Buffalo Rumblings
We take a quick dive into the film to analyze a few of the many unheralded things Bernard did well last Sunday
Looking beyond the surface of the Buffalo Bills’ Week 12 win against the Kansas City Chiefs reveals that the game was won defense. Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich’s group held the Chiefs to under 260 total yards and quarterback Patrick Mahomes to under 200 yards combined.
Linebacker Terrell Bernard was a major catalyst for Buffalo winning last Sunday. Bernard led the Bills in tackles with eight including three solo tackles and one sack. His efforts, which included a game-sealing interception of Mahomes late in the fourth quarter, led to being named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Let’s look at the tape and see all the ways Bernard was able to put his fingerprints on the game.
Play 1
Buffalo’s defense repeatedly won on third down, holding KC to convert only 5-of-10 tries. Above, we see Bernard make an amazing play on third down against Mahomes. At the snap, Bernard sat back and read Mahomes. Once Mahomes scrambled, Bernard pursued him and made the tackle (preventing a patented Mahomes throw on the run).
Play 2
Here we see Bernard make an impact in the run game. Once the ball was snapped Bernard came forward, with the right tackle coming after and attempting to block him. Bernard shed the OT block and then slid around to make the tackle on the running back.
Play 3
All game long we saw Bernard erase Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt from the passing game. He finished with zero catches. Here above, when the play started, Hunt came out the middle of the offensive line for a pass. Bernard met Hunt in the middle and jammed him, preventing Hunt from getting open and being available to Mahomes.
Terrel Bernard put together a big-time performance against the Chiefs in Week 12. He flew around the football and made numerous plays that helped the Bills knock KC off their unbeaten platform.
While his interception and sack were rightfully noted in the hours after winning, our closer look reveals how Bernard stopped scramble drills, made key plays in the running game, and negated any checkdown option to Kareem Hunt. What else did you notice from Bernard’s effort last Sunday?
