'Numbers speak for themselves:' Bruce Smith explains why he's the greatest defensive player ever

The Buffalo Bills legend believes he stands alone. How he accumulated those 200 sacks may surprise you, too. Here's the written transcript from the latest episode of "How the NFL Works."

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Bruce Smith left a trail of bruised bodies in his wake from the moment he was drafted No. 1 overall in 1985 to his final season in 2003.

How was he so dominant? He explains in immense detail on this week’s episode of “How the NFL Works.” There was always a true art to his game.

Video & Audio is right here, icymi:

Words are below.

(Also: Miss our first conversation with Bruce Smith soon after launching Go Long? You can read that as well here.)

Thank you, all.

How is your body feeling today? God knows you made a lot of quarterbacks hurt.

Smith: We don’t have enough time to talk about the aches and pains and sleepless nights that I’m getting from years and years of wear and tear on the body. It takes its toll when you’re young and you’re winning. You’re enjoying the brotherhood and the cheers and all the things that are associated with being with a fan base like the Buffalo Bills. But one day when you get a little older, you start understanding that there’s the price to pay. And I’m in that moment now. I just had knee replacement about 8 1/2 months ago. So I’m hopefully on the tail-end of getting some sense of normalcy in terms of my knee feeling structurally strong.

I’m still having some sleepless nights from the pain of the soft tissue healing and the body adjusting to an implant being put inside of your body. And I’m not saying this to complain. I knew what I signed up for, but when you experience it — and you have to live it on a day-to-day basis — you think about it and it has some cause for concern. But let me tell you something, playing this great game is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. And I thank God he blessed me with the ability to be able to play this game at a level that very few have been able to achieve. And I thank God for giving me this opportunity to have 53 other brothers each and every year that I played. And I thank God for my second family. And those are all of the Buffalo Bills fans that cheered and shouted “Bruuuuuuuce!” and the relationship that we built, not only from the first day that I was drafted as the No. 1 draft pick in ‘85, but to this very day. We have a special bond. And I'm so grateful and thankful for it.

We’re talking to today with arguably the greatest defensive player in NFL history, the greatest Buffalo Bill in this franchise’s history: 200 sacks, 2-time defensive player of the year, 2-time forced fumble leader. 80s All-Decade Team. 90s All-Decade team. In 2016, No. 78 got retired. 200 sacks. 43 forced fumbles. You sacked 76 different quarterbacks. We’re talking everybody from Steve Grogan who came into the NFL in 1975 to Matt Hasselbeck at the end of your career. Ken O’Brien, 17 1/2 times. Drew Bledsoe, 12 ½ times. It goes on and on. Bruce Smith is one of the absolute legends of the game, one of the greatest ever. So what a pleasure to be sitting here with you, Bruce. How is that all possible? When you look back, I imagine there’s a million reasons, but the imprint that you left on the sport, where do you even start when you trace it all back to the beginning?

Smith: Wow. To trace it all back, it starts with my Mom and Dad: George and Annie Smith. My father and mother who are from Elizabethtown, N.C. My father served in the military. My mother worked for a plastic factory here in Norfolk, Va., and later drove a city bus. But prior to that, she scored the most points in a basketball game at her high school. And that record still stands today. So this is where all of this came from. The work ethic that was instilled in me as a young kid, watching my father and watching my mother on a day-to-day basis and the commitment that they had when they didn’t even like what they did for a living. So imagine taking that and turning it around and having an opportunity to do something that you love doing for a living.

My parents had this work ethic that they instilled in all of us, but mainly their work ethic was because they had to provide. They wanted to make life for me and my other two siblings better than they had it. And they wanted this cycle to continue. So when I had an opportunity to be introduced to sports, my Mom didn’t want me to play football. She wanted me to play basketball. My father wanted me to box. But when I was actually introduced to football, it really didn’t do anything for me because it was too hard, too hot. I quit. But it just shows how a person comes full circle from their upbringings until this very day for me.

