Greg Rousseau has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 5. Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons reported that he blocked a game-winning field goal attempt by the Rams on Monday night. Buffalo Rumblings' Sara Larson identified the kicker as Harrison Mevis and said the block saved the Bills in overtime.
The award is Rousseau's second in a short span. Larson wrote that he earned AFC defensive honors for the month of September less than two weeks ago. She noted that he is now collecting honors "in more than one department." Her piece also uses his nickname, "Groot."
The block came in a 37-34 Buffalo win at SoFi Stadium on Oct. 12. The game went to overtime, and Buffalo scored the final three points. Our box score gives Rousseau one tackle and one quarterback hit on defense. The block that earned the award is not part of that defensive line, and the reporting does not say how the Bills recovered or what happened next on the drive.
The game was a shootout. Los Angeles outgained Buffalo 454 yards to 436 and ran 78 plays to 57. The Rams went 40 of 54 for 377 passing yards and held the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Buffalo's offense relied on the ground game, with 234 rushing yards on 6.3 yards per carry. The Bills had two turnovers to the Rams' none, and both teams were flagged heavily: 13 penalties for 112 yards on Buffalo, 11 for 84 on Los Angeles. A kick that could have ended it for the Rams didn't count.
Rousseau's regular defensive production this season has been strong. Through four games played he has 19 total tackles, 14 of them solo, along with 6 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. That fits the September honor Larson mentions.
The win moved Buffalo to 4-1 and first in the AFC East. The Bills had lost 29-26 to New England on Oct. 4. Los Angeles fell to 2-3, third in the NFC West, and has now lost two of its last three. Mevis has 2 tackles in four games this season on defense, which doesn't bear on his kicking. Buffalo plays at Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct. 18. The Rams host Arizona the same day.
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