Buffalo’s offensive line will spend Sunday at Allegiant Stadium matching up with Maxx Crosby, and left tackle Dion Dawkins did not sugarcoat what that looks like on tape. Speaking after Wednesday’s practice at UC Irvine, where the Bills are camping between West Coast games, Dawkins said the Raiders edge rusher brings speed, agility and swag — and that the job still starts the same place it always does.
“Protect 17,” Dawkins said. “We know it. But our job is to protect 17. Crosby’s the homie. We’ll see him soon in Vegas.”
“Speed, agile, swag”
Asked what jumps out when he puts on Crosby’s film, Dawkins kept the scouting report short. “Speed, agile, swag. You know, the guy is good, and we know it,” he said. The Bills are 4-1 after a 37-34 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night and travel to Las Vegas for a 4:25 p.m. EDT kickoff Sunday on CBS.
Dawkins has faced Crosby before in the AFC West–East traffic of recent seasons, and he framed the matchup as mutual respect more than a mystery. The Raiders edge rarely leaves the field, and Buffalo’s plan for Josh Allen will live or die on how long the pocket lasts on early downs.
A mini camp in California
Instead of flying home after Monday and back out for Sunday, the Bills stayed in Southern California and practiced at UC Irvine. Dawkins called the setup a first of its kind for the group and said he loves it.
“It’s dope,” he said. “The fact that we don’t have to fly all the way back across the country just to come all the way back four days later. It just gives us kind of like a little mini camp. We’re forced to be here and we’re forced to be around each other. And we’re in Cali.”
That same theme showed up across the locker room Wednesday: more time together, less travel grind, a chance to clean up whatever the Rams tape still showed.
Rousseau’s awards and Cook’s next snap
Dawkins also cheered defensive end Greg Rousseau, who piled up defensive honors and then blocked a field goal in overtime Monday. “It’s pretty cool,” Dawkins said. “The fact that Greg can rack them all up. He’s balling. He just won us a game. He deserves it.”
On running back James Cook, who put the ball on the turf in the win, Dawkins described a quick reset. “At the moment he might put his head down, and then he goes to the sideline, thinks about it for half a second, picks his head up and keeps on going,” Dawkins said. “He’s a winner. He won at Georgia, so he understands. Mistakes are mistakes, and he’ll fix it.”
Sunday’s game is Buffalo’s first look at Las Vegas in the regular season this year. For Dawkins, the week already has a clear headline: keep Allen clean against one of the league’s most relentless pass rushers, then see the homie in Vegas.
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