And when you listed that rap sheet that you just ran off — the two decades teams in the 80s and the 90s, the Hall of Fame, the defensive player of the year award, the force fumbles, the NFL all-time sack leader. I don’t want to minimize all of the other awards, but this NFL all-time sack leader award is a body of work that no one has ever been able to match. When you talk about what was accomplished while playing in a 3-4 defense where you’re outflanked at least 75 percent of the time. And to be able to beat that double team and sometimes triple teams or that chip block, I just look back upon it. Reggie White even made a statement one year because he and I were very good friends, although we didn’t talk about who was going to eventually be the all-time sack leader and so forth. We just had this mutual respect for one another that we understood that it’s going to be either you or me. And he made the statement one day, he said, ‘If Bruce had played in a 4-3 defense throughout his career, no one would’ve ever touched him.’ Being able to come off of that edge — whereas even on first down and second down — the only time I was basically having that leverage and being two or three yards removed from the offensive tackle was on third down or a long-yard situation. So that body of work that was accomplished while playing in that 3-4 system will never be matched.

Secondly, another thing that kind of sticks out that no one ever really talks about, I’m also the NFL’s all-time leading tackler amongst defensive linemen. So when you merge those two together, there is a compelling case — and I wouldn’t even say an argument — but a compelling case that states that there was not a more dominant defensive player that put the emphasis both on the pass and the run than No. 78. And I attribute a lot of that to obviously God gave me a tremendous amount of ability that I had to work my tail off in trying to reach in places that I didn’t even know that I had: the losing weight, the lifestyle of eating healthy, getting my body fat down to 6.3, which I attribute a lot of that to Rusty Jones and his ability to be able to communicate to us the different lifestyle that we needed to have if we wanted to become that world-class athlete.

Because there's the three different phases. There’s obviously the film study. There’s the conditioning and the weightlifting. And then there is being that student of the game along with being able to be in shape. The conditioning. And having coaches like Ted Cottrell, Marv Levy, just to name a few. And the person that really had my mind spinning when I first came to the Buffalo Bills was (former DE) Ben Williams. He said, ‘Bruce, you’ve got to learn how to use your hands. If they can’t grab you, they can’t hold you.’ And from that day forward, I would always watch him during pass-rush drills. And he was always working his hands, turning his shoulders, flipping his hips, making his shoulder smaller after he slapped the offensive tackles hands down to make sure there was less mass for that offensive tackle to grab ahold of.

So I learned at a young age. I picked up bits and pieces of information from basically everyone that I came in contact with. And I tried to implement the good into my day-to-day routines, practices, film study, as well as during the games and preparation. So I was fortunate to have some of the best coaching and definitely the best mentorship that was going with Ted and Marv and Walt Corey and some of the others. And last but not least — we talk about that body of work — that no-huddle offense that we had: Jim Kelly Thurman, Thomas, Andre Reed, just to name a few. The offensive line that we had: Will Wolford, Kent Hull, “House” Ballard and some of the others. They provided so many more opportunities for me to rush the quarterback because they scored so many points. They scored them in a hurry. Teams had to keep up, so they had to throw the ball. And that provided opportunities for the other unsung hero on the defensive side of the ball, which was Darryl Talley. He and I, to work our games, study film together. And that’s one of the reasons I’ve got this rap sheet, and I’m very proud of it.

To dominate the way you dominated — early, mid-to-late 80s — all the way to the end, I’m even thinking of that ‘99 Bills defense which was one of the best defenses. That’s a team that really should have gotten to the Super Bowl and won it. And you’re racking up the All-Pros, Pro Bowls, everything. So, what’s the key? How were you able to year-in and year-out bring it? Because I’d imagine — and you hit on a couple — there’s going to be some ups and downs along the way. You’re going to have to overcome some adversity. There’s been dominant defensive ends who vanish and you plowed through those moments.

Smith: There’s credit after credit that I have to bestow upon: my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He blessed me with so much ability and it was up to me to untap it. And the only way that you untap it is if you’re committed to the job and the task at hand. And I just gave you some examples. But after my first year, I got up to 310 pounds and I said to myself, “I’m not going to become the player that I want to become unless I get my act together.” That offseason, I worked out twice a day. I ran three or four miles a day. I ran in the morning. I ran in the evening. I would work out in-between in the weight room. I stopped eating red meat. I stopped eating a bunch of fried foods and I could notice things started to change. The weight started to fall off. I became leaner. I became stronger. I had more stamina. And when all of that started to come together, I got down to about 265 pounds. And then I became that student of the game. I would be the first player in to study film. I’d be the last one to leave studying film. Not watch film, but study film. There’s a difference. I would take notes on my days off while I was studying film, trying to get tips on the offensive tackle or guard or quarterback that I was about to play against to see if I couldn’t get that little nugget that would allow me to beat that offensive lineman out of his stance, whether it was because the quarterback would snap his hands when he was underneath the center before the ball even snapped. That would be my signal to go. That was a tip that I picked up by studying film from certain quarterbacks.

