Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September.
The last Bills player to earn the honor was safety Jordan Poyer in Dec. 2017.
Rousseau has made a major impact through the first three weeks of the 2026 NFL season. He leads the NFL with six sacks and is tied for the league lead with three forced fumbles. He also became just the third player in NFL history to record at least two sacks in each of his team's first three games of a season, joining Mark Gastineau and Kevin Greene.
Among Bills players, only Bryce Paup and Bruce Smith have recorded at least two sacks in three consecutive games. Rousseau is also the first Bills player to lead the NFL in sacks through the season's first three weeks.
Watch related coverage: Greg Rousseau & C.J. Gardner-Johnson shine in Buffalo Bills best defensive performance of season
Following the Bills' 24-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, head coach Joe Brady praised the playmakers on Buffalo's defense. The Bills secured the victory despite committing five turnovers on offense, putting much of the spotlight on a defense that helped keep the team competitive during their Week 3 matchup.
"Offensively we didn't have our fastball yesterday, but defensively we had our fastball, and I thought that was really (great) as we continue to learn about our team," Brady said. "To be able to win yesterday when our offense wasn't at their best, but our defense was keeping us in that football game and playing a really outstanding football is going to pay dividends as we go forward."
"I love the way we responded but it wasn't perfect by any stretch," Defensive Coordinator Jim Leonhard said. "There was a lot of reps even that we won that we were like, 'ah, this, this can be cleaner.' I don't love the execution on some of it, but that's football, right? You go make your corrections, but you find a way to win on Sunday and you get to the next down."
