During the first three weeks of the season, the Bills' young, undersized and injury-riddled defense couldn't stop anybody. Denver, Pittsburgh and New England racked up 470, 420 and 485 yards, respectively, while scoring a combined 79 points. Since then, the defense, which is finally starting to jell, has given up 347, 385, 308 and 254 to the Jets, Cowboys, Ravens and Jets.

"I think the kids are responding and focusing during the course of the week on what we want to do from a game plan standpoint," said Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, who saw his unit create just three turnovers in those first three games, but 12 in the last four. "They're getting together as a group, they're studying. Their position coaches are doing a heck of a job. So our communication has been really good the past few weeks."

The Bills began the season with weak-side linebacker Keith Ellison and reserve defensive end Ryan Denney on the sidelines. Ellison missed the first four games, and Denney remains out, though he is close to returning from a broken foot. In the opener against Denver, cornerback Jason Webster and free safety Ko Simpson suffered season-ending injuries. In Week 3, rookie middle linebacker Paul Posluszny was lost for the year with a broken forearm. Along the way, Simpson's replacement, Jim Leonhard, tore a calf muscle, so third-stringer George Wilson has played the last three games, and Ashton Youboty, who replaced Webster, has been out, so Jabari Greer has taken over and played very well.

With all of the roster shuffling, Fewell's greatest challenge was making sure everyone knew what they were doing, and thus, the game plans were simplified and the Bills couldn't play aggressively. That has changed, particularly in the last two games against Baltimore and New York. The Bills have employing more and more blitzes into their rush packages, and they are trusting their DBs to play a little tighter while also not fearing man-to-man situations.

"We're able to expand our package now and do what we would like to do because we have the healthy bodies now," said Fewell, whose team allowed just three points in the victory over the Jets, the fewest a Buffalo defense has permitted in a road game since a 42-0 shutout of Cleveland in 1990, the first year the Bills went to the Super Bowl. "We've always had those things, but now we're able to execute some of those things and what you're seeing is execution because we've had better communication. We've wanted to call them, but when you have so many guys going in and out, they don't know how to play the call as a unit, and right now we're playing as a unit."

The game did not begin well, as the Bills allowed Chad Pennington and the Jets to put together a 15-play, 78-yard drive that chewed up 9:25. However, the defense stiffened and New York settled for a tying field goal.

"We came out a little shaky," linebacker Angelo Crowell said. "We weren't playing as well as we wanted to, but we kept points off the board. We were just determined that we had to come out and play better."

Crowell, who has been a major factor in recent games, had another strong performance in New York with eight tackles, a sack and a near interception. He loves the way Fewell is calling games lately.

"Perry Fewell is letting it go a little bit now," Crowell said. "He's a little more comfortable with the guys in there. In different situations, he's calling different blitzes and bringing different pressures."

Crowell, now a fifth-year player, has taken on more of a leadership role after the departures of veteran linebackers Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher in the offseason, and he said he expects to play a key role in every game.

"I told myself every week I have to make a game-changing play, a sack, a pick, a forced fumble," he said. "Every week we work on creating turnovers, and the mind-set is: Any play can be a big play. It's been determination, and guys are believing in each other, guys are preparing away from the stadium together as a unit, and it's showing on the field."

Coach Dick Jauron was ebullient in his praise for his young defense.

"Their play was tremendous," Jauron said. "The Jets are a team that has scored points, and to hold them to three points is outstanding. Early on our tackling was a little bit ragged, but we got stronger as the game went on, which is a great sign for us."

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