That split-second gives you a bit of a head start.

Smith: Especially when you’re playing in your home stadium and the offensive lineman can’t hear the snap out. You just look for that one little tip that gives you that competitive advantage. And I was able to do that pretty successfully. And as a result of that, no one in the history of the game has hit the quarterback or sacked the quarterback more than No. 78. And that was because of all three phases coming together: the dieting, the conditioning, the film study. I had already had the God-given ability. I needed to untap it by work and not necessarily just working to be working, but having a sense of purpose in everything you did. Every sprint you ran. I stopped running, because my doctor, Dr. Steadman in Vail, Colo., told me, “Stop playing basketball, stop running on the street.” And we figured out an alternative exercise, which was riding a StairMaster. So I got the Bills to buy a StairMaster, and I would wear it out. There are legendary stories. You can ask Steve Tasker and some of my teammates. I’d be in there twice a week riding that StairMaster and there would be puddles of water on the floor because I got some conditioning in on Tuesdays and Thursdays to make sure that my cardio was up to speed. And particularly if we had to go into overtime, I wanted to be ready. There are so many different little facets of the game that — if you simplify it — the game slows down for you. I’ve got to go back to this. I give a great deal of credit to that no-huddle offense: Jim, Thurman, Andre, that offensive line, and Ted Marchibroda. They really provided a lot of opportunities for us to get after the quarterback.

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That StairMaster can be brutal. How long are on that thing?

Smith: I was riding at 20 to 30 minutes on level 11. I was getting it.

So when you’re 310, your career can go one direction or the other right off the jump. Are you more still looking in the mirror and pointing the finger at yourself thinking — a personal wake-up call, a moment — or is it a coach, a teammate, a trainer? What was really the impetus for getting your ass into gear?

Smith: I looked in the mirror. And there was already a tremendous amount of pressure on me being the first player picked in the draft. And I didn’t realize the magnitude of it until after that first year. We went 2-14. And the fans can be pretty brutal, but they didn’t necessarily take it out on me. They took it out on the whole unit, the whole team, because we were bad. We didn’t have a tremendous amount of talent. And Hall of Famer owner, Ralph Wilson, did something about that and he started bringing in guys that would change the culture. Starting with Marv Levy, Thurman Thomas, Darryl was already there. Andre was drafted the same year I was drafted. The trade for Cornelius Bennett. Jim Kelly, just to name a few. So the culture started changing. Then we got Steve Tasker and you could see this transformation starting to take place that guys just had this sense of pride and understanding that we’re building something here that could be pretty damn special.

That was a catalyst, too. I’ve always had a strong desire to, once I put my mind to something, we’re going to get it done. And if we don’t get it done, it’s not going to be because we didn’t do everything within our power to get it done. So those were all the things for me that inspired me to lose the weight, to come up with different mindsets that would encourage me on a day-to-day basis. It’s a lot easier to stay in shape than it is to get in shape. So I would stay in shape during the offseason when other guys, particularly back in the 80s and 90s would gain 20 pounds during the offseason. And I said I didn’t want to do that anymore after I got up to 310 pounds. And it proved to be a recipe for success for me.

The manner in which you hit the quarterback, sacked the quarterback. There was an intimidation factor when Bruce Smith is on the field. I can remember Drew Bledsoe saying the first time he saw you, he almost pissed himself. I imagine there were quarterbacks that did. They saw Bruce Smith. They see the epic Nike commercial (“Bad Things”) that still has something like 300,000 to 400,000 views on YouTube. To this day, it’s timeless. But what else goes into scaring the bejesus out of these 76 quarterbacks that you sacked? Because it’s not just the numbers that we rattle off and the accolades, it’s a sense of fear that you instilled in quarterbacks, in coaches, in offenses.

