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Unforgiving Bills' defense rattles former folk hero in Week 8 win

The Bills feasted on Red Rifle all day long, forcing him into numerous mistakes
Owen Klein|
Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) causes a fumble by Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (14).
Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) causes a fumble by Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (14). | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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The Buffalo Bills needed a big-time bounce-back on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers after consecutive losses, especially on defense, and boy, did they ever get one.

Andy Dalton was a hero on New Year's Eve 2017, helping the Bills reach the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, helping them break the longest postseason drought in the four major sports at the time.

The Bills weren't as grateful to him this time, making him get into the spirit of giving, as the defense took the ball away from him three times.

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Dalton had the ball punched out of his arm by Greg Rousseau inside the red zone on the Panthers' second drive. Later, just outside the two-minute warning in the first half, Shaq Thompson sensed a screen coming, directing A.J. Epenesa to anticipate it. The command paid off with an interception.

The Panthers got the ball back one more time, but on a third-and-goal, the secondary held up long enough for Rousseau to bring Dalton down for a sack that led the Panthers to uncomfortably hustle their field goal team on, which led to a miss as time expired.

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With the game out of hand at 33-3, the Bills didn't let up there, as toward the end of the third quarter, Michael Hoecht made his first impact play as a Bill, forcing a fumble on Dalton to begin a drive, immediately setting up the Bills at the Carolina 19-yard-line.

Overall, the Bills' defense brought Dalton to the ground seven times and allowed just 4.1 yards per play. Other than Hoecht, five other Bills had at least a full sack. Their sack total was the most they had in a game since Week 3 of 2023 against the Washington Commanders, in which they had nine.

Ed Oliver, one of the defensive leaders, may be out long-term, but this was a very encouraging performance with a massive game against the Chiefs coming up.

Buffalo Bills defenders
Oct 26, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson (45), defensive ends Greg Rousseau (50) and Michael Hoecht (55) and defensive tackle Ed Oliver (91) celebrate after a sack during the first half against the Panthers. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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Owen Klein
OWEN KLEIN

Owen Klein has covered football, basketball and baseball for Penn State athletics as a broadcaster on local radio, including producing Penn State’s 2024 men’s basketball Big Ten Tournament games and calling Penn State football’s Whiteout vs. Washington in November 2024. He has internships with the Buffalo Bisons and CBS affiliate WIVB in Buffalo, NY, in the summer of 2025. He is a Penn State University broadcast journalism student at the Bellisario College of Communications majoring in broadcast journalism and is passionate about college and professional sports, the Pokémon Video Game Championships and the Buffalo Bills.

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