Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz (12.18.25)

Jim, is there a comp to Josh Allen that you can draw from? Obviously, the ability of a quarterback to extend plays and run is prevalent in the league, but specifically him, the body type, everything about the way he does it, is there something you can draw from?

“Yeah, Steve (McNair) was a little bit shorter, but reminds me of Steve McNair, sort of circa 2002, 2003. Steve, early on, a lot like Josh, was more of a threat with his legs than he was in the passing game. And then as he developed that threat in the passing game and control and everything else, the legs never left. And Steve ran like a fullback; Josh Allen runs like a fullback. You know, there’s no trying to grab grass and get away from stuff, he’s trying to score, he’s trying to run people over. But he’s bigger than Steve was. I mean, to our players, he starts scrambling, it’s a lot like trying to tackle Derrick Henry – because there’s not a whole lot of difference in the size of those two guys. Great quarterback. He’s developed every year; he’s MVP for a reason. We got our work cut out for us, not just in the passing game, but also the way he uses his legs to scramble to buy time to create in the passing game, but also to run for yardage.”

 

Jim, after about 31 points the last two games, what’s the state of things, defensively, globally?

“Yeah, I think the biggest thing there, Tony (Grossi), is we have to control the game by stopping the run. And we didn’t do that against the (Tennessee) Titans, mainly because we gave up two impact runs. Both of them were touchdowns, one, whatever, 65 yards, the other one, 33 or whatever it was. And then this last week, it was the same thing. We didn’t give up the big one – there was a 17-yard scramble, and we gave up the 14-yarder where we missed a tackle. You know, and if you really look at it, you can parse it a lot of different ways. You can say, ‘well, other than those two runs, we gave up 3.5 a carry’, and 3.5 a carry over the course of season is going to be pretty good run defense. What I was disappointed the most within those stats is we didn’t do a good enough job controlling that run. They were able to consistently run it, where we couldn’t really make it one dimensional for the passing game. You know, when we were able to force them to drop back, we did a pretty good job in that regard. But I’d say that’s probably the biggest thing in there is…and as your run game goes, generally your red zone goes. I mean we have as big a challenge as we’ve had the whole season with the run game of Buffalo, not just with James Cook, who’s an outstanding running back that can threaten all 53 and a third of the field, and he can run with power between the tackles, but you also have to include the quarterback’s legs – he’s rushed for 500 and some yards also. So, 2,000 yards between the two of them. If we allow Buffalo to control the game in the run game by consistently getting yards…and like I said, like that 3.5 you could probably spin that as ‘boy, 3.5 is good run defense,’ but the consistency of getting three and four and five. We had a couple streaks against Chicago where we lost like four snaps in a row, five snaps in a row and on those 80-yard touchdown runs, and if you allow a team to run the ball that way, then they’re going to be able to control the game. So, I’d probably say that’s probably the biggest thing for us.”

 

Is there a reason, Jim, that the defense has not been what it was? I heard what you just said, but it’s really good the first 10, 12 weeks of the season. Is it because of injuries or…?

“No, I mean everybody’s got injuries. We don’t look at that. I mean anybody’s on the field; we expect to do their job and be able to play. I think probably the biggest thing, like I said the last couple weeks, has been run game. We held San Fran in pretty good check with Christian McCaffrey. And then we gave up a couple big plays against the Titans. And then last week it wasn’t big plays, it was more the consistency of the run game. And we need to be able to shed blocks a little bit better. We didn’t tackle very well in the Chicago game, particularly out on the perimeter and we paid the price for it. So, when it’s all said and done, defenses are judged by your ability to tackle, your ability to stop drives, and a big part of that is stopping the run. So great challenge this week with Buffalo, they’re the best run offense in the NFL. So if we don’t get it corrected, we won’t stand a chance in this game.”

 

I know you already said about everybody’s got injuries and you have to play through them. But how much did you miss Denzel (Ward), and yesterday it sounded like the plan was to play this week. What difference could he make if he did play?  

