Buffalo Bills’ defensive tackle Ed Oliver earned quite a compliment from Las Vegas Raiders’ four-time Pro Bowl selection Maxx Crosby.
Appearing on NFL Network prior to the Bills’ divisional round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Crosby identified Oliver as a potential difference maker against Baltimore’s high-powered offense.
“I think he’s the key,” said Crosby. “You have Derrick Henry. You got Lamar Jackson. You have all these matchups up front. I think Ed Oliver’s gonna be the difference maker. The way he plays against the run and pass is gonna be critical. You see him every single down punching guys in the mouth and making plays in the backfield.”
As it turns out, Oliver played 41 of 59 defensive snaps in the January 19 victory, leading all Bills’ defensive linemen, including edge rushers, in playing time. He was credited with three stops highlighted by a tackle-for-loss as the Bills held running back Derrick Henry under 90 rush yards.
“He’s been playing extremely well. He really has. In particular, the one run play stands out yesterday, where he got off a block. He was in his gap, what we call gap and a half, shed the block to play in the adjacent gap and made a heckuva tackle on the running back,” said Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott while addressing reporters virtually one day after the 27-25 victory.
Oliver, a 2019 Top 10 draft pick, totaled a career low 29 tackles over 14 regular season games, but he still managed to show up on film.
“For me, the guy that sticks out the most is Ed Oliver. I think he’s one of the most underrated interior guys. The way he plays, with that maximum effort at the 3 technique, is very rare in this league,” said Crosby.
