Shaq Lawson

Buffalo Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson speaks to the media during their NFL football rookie minicamp in Orchard Park, N.Y., Friday, May 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

(Bill Wippert)

Orchard Park, N.Y. — Rex Ryan fixed the Buffalo Bills' pass rush.

With another three-sack effort in a 45-16 blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, the Bills now have 20 sacks through six games. That total is one shy of the Denver Broncos for the league lead and one shy of Buffalo's total from all of last season. Oh, and the Bills have done it all without first-round pick Shaq Lawson, the star Clemson pass rusher who was supposed to help put pressure on quarterbacks, and Marcell Dareus, the team's highest paid defensive player.

Lawson has been recovering from shoulder surgery since the offseason, while Dareus spent the first four weeks of the season suspended and the last two dealing with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, 33-year old Lorenzo Alexander, who never had more than 2.5 sacks in a single season, has stepped in and is leading the league with eight sacks.

So the Bills haven't allowed more than 20 points in five of their six games this season and are second in the league in sacks. Uh, you think this defense might get even better when two of the most talented front-seven players return? Yeah, probably.

Lawson is eligible to return to practice on Monday, and the Bills fully expect him to be ready to play in some capacity when the team plays its Week 7 game against the Miami Dolphins.

"I'll leave that to the coaches," Bills general manager Doug Whaley said last week on WGR 550. "The way I look at it is you have a rotation of three good guys with him, Lorenzo Alexander and Jerry Hughes. Then you throw in (Lerentee) McCray, so you'll have four guys. That's a positive because then you can rest those guys in the fourth quarter if let's say we're up and those guys are in pass mode, you have four fresh guys that you can rotate in there and get after the quarterback. So I don't see that as a problem, I see that as a positive."

Meanwhile, Dareus is getting closer to making his season debut. He didn't practice at all last week and could be a long shot to play in Week 7, but he'll be back before long.

"I'd be stupid to say that's not exciting," defensive line coach John Blake said. "We would love to get our big boy back. It's amazing that while we're waiting on him to get back, a lot of these guys are getting experience and confidence. So when we get him back it's going to be very fun to go along with the guys we have already."

Adding a first-round pick and a dominant nose tackle to one of the NFL's most productive front sevens? That certainly sounds like fun for Rex and Rob Ryan. It doesn't sound all that amusing for opposing quarterbacks.