“Well, he’s one of the best corners in the NFL, so I mean, certainly having a guy like out there not only helps in the pass game, but also can affect the run game, just because of his ability to cover allows you to devote more resources to the run, right? But guys that can’t play, I mean, that’s part of the business, and the other guys have to step up. We have to come up with good plan for them. I think we see how valuable Maliek (Collins) was to the middle of our defense – penetrating, rushing the passer, tackles for losses, those kinds of things, and we need some other guys. We’ve had a couple injuries there. Adin’s (Huntington) been out for a little while and a bunch of different stuff there, and Mason’s (Graham) been sort of banged up a little bit, but he’s been soldiering through. But we need to replace that production also.”

 

In terms of Myles Garrett, whenever we talk to defensive guys, they’re all excited to rally around him and help him try to get this record and all that. The fact that he is getting so close to it, does that kind of add some excitement to your unit and give you guys something to rally around and play for?

“I mean, as soon as he was within five, we all thought he could do it in that game. I mean, because he’s done that before. So, you know, I mean, you know, that just is what it is. But I’d say this, and this goes back to theme that Jeff (Schudel) and Tony were talking about. Like, nobody ever sacked a run play, and you get tackles for losses and they can affect the game the same way. A sack for four, tackle for loss for four, second and 14, you know, good. But, like, if we don’t consistently stop the run game, if we don’t throw teams into second and long situations and third and long situations, it makes it hard to rush the passer. So, we have to do our part in there. We have to get like, you know, last week we saw third down, we saw screens, you know, we saw stuff like that because everybody knows what our strengths are and how they try to combat that. And it’s up to us defensively, both individually and scheme and all 11, to force teams to be able to have the drop back and pass, which would help Myles, right? If Buffalo comes out and runs it 60 times, you’re not going to get any sacks. If he gets a lot of opportunities, his success rate is pretty high and, you know, we’re a pretty good pass rush team, so I like those odds, but all ties back. And that’s the message we have, is we got to force teams to drop back and throw and don’t let them control the game with the run game.”

 

I guess along those lines, Myles has very much talked about how it’s not just him, it is the team effort as you kind of alluded to. What would it just mean for that entire group to know they helped him get to that mark, especially if he gets it done this weekend at home and all those things?

“Yeah, I mean, I think everybody’s concentrating on trying to get a win first and foremost, but it would certainly be nice to be able to get a win and get the record. I mean, like, you combine both of those, I think that’s good. And certainly, everybody would celebrate that, and everybody would recognize the role that each person played in it, not just on defense, but the offensive scout team and all the different layers that go into it. But, we’ll celebrate that when it happens. But, the main focus this week is trying to come out with a win and, you know, trying to take away the strength of their offense, which is running the ball and Josh Allen scrambles.”

 

Jim, I know you’ve said a lot about Carson (Schwesinger) already this season, obviously, but as the season has gone on, and he’s continued to perform, have you seen these opposing offenses and coordinators do more to try to neutralize him or avoid him or anything like that?

“Yeah. He’s still productive. I mean, the middle linebacker is right in the middle of everything. So, it’s not like a corner where you can throw away from or a pass rusher that you can run away from or you can chip to and stuff like that. It makes it a lot harder because he’s right in the middle of the defense. He’s played outstanding for us. And you know, I’d also mention, you guys see the injury report every week. You know, he has a lot of times on Wednesdays and Thursdays that he’s not practicing very much. He has really impressed me with his toughness and his ability to play through some injuries and some pain. That shows a lot of grit, that shows a lot of toughness. And not only do the coaches appreciate that, but his teammates appreciate that also. So, you know, I mean, coming back in a couple weeks from a high ankle – I mean, it wasn’t like it was magically healed in two weeks. He had to really push through that. I’ve been really proud of him, and I know his teammates are too, they respect that.”

 

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