Smith: For me, I just love being in a competitive environment. An environment where it’s your skillset against mine. It’s your preparation against mine. How much time did you put into preparing to play me that week? Or that whole year knowing that the Bills were going to play the Dolphins on such and such date, or the Bills were going to play the Jets or whomever it happened to be. And that was the fun part to me. How much film did you study? Did you pick up any tips that would give you that competitive advantage? That’s what this was all about. And obviously you have to do all of that within the framework of the gameplan that’s being called by your defensive coordinator. I never looked upon it as instilling fear by saying things vocally or what have you. I let my play speak for itself. I think that’s one of the things that separates the great ones from the good ones or the average ones. The great ones, Marv used to tell us, “act like you’ve been there before.” And as I got from my first year to my second year to my third year, you could see that transformation that was taking place. Instead of dancing over the quarterback, I would put my hand out and help the quarterback up. Maybe I would say a word or two, like “You better get this guy some help or it’s going to be a long day” or “I’ll be back.” But those are the things that when you play and treat people with respect, even in a game such as football where it can be pretty brutal, you gain respect by playing that way as opposed to a whole lot of trash-talking. If you’re working like you’re supposed to be working while you’re out on that field, you’re out of breath. So how can you do a whole lot of talking?

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I mean, 200 sacks. You’ve got to have a favorite. Is there one that you treasure to this day?

Smith: There’s quite a few of them. The hit on Joe Montana. I think one time he said, “Oh shit, not you again.” And there was another time I hit him and he looked up and said, “I’m getting too old for this shit.” I couldn’t do anything but laugh at that time. And some of the rivalries with Dan. One of his offensive linemen was kind of mouthing off a little bit, and Dan cursed him out right on the spot and said, “Do not piss him off because he’s not going to come after you. He’s coming after me, so shut the (bleep) up.” So little stories like that and there’s plenty of ‘em. That’s one of the beauties of the game. Those memories and those stories and experiences and because they happened in real time. It’s nice to recall some of those. And every now and then when you see a picture of a play, you remember the exact words that were said after that play was over.

Would that have been maybe Richmond Webb? You guys had some battles?

Smith: We had some battles. But there were several tackles I played against before they even drafted Richmond because they drafted Richmond to protect the blind side of Dan pretty much because we played against him twice a year. And I think Dan made a point to tell management: “We got to get somebody at that left tackle position to solidify that offensive line.”

So that would’ve been pre-Richmond when Dan was pissed off at somebody out there.

Smith: Richmond, we had a lot of respect for one another. And who by the way, is up for the Hall of Fame this year. And I think he’s very deserving of getting that honor. Particularly the style of football that’s being played today with roughly 20 to 30 percent more passing than was played back in the 80s and 90s, they were throwing the ball because they didn’t have a running game. They were throwing the ball then like they’re throwing the ball now in this era of football. Dan was known for airing it out, and I would imagine there was an imbalance of passes versus runs just like there is in this era of football. They relied heavily upon the pass. That’s why they drafted Richmond to protect the blind side of Dan Marino.

You played in a 3-4. You’re getting after the quarterback, but you had to stop the run, too. And you really improved as a run defender the second half of your career because teams were trying to run at you, to neutralize you. So what’s going through your mind at that point as you’re evolving and knowing, “OK, this selfless aspect of the position, I’m going to get better at this, even though it might come at the expense of some sacks, some glory?” There’s some swallowing of pride there, too.

Smith: After my first year, I understood what my weaknesses were and my coach pointed them out to me. You’ve got to get better against the run, and the only way you’re going to be able to get to the quarterback is if you stop the run. Because if you don’t stop the run, they’re going to keep running the ball and they’re never going to be in long air situation. So that was a focus. Formation recognition, what they run out of certain formations. Being able to predict, based upon the formation, their top two or three plays that they run out of that formation. So once you become that student of the game and you walk up to the line of scrimmage and they’re in “I” formation or I-under or I-over, you look at, “OK, what’s their favorite one or two plays out of this?” And you want to take it away from ‘em.

On the flip side of the ball, our offense is scoring points pretty rapidly. All of a sudden, the opponent has to throw that old gameplan out of the window and they have to start throwing the ball to keep up with the score. So those were a lot of the things that went into my mindset. After a turnover, teams would like to take a shot down the field. If you know the formation, they like to take that shot down the field. Or if you see that offensive lineman and he’s light on his hands and his heels are back, those are great tips to know that it’s going to be some type of play-action pass, and they’re going to take a shot down the field. So it’s just these little tips that as you’re sucking air, sucking wind, if you can have the presence of mind to be able to analyze things, when you walk up to the line of scrimmage, the game slows down for you and you’re able to make plays on a consistent basis. Big plays.

