The Bills defense gave up three touchdowns in Sunday's loss to Chicago, but all of them came on short fields for the Bears. Performing well in the defensive effort was Shaq Lawson, who stepped in at left defensive end for the injured Trent Murphy.
Lawson posted a career-high seven tackles on just 40 snaps, and added a quarterback hit and a pass breakup.
Two of his tackles dropped Bears RB Jordan Howard for a loss. Lawson had a third down stop for no gain and had a quarterback hit on Mitchell Trubisky that led to a third down incompletion and punt by Chicago.
"Shaq has been a bright spot for us," said McDermott. "He's a young man that when we came here I know he had some inconsistency in his history in terms of being available. Here's a young man who has developed on the field and off the field. Has he reached a final landing spot? No, but he showed Sunday he's on the upward climb and I'm extremely proud of how he has progressed this season, and the job that coach Teerlinck and coach Whitecotton have done with him."
Lawson's seven tackles were good for second on the team. Only MLB Julian Stanford had more in Sunday's game with eight.
NFL streaks
The Bills pass defense, which now ranks third in the NFL, has the longest streak of games without allowing a touchdown pass of 40 yards or more. Buffalo has now gone 20 consecutive games without surrendering a passing TD of 40 yards or longer.
Buffalo's offense cashed in on their only red zone possession Sunday as Nathan Peterman scored from a yard out. The Bills lead the league in most consecutive games without a turnover in the red zone with 13.
Bills notes and numbers
Buffalo's defense allowed 190 total yards to the Bears on Sunday, the fewest yielded to an opponent since 12/22/13 vs. Mia. (103).
The 64 rushing yards surrendered by the Bills marked the second-lowest total permitted this season (14 at Min. 9/23)
The 126 passing yards by the Bears also marked the second-fewest allowed by the Bills this season (121 vs. Ten. 10/7).
That performance helped the Bills defensive ranking to reach a season-best third in the league, with only Jacksonville and Baltimore giving up less yardage. It's a major leap from last year's ranking of 26th in the NFL.
The 163 penalty yards assessed against the Bills on Sunday set a franchise record for most in a game, surpassing the old mark of 159 set in the 1970 season.
League notes and numbers
--New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees passed for 346 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 137 passer rating and wide receiver Michael Thomas had a franchise-record 211 receiving yards, including a 72-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, in the Saints' 45-35 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Brees has 22 career games with at least four touchdown passes and zero interceptions, tied with New England's Tom Brady (22) for the most such games by a quarterback in NFL history.
--Kansas City running back Kareem Hunt had 141 scrimmage yards (91 rushing, 50 receiving) with three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) in the Chiefs' Week 9 win. Hunt, who appeared in his 25th career game today, has four games with at least rushing and one receiving touchdown, tying him with Chicago's Hugh Gallarneau (four games in 1941-42, 1945) for the third-most in league annals by a player in his first 25 career games.
Only New Orleans Alvin Kamara (five) and Indianapolis' Edgerrin James (six) had more such games in their first 25 career contests.
--The Minnesota Vikings, led by defensive end Danielle Hunter's career-high 3.5 sacks, recorded a franchise-record 10 sacks in the team's 24-9 victory over Detroit.
The Vikings' 10 sacks surpassed the previous franchise-high of nine, which was accomplished four times and most recently on October 25, 1993 at Chicago.
