The Bills defense is primed for another fantastic season in 2020

The Bills had one of the best defenses in the entire league last season and that should be the case again in 2020.

The Buffalo Bills have been the butt of a lot of jokes over the years, but they showed last year that they can be a good team. They earned a Wild Card spot in the playoffs and narrowly lost to the Texans on the road in their playoff game.

Part of the reason the Bills were so good in 2019 was because of their smothering defense, which finished the season as the second-best defense when it came to points allowed per game (though it is worth noting that number one was AFC East foe New England). The Bills offense was good, but it was the defense that carried that team in their 10-6 campaign.

With Tom Brady out of the division, Bills fans have to be feeling good about potentially winning the AFC East for the first time since the 1995 season. Even if Brady had returned, however, this defense would have been reason enough to be excited.

For one, the Bills have added talent in the form of Mario Addison, Vernon Butler, Quinton Jefferson, and A.J. Epenesa, who was their first-round pick in this year’s draft. Throw in that they still have 2019 first rounder Ed Oliver as well as Jerry Hughes and Trent Murphy and this is still very much a scary unit.

Obviously losing Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips was a big blow, but that’s why the Bills went out and added those other guys. They want to keep this defense in tip-top shape because they know they have a legitimate shot at winning the AFC East this year.

Epenesa was a great pick by Buffalo in the draft this year and he gives them a true pass rusher capable of replacing what Lawson provided during his time in Buffalo. He had double-digit sacks in his final two seasons at Iowa and the Bills are optimistic that he can put up similar numbers in the pros.

The Bills don’t have the luxury of having the easy schedule they had a year ago (in fact, their schedule is ranked as one of the toughest in 2020), so that’s why it’s even more important that their defense remains solid.

The 2020 season holds a lot of excitement for the Buffalo Bills and their rabid fan base and their defense should play a huge role in their success this year.