Through four games of the 2026 NFL season, things have been a little shaky for the Buffalo Bills on the defensive side of the ball.
Surrendering an average of 26.8 points per game, which ranks 25th in the league, new coordinator Jim Leonhard’s young, inexperienced unit has undoubtedly endured some growing pains in more areas than one so far.
However, one spot the defense has been relatively successful at has been in the pass-rushing department, as the Bills are currently tied for the sixth-most sacks in the league with a total of 10 quarterback takedowns heading into Monday night’s matchup with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5.
In fact, sixth-year veteran outside linebacker Gregory Rousseau even leads the NFL in total sacks with six . . . which is just two shy of his career-high prior to this year.
Rousseau receiving league-wide respect, reaping benefits of Bills’ scheme change
And, not only does Rousseau lead all players in that important category, but he’s also tops in the league in quarterback pressures (29), tackles for loss (8), and forced fumbles (3), as well.
Whether it be due to natural maturation or him simply being better suited for the new 3-4 scheme now being employed by Buffalo under Leonhard, the 6-foot-6, 266-pound former University of Miami Hurricanes’ defender appears to be in the middle of a career renaissance in 2026.
Players, both current and former, are beginning to take note of his current trajectory, too. Some even think the Bills’ pass-rusher is on the verge of superstardom.
One such player?
Longtime New Orleans Saints’ and Miami Dolphins’ left tackle Terron Armstead, a former 12-year NFL veteran who was a 2018 All-Pro selection and a five-time Pro Bowler during his professional career.
According to Armstead, Rousseau’s current breakout performance through the first four weeks of 2026, which earned him the AFC Defensive Player of the Month award in September, isn’t that shocking.
Armstead always knew there was greatness inside of ‘Groot’
It’s a path that the one-time 2019 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year has seemingly been taking ever since he was just a young player going up against Armstead during their divisional matchups in the AFC East from 2022 to 2024.
In seven games between the two, which included six meetings in the regular season and one playoff outing, Rousseau—who’s affectionately referred to as “Groot” by teammates—tallied 23 total tackles and 4.5 sacks.
“When I played for the Miami Dolphins, and (I was) battling against the Buffalo Bills twice a year, Greg Rousseau was a guy that I always felt like was primed to break out at some point. Now, I didn’t know when it would happen, but he had everything—speed, size, strength, the awareness, (and) he was smart—and I’ve just been waiting on this season,” former NFL offensive lineman Terron Armstead said in an appearance on NFL Network’s GMFB on Friday morning.
“It’s happening right now before our eyes. We’re watching a star (be) born.”
Rousseau started off the season with three-straight games posting two sacks in the matchups against Houston, Detroit, and the Los Angeles Chargers, but he failed to bring down New England Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye in Buffalo’s first loss of the season last week at Highmark Stadium.
Rousseau was awfully close to Maye on multiple occasions, though, so it wasn’t as if he had any sort of bad outing during the recent affair in the AFC East by any stretch of the imagination.
Bills’ pass-rusher could be huge factor on MNF stage
For that reason, Armstead believes that when the primetime lights come on at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, for Monday Night Football in just a few short days, it’ll be running back James Cook III and Rousseau—not quarterback Josh Allen—who will be the real players to watch out for on the road against the Rams.
“The Rams are getting healthy. Puka’s back. Matt Stafford’s getting more into that groove—him, Davante, (and) all the things—but Greg Rousseau is leading the NFL in sacks, tackles for loss, and quarterback hits,” Armstead added on Friday.
“We’re watching a star emerge. Greg Rousseau (and) James Cook can be the X-factors for the Bills to get this win against the Rams.”
Kickoff for the intraconference game, which will be broadcast on ESPN, is slated for Monday night at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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