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I want to say ‘91 was a strange year for you, too. You had an injury, right? You played five games and then you go on another Super Bowl run. You’re right in the middle of that four-year run. And was it ahead of the Super Bowl against Washington? You were openly talking about, “This might be it for me in Buffalo.” The relationship with the fans has evolved over the years. They were pretty nasty to you. They’re sending you some pretty derogatory letters in the mail and accusing you of things. You had enough at that point to think, “I’m getting out of here.”

Smith: There was some hate mail that I received. I actually took it up to Marv and let Marv read it. And Marv being the man that he is, had a way of words that just touched my spirit and touched my heart. And it always made me feel better after I talked to Marv. He just had this purpose. The words that he spoke were so heartfelt and filled with meaning at that particular moment that you needed to hear. Yeah, ‘91 was a tough year. I ended up having to have two surgeries in a calendar year on the same knee. I missed 11 games. And I think that was 11 of the roughly 20 or 22 games that I missed my whole career in Buffalo. So if we add it all up, that’s 200 sacks in about 17 1/2 years. But just to sum it up, ‘91 was a rough year, and I learned a lot in ’91. The different surgeries with two different doctors. There was some tension going on with that and the surgery that was performed. So I had to go from Dr. Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., doing my surgery to Dr. Steadman in Vail, Colo. And it is just amazing how life works out, and you look back upon it and I look back upon it and I just realize how blessed I’ve been.

So you’re getting letters in the mail, racist stuff, accusing you of drug use. You’re literally opening it and reading this. I’d want to get the hell out. I’d imagine that conversation with Marv had to have been pretty profound to rehabilitate the relationship with the city.

Smith: The letters were racist. That’s what the letters were about. These were some racist letters that were sent. And again, I showed ‘em to Marv and he read ‘em and he said the encouraging words that I needed to hear, and we moved on.

Now with the fans, how did that relationship develop over time? You’re winning games, you’re getting to the Super Bowl, and it says a lot about you, too, Bruce, to kind of build this love affair with the community over the next decade. Really to today.

Smith: Well, we both learned a lot about each other. Being a young man, being drafted No. 1, I had a lot to learn. I mean, a lot to learn. Twenty-one years old. Going to a different city. I just understood that it was time for me to grow up and make smarter decisions, and being with Marv and Ted Cottrell, Walt Corey and Chuck Lester, and along with all of my teammates, we grew together. That was the fun part about the relationship that we have today. We still communicate on a daily basis. And the love and respect that we have for one another, that’s what made things so special. And I think it transferred over to the fans as well. They saw it. They saw how much we cared for one another. They saw how much we cared for Buffalo. They saw how much that they drove us to go out and perform the way we did. Because we saw the reaction and the feelings that they would get from it — whether it was pregame, postgame, during the week, it was just contagious. And that’s where this love affair started. Not only as a team, but for me personally with the fans. And this love affair still exists to this very day, and that’s what I’m extremely proud of.

I think we can just appreciate the run that you guys went on even more right now watching these Bills with Josh Allen. They’ve been knocking on the door for a while, but they’ve been to one AFC Championship game. You guys went to four and won four. If you can pinpoint a secret sauce, how was that even possible? I don’t think we’ll see that again in the NFL.

Smith: The secret sauce was the group of men that were assembled. The secret sauce was Marv Levy and Bill Polian. The secret sauce was Rusty Jones. And for me, Ted Cottrell, Walt Corey, Chuck Lester, just to name a few. The secret sauce was the Bills fans. And you combine all of that together with all of this talent and this coaching and this blue-collar mentality. Makes those wings taste mighty good.

What was the missing piece then? Was there one thing you look back at and say, “If we had this, we’re not only winning one, maybe we’re winning two or three?”

Smith: The one thing we missed was the missed field goal in the first Super Bowl. That was it. There were some other points in the game in which we could have capitalized off of. I even look back and reflect on when I got the safety in the end zone and ended up getting an unsportsmanlike conduct for excessive celebration, 15-yard penalty. We all look back upon on a play or a series or what we could have done a little bit differently that might’ve changed the outcome, but ultimately we missed the field goal. I wouldn’t say it changed the trajectory of the next three games, but it certainly it had a dreadful consequence for that particular game.

Ralph Wilson as an owner, what pops to mind? What kind of a person was he?

