When the Bills kick the Ryan twins to the curb, it's ironic to think it will probably be their defense that's the reason why. Rex Ryan's group wasn't good enough a year ago, and bringing in Rob Ryan to help out doesn't seem to have done the trick, as evidenced by last night's 37-31 loss.
Buffalo has had some bad luck with injuries, to be sure. It drafted Shaq Lawson and Reggie Ragland to start immediately, but Lawson will miss up to half the season after shoulder surgery and Ragland is done for the year after tearing his ACL.
The Bills showed promise in Week 1, sacking Joe Flacco 4 times. But they got only 1 off Ryan Fitzpatrick last night, and both quarterbacks have put up passer ratings in triple digits the first two weeks. The pass rush isn't there, and that looks like the biggest issue with the Ryan(s) defense.
It's a striking turnaround, with the Bills racking up a league-best 111 sacks in the 2013-2014 seasons, finishing 2nd and 1st in sacks in those two years. But Buffalo crashed heavily in 2015, finishing with a mere 21 sacks -- better than only Atlanta.
Three-year sack trends, by NFL rank, for each team are shown in the table below. They're sorted by the biggest increase (or decline) from 2014 to 2015.
| TEAM SACKS, 2013-2015, NFL RANK | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | +/- |
| Cincinnati | 10 | 32 | 9-10 | +23 |
| Pittsburgh | 25-27 | 26 | 3 | +23 |
| Oakland | 18-19 | 30-31 | 14-16 | +16 |
| Houston | 29-30 | 19 | 5 | +14 |
| New England | 5 | 13-15 | 2 | +11 |
| Denver | 13-15 | 9-12 | 1 | +8 |
| Tampa Bay | 23-24 | 22-23 | 14-16 | +8 |
| Carolina | 1 | 13-15 | 6 | +7 |
| Washington | 21-22 | 20-21 | 14-16 | +6 |
| San Diego | 23-24 | 29 | 24 | +5 |
| Tennessee | 21-22 | 16-18 | 12-13 | +4 |
| Dallas | 25-27 | 28 | 25-27 | +3 |
| Seattle | 8-9 | 20-21 | 17-19 | +3 |
| Green Bay | 8-9 | 9-12 | 7-8 | +2 |
| St. Louis | 3 | 13-15 | 11 | +2 |
| Minnesota | 13-15 | 9-12 | 7-8 | +2 |
| Kansas City | 6-7 | 5 | 4 | +1 |
| New Orleans | 4 | 25 | 25-27 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 29-30 | 30-31 | 32 | -1 |
| Cleveland | 16-17 | 27 | 28 | -1 |
| Detroit | 28 | 8 | 9-10 | -1 |
| Arizona | 6-7 | 24 | 20-21 | -3 |
| Chicago | 31-32 | 16-18 | 22-23 | -6 |
| NY Jets | 13-15 | 6-7 | 12-13 | -6 |
| San Francisco | 18-19 | 22-23 | 29 | -7 |
| Miami | 11-12 | 16-18 | 25-27 | -9 |
| Indianapolis | 11-12 | 9-12 | 22-23 | -13 |
| Jacksonville | 31-32 | 6-7 | 20-21 | -14 |
| Baltimore | 16-17 | 2-3 | 17-19 | -15 |
| Philadelphia | 20 | 2-3 | 17-19 | -15 |
| NY Giants | 25-27 | 4 | 30 | -26 |
| Buffalo | 2 | 1 | 31 | -30 |
--Andy Richardson