Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver was a huge factor in the 28-25 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The win marked Oliver’s third Thanksgiving game since being drafted by Buffalo in 2019, and he has been dominant in each one.
The Bills played the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in 2019, where Oliver put up a total of four tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass defended. Buffalo went on to win that game 26-15. In 2021 the Bills played the New Orleans Saints, where Oliver had three solo tackles, four total tackles, a half a sack, and one pass defended.
This season was no different for Ed Oliver as he put up another dominant performance. The Bills were without A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau heading into Thursday’s Thanksgiving game and were without Von Miller in the second half, Buffalo needed someone to step up on the defensive line — and Ed Oliver did just that.
Ed Oliver gave the Bills some momentum back with a sack/safety on QB Jared Goff after Josh Allen threw a red zone interception. In addition to the safety, Oliver had six tackles, one forced fumble along with a fumble recovery, two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits.
Oliver is now into his fourth season with the Bills and they are expecting him to step up more when it matters and he showed that on Thursday. Oliver is always one of the most energetic players on the field and will become one of the focal point of the Bills d-line while Von Miller recovers from his knee injury.
Check out the kind words from NFL Network’s Peter Schrager after Oliver’s big Turkey Day game:
