BUFFALO, N.Y. β The AFC Defensive Player of the Week award comes back to Buffalo.
Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau claimed the award after a standout performance in the 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Rousseau had an AFC-leading three sacks along with a forced fumble and six tackles.
His strip sack of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray in the third quarter helped the Bills take their first lead of the game.
Rousseau said his performance was a team effort.
"Having that four equals one mindset on rushing upfront knowing if I don't get it, somebody else is getting it. We all just got that same dog mindset," he said.
The 2021 first-round pick joins elite company, becoming the fourth Bills defensive lineman to win the award multiple times. He is now in the record books with eight-time winner and Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, two-time winner Aaron Schobel and two-time winner Mario Williams.
In the post game press conference, head coach Sean McDermott said Rousseau's taking lessons from practice and applying them in the game.
"I love that he carried over to the game what he had shown in training camp and in the last couple of weeks in practice, that's big. When you can take how you do things from practice and do it in the game, that's a mindset, that's also growth and maturation in and of itself," he said.
According to the Bills, Rousseau was the first player in franchise history to record 3 sacks in a season opener since Ben Williams performance in 1983.
After the win, Bills edge rusher Von Miller said Rousseau's development has been good to see.
"It's just a great feeling to see him grow and see him develop into one of the premier pass rushers in this league," he said.
This is Rousseau's second time winning defensive player of the week, the first came in the 2021 season's week five.
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