, but it failed on its final four, though a 57.1% conversion rate was still impressive.
Matt Milano had another nice day with nine tackles, one for a loss plus two QB hits on blitzes. The Bills lost Shaq Thompson early and that was an issue against the run because Terrel Bernard simply isn't as strong against the run. He and Cole Bishop each had seven tackles, but too many of those were after decent runs.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-
Dec 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Buffalo Bills kicker Michael Badgley (32) watches his missed extra point with holder Mitch Wishnowsky (19) during the first half against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
This was a pretty inadequate day for the kicking teams. Lets start with new kicker Michael Badgley who missed an extra point attempt, so that's worrisome. He missed three when he was with the Colts which is why they cut him. He also hit a terrible kickoff late in the second quarter that didn't reach the landing zone, so the Browns were gifted a drive start at the 40, though they did not take advantage. Badgley did make his only field goal, a 41-yarder, and that wound up being the difference.
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Ray Davis muffed his first kickoff return but managed to corral the ball and gain 17 yards to the 32 so it worked out fine. Otherwise, some of his magic was missing as he finished with just a 23.0-yard average on four attempts. Mecole Hardman returned to action but had just one punt return for four yards. As for the coverage units, they allowed nothing on punts by Malachi Corley had a 26.8 average for the Browns on four kickoffs.
Jordan Hancock committed a facemask penalty while covering a punt from the Bills end zone with six seconds left in the first half that immediately put the Browns in position for a field goal and a gifted three points. The Bills lucked out when ex-Bills punter Corey Bojorquez fumbled the snap, so the kick was never attempted.
In the third, Mitch Wishnowsky had a punt bounce into the end zone from 62 yards away, so the net was only 42, an easy missed chance at a downing inside the 20, or maybe the 10. He did finish with a decent 42.0 net on three punts.
COACHING: C
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on the sidelines against the Cleveland Browns during the second half at Huntington Bank Field.
Sean McDermott went 1-for-2 on challenges, losing a narrow one on a Dalton Kincaid non-catch, but getting one right late in the game when he challenged a ball spot which resulted in a Bills' first down.
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Once again, the defense got off to a terrible start as the Browns moved right downfield for an opening TD, and the third-down woes continued, but when the defense needed stops, it got a few in some big spots including the last two possessions when Cleveland was within three points. Trying to exploit a Browns' defensive line that was depleted, Bobby Babich dialed up a bunch of blitzes, but they weren't having an impact until the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Joe Brady had nothing working in the second half and the Bills finished with a season-low 259 yards and were 2-for-10 on third- and fourth-down conversions.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 36 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Josh Allen struggles, Greg Rousseau shines
