Buffalo Rumblings
Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will write about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we focus on Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford, who overcame a brutal start to the 2025 season to turn it all around, right when his reeling defense needed him the most.
Over the last five years, the Buffalo Bills’ offense has changed quite a lot. Back in 2020, this was a heavy 11 personnel team (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) with common 3 x 1 receiver deployment, and the run game as a productive add-on. It helped to have Stefon Diggs, who led the NFL in targets, catches, and receiving yards that season. Now, that’s obviously different. This season, the Bills have run the ball on 49.4% of their snaps, they lead the NFL with 157.8 rushing yards per game and 5.1 rushing yards per play, and they’re far more personnel-diverse. Last season, they led the NFL in 6OL personnel by far; this season, it’s been more about having two tight ends and two running backs on the field. Overall, it’s worked out pretty well — the Bills ranked fourth in Offensive DVOA in 2020; they’re seventh as things stand today.
The Bills’ defense is different, too. Back in 2020, Sean McDermott and his staff ran as much nickel defense with five defensive backs on the field as anyone; now they’re calling far more dime defenses with six defensive backs, and the blitz rate has gone way down — from 35.8% in 2020 to 20.1% in 2025.
What else has gone way down is the effectiveness of that defense. In 2020, the Bills ranked 11th in Defensive DVOA; they shot up to first overall in 2021, second in 2022, 12th in 2023, 11th in 2024, and 22nd through Week 14 of the 2025 season. The decline has come for all the usual reasons — age, injuries, evaluation shortfalls — but if the Bills are to finally reach their dream of a Super Bowl appearance in the Josh Allen era, somebody is going to have to step the hell up and do something about the slide.
Over the last two weeks, that someone has been cornerback Christian Benford, the 2022 sixth-round pick out of Villanova who has earned his place over time as the team’s best player at his position. Like everyone else on this defense in 2025, Benford has had his rough days, especially early in the season when he was dealing with a groin injury. In Weeks 1-5, Benford allowed 17 catches on 24 targets for 182 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, no pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 132.3.
Yes, things have become MUCH better. Since Week 6, Benford has been a completely different player, allowing nine catches on 19 targets for 121 yards, no touchdowns, no pass breakups, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 28.5. That is by...