Smith: He’s a Hall of Fame owner. He’s old school. We appreciated Mr. Ralph Wilson for what he’s done for the league, for what he’s done for the Buffalo Bills. His legacy is one that will stand the test of time in what he was able to accomplish for the Buffalo Bills, the city of Buffalo, and I don’t know if you’re aware of some of the stories. But he saved several teams when they were about to go under. Whether it be the teams or the league, they owe him a great deal of gratitude for his ability to be able to help out in a tremendous time of need.

Whenever we talk, we gloss over the end of your career in Washington. But you kept that thing going, what, four more seasons after you got cut. Were you shocked to get cut? That was a dark day in Bills history.

Smith: I could have stayed. They wanted me to take a pay cut, and I had already done that two other times, while still playing at a pretty high level. So when this opportunity unfortunately came about, they made the decision to release Thurman and Andre. But they said if I took the pay cut, I could stay. And I said, “Well, if you’re releasing Thurman and Andre’ — Daryl had already left, Cornelius had already left, Jim had retired — ‘I didn’t want to be there by myself.’ I felt it was time to move on. And I felt that I still had some gas in the tank. Dan Snyder and I’m trying to be politically correct here, but when I went to the team, they were called the Washington Redskins. So I went there and I was trying to pick the team that I could have the most impact on, but they had a great offense. And when I weighed everything out, the Redskins were second in the league in total offense. They scored more points than all but one other team. They were last in the league in total defense. I figured that would be a great spot for me to go. And it just so happens that they went after Deion Sanders. They drafted Champ Bailey, drafted LaVar Arrington, drafted Chris Samuels, and they already had some talent that was on the team.

Little did I know, that the statistics would flip the following year. So the offense went from being second in the league in total offense and points to 28th in the league. And defensively, we went from last to, I believe, in the top three in defensive statistics. So my mindset was we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish by going from last to being in the Top 5. But I had no idea that the offense would go in the other direction and consequently didn’t achieve any of the goals that we wanted to achieve. But it was interesting. It was a productive four years. I was able to play in front of a lot of folks because it’s right down the road. It’s three hours away from where I was born and where I live. So I got a lot of chances for a lot of family that live here in the DC area and so forth to be able to see me play. And I was already doing business in DC and Northern Virginia, so it worked out pretty well.

Today, you’re doing Bills alumni events. I know you’ve been back a few times. We’ve seen you. But what is your role with the team today in that ambassador role? Any future visits planned?

Smith: I’ve got a good relationship with Sean McDermott and Brandon. I think they’re doing an outstanding job with how they’re managing the team, the different changes, the injuries, the personalities. I think they’ve done an outstanding job. We’re in a great position right now. I mean an awesome position. We just got to get over that hump. My relationships, in the past I’ve helped out at training camps, but because of my knee replacement this past year, it prevented me from being able to be out and be as active as I wanted to be. But we’ve stayed in touch and talk pretty regular in texts. We have a good relationship.

I’d imagine Josh Allen would be difficult to corral and get to the turf. What do you see in a quarterback who just may win MVP — the first Buffalo Bill to do it since Thurman Thomas, if he does.

Smith: I would like to see that. He’s had a breakout season. There are three names in the hat right now: Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Saquon Barkley. And you can also throw Joe Burrow in there. Unfortunately, he’s not having a winning season, but the level of quarterback play that we’ve seen this year has been so exciting. You look at what the quarterback is doing out with the Vikings. You look at the Detroit Lions. These quarterbacks are just playing lights out this year. And it is so fascinating to watch their athleticism, but their pinpoint accuracy in throwing the ball and their ability to be able to manipulate the pocket. Josh and Lamar and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Patrick Mahomes.

Can’t forget about Mahomes.

Smith: He just keeps winning. But this playoff season I think is going to be one of the more exciting playoffs than we’ve seen in a long time. Patrick’s 15-1, and there are some other teams that are 14-2, and I believe we are 13-3. So I can’t wait for the playoffs to start just to see the best players in the world take the field and compete against one another.

