1. Ed Oliver named to PFWA All-Rookie team
The Pro Football Writers Association announced their All-Rookie team on Tuesday. Bills first-round pick Ed Oliver was selected on the defensive line. He was Buffalo's only rookie to make the team.
Oliver joined Jaguars DE Josh Allen, Giants DT Dexter Lawrence, and 49ers DE Nick Bosa to make up the team's defensive line.
Oliver led all rookie NFL interior defensive linemen this season with 5.0 sacks. He also became just the second rookie in team history to tally a three-game sack streak, joining Darry Talley in 1983.
Oliver played the most snaps of any defensive tackle the Bills had this season.
Bills rookie running back Devin Singletary was not selected to the team, instead Oakland's Josh Jacobs and Philadelphia's Miles Sanders were chosen.
2. Bills largest looming free agent decision according to ESPN
Who will be the player the Bills will spend the most time debating about bringing back?
ESPN asked their NFL Nation reporters to identify the top looing free-agent decisions each organization has to make, how likely each is to part ways with the player and which could instead look to the 2020 NFL draft to find a replacement.
For Buffalo, it's defensive tackle Jordan Phillips.
The former second-round pick has long expressed his desire to remain in Buffalo, but his career-high 9.5 sacks this season might open a sizable market for him. General manager Brandon Beane said Phillips earned the right to test his market -- and it sounds like that is exactly what the Bills are prepared for him to do. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques
The Bills already have top money locked into Star Lotulelei and Ed Oliver for next season. Second year defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is rehabbing from a torn ACL.
Jordan Phillips led the Bills with a 9.5-sack season but will look for a pay increase after signing a one-year deal last January.
3. Tennessee followed Buffalo's blueprint to advance to the AFC Championship game
The Tennessee Titans defense used Buffalo's game plan to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in their AFC divisional round matchup.
"It was a lot of what Buffalo did to them, where we have rules, real strict option football rules, with an eight-man, nine-man box, and corners on their own," cornerback Logan Ryan said. "Buffalo played them like that. Buffalo played them really well. It's just, Buffalo's offense didn't score touchdowns."
The Bills didn't defeat the Ravens when they played five weeks ago but the team held Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to his second lowest yards-per-attempt average (5.8) and yards-per-carry (3.6) average of the season.
After talking to some Buffalo people Sunday morning, I can say the game plans weren't identical. The Bills disguised coverage more, while the Titans manned up the Ravens more, and Buffalo was a little more aggressive with its pass rush.
But the ideas were close enough, and both worked. The Bills had one bust that resulted in a 61-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Hayden Hurst. Outside of that? The Ravens had 196 yards on 58 plays. Conversely, the Titans gave up yards (530) but were so good situationally that it didn't matter. The Ravens were 0-for-4 on fourth down, scored just 12 points on four trips to red zone and turned the ball over three times.
