‘Playing more aggressive, attacking'

For more on what’s happening with Buffalo’s defense, here are some highlights from defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s recent press conferences.

Q: At the end of the year, your numbers as a defense rankings-wise won’t be where you necessarily want them (and where they’ve been in recent years). But where have you seen your defense improve?

LF: Probably over the last 5-6 weeks just seeing how much better we’re playing from an aggressive, attacking standpoint. And the way we’re taking the football away, that stands out. That’s how you win games. We’ve improved so much on third downs, in the red zone ... we’re doing some things that affect the game and give you a chance to win. You’re right, statistically, the yards are not going to show that ... so you may not have the statistical numbers to show that you’re helping the team win but it’s evidenced by the way the guys are playing for sure. They’re playing very good football at this point that helps our team be in a position to win games.

Q: It’s probably not a coincidence that Tremaine Edmunds got healthier in that stretch and Tre’Davious White has looked a lot more like Tre’Davious White in as the year has progressed, it seems.

LF: Yeah, it sounds like you were sitting in our staff meeting because that’s what we talked about just a few weeks ago — the health of Tremaine and then Tre’Davious being Tre’Davious. We’ve seen it and it’s really helped our defense to take some steps forward at a crucial time of the year. So, yes, the combination of those two has definitely helped us for sure.

Q: On the defensive line, we’ve really seen Darryl Johnson pop on special teams but then he came through with a big play for you against the 49ers. How impressed have you been with how he’s stayed on task and improved throughout the course of the season?