Josh Allen, I don’t know if I’ve seen a quarterback that this year has played to the level that he has played at. Last year, the criticism was “He runs too much. He throws too many INTs. He can’t read coverages.” But this young man, what he has done this year, it just appears that the game has slowed down for him. He’s got six interceptions. The game has slowed down for him, and it just appears as though he has become a student of the game, which is what you want to see in any player, but particularly a player that handles the ball every down. So for that reason alone, the critics can’t talk poorly about Josh and his turnovers. They can’t talk poorly about him reading coverages. They can’t say negative things about him in terms of him not having a sense of awareness and not knowing how to get down and take that extra hit. He’s taken all that off of the table. He’s playing at a level that is worthy of being the MVP and I couldn’t be more happier and more proud of the way he’s playing and the way he’s leading the team.

I imagine he reminds you of Jim Kelly in terms of this is somebody often with a linebacker’s mentality that you want to run through a wall for — “one of us” in this locker room. All the Bills teammates that I’ve talked to, they just keep coming back to that. He treats NFL Sundays like his backyard. He wants to run through your face. And you know what? He might make a dick joke in the locker room. He’s going to be a 10-year-old kid at times. But that’s what they love about him. He’s genuine. And that authenticity is so important at the position. But you played with Jim. You’re watching Josh. Are there similarities in the approach, the mentality that they bring to the position?

Smith: Yeah, I think there’s probably some similarities, but the athleticism is at two different ends of the spectrum.

That would not be a similarity.

Smith: But yeah, that mindset. Jim had a gunslinger mindset, and so does Josh. The arm strength that exists between the both of ‘em — and Jim and his heyday — was second to none. And what Josh possesses in being able to rifle that ball into the smallest of windows is pretty impressive to watch. So yeah, we just need to keep it going throughout the playoffs.

You said you talked to Sean McDermott, you talked to Brandon Beane. To you, what is this group’s missing piece? How can this team right now get over the hump? You’ve got to get past Mahomes, you’ve got to get past Lamar. It’s getting to that point again for these 2024 Buffalo Bills.

Smith: We’ve got to win on the road. That’s the piece. We’ve got to win on the road. I think we have the nucleus together to get it done. Obviously, injuries have played a huge impact on us this year, but we’ve been able to overcome it. And it’ll be interesting to see how we continue to manage the injury situation going forward. And heading into the playoffs, I think one of the smartest things that can take place right now is that they’re thinking about sitting the starters for this particular ball game. And I think it’s a wise decision. Marv would do that when we didn’t have anything to gain, but everything to lose when we were making our playoff runs and giving guys time to heal up. So it’s basically like having a first-round bye when you’re resting your starters. So take advantage of the opportunity and get these guys back healthy. And worst-case, let some of them play a half and then pull ‘em out of the game in the second half and give some other guys some opportunity to get some reps and some experience. But at the same time, your health going into the playoffs is the most important thing,

Your legacy in your words, what should that be? And you kind of hinted at it earlier. Do you consider yourself the greatest defensive player in NFL history?

Smith: I am a very confident person, and I think that’s a conversation for the experts to have. I’d like for them to have it without bias. I’d like for them to look at the statistics. Look at the schemes that a few of us have played in that are in that conversation. I like for them to look at the help that they had. My counterpart and dear friend Reggie White, played with two other defensive linemen that both have over 100 sacks apiece. You look at some of the other great ones and the schemes that were being run. In my opinion, yes. But I know there’s no other better pass rusher that’s ever played this game. The numbers speak for themselves. For me, my legacy is not only was he the best pass rusher to ever play the game, but when you combine the two — rushing the quarterback and stopping the run — nobody has done it any better. And their body of work, just look at the statistics. Their body of work doesn’t stand up to No. 78’s.

They didn’t refer to you as the “edge rusher.” That’s become a thing now.

Smith: That’s correct.

Guys today aren’t asked to just turn plays in, defend the run. You had to do it all.

Smith: Right. You don’t come out when it’s “OK, you’re a run stopper.” Or, “You’re a pass rush specialist.” No, we did it all. But back in our era, it was Bruce Smith and Reggie White. We didn’t come off the field. And there are some other great ones that are in the conversation, but you just have to sit back and not be biased. Look at the schemes. Look at the statistics. Look at the double teams. And look at the whole totality of the body of work. And then you base your decision upon that.

And you’re feeling it today, man. We’re thinking of you with your health. Hopefully you can get some sleep, Bruce.

Smith: Oh yeah. I’ll be good. I’m ready to go to the golf course.

You’re feeling good then? You’d do it all over again. All 200 sacks.

Smith: I would do it all over again. There’s no doubt about that.