BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Safety Jordan Poyer gave a shoutout to New York Jets quarterback Mike White after the Buffalo Bills' 45-17 win last week.

“Thank you, Mike White,” Poyer said after Buffalo's defense had five takeaways, including four interceptions.

That’s the sort of confidence that comes from a defense that is putting up some pretty impressive numbers.

All members of the secondary came away from the game with a takeaway, the second time five members of the Bills’ defense have had an interception or fumble recovery in a game this year -- something done only once by the rest of the NFL (Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. the Chicago Bears).

But a different challenge awaits this weekend when running back Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis Colts come to Highmark Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS).

“If you could kind of build a back that way, he's got size, power, vision, balance, home run speed,” coach Sean McDermott said. “It's hard to find all those traits in one back and he's got them all.”

Overall, the Bills defense has had plenty to celebrate this season, ranked first in a variety of categories including points allowed per game (15) and yards per game (274.1).

Buffalo is also the only team not to allow an opponent to gain 400 yards in a game this year. Part of that is because teams are often forced to pass the ball against this defense when facing deficits. With the Bills in so many blowouts this season, they have faced the third-fewest rushing attempts in the league and the defense has allowed the third-fewest rushing yards per game (83.9).

The last time the Bills faced a dominating back didn't turn out so well. The defense’s worst game came in Week 6, when Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry exploded for 143 yards and three touchdowns against the Bills. He is the only player to gain 100 yards on the ground against Buffalo this year, averaging 7.5 yards per carry.

“Derrick Henry's a big, big guy. Not saying that Jonathan Taylor isn't, but Jonathan Taylor is a little bit faster,” Poyer said. “I think a little bit more center of gravity. I’d say he breaks a lot of tackles, not that Derrick Henry doesn't. They do some things similar but Jonathan Taylor’s still a very good running back.”

Taylor is tied with Henry as the league's leading rusher with 937 yards and third in the league with nine rushing scores. This weekend, he can join Edgerrin James (1999-00) and Marshall Faulk (1994-95) as the only players in Colts history with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in each of their first two seasons. Taylor has over 100 yards on the ground in five of the last seven games.

“Every week we make it about us,” rookie defensive end Greg Rousseau told ESPN. “We're really just being us every single week, being in our gaps and of course, much respect to the Colts and Jonathan Taylor, great running back, great team. At the end of the day, it's about us playing assignment football, one-eleventh. Everybody doing their job.”

The Bills have allowed only 38 rushing first downs, fewest in the league. But no player has rushed for more first downs than Taylor (54). One issue for Buffalo is the expected absence of starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who is a strong run defender but was placed on the COVID-19 list just prior to the game against the Jets. Backup Harrison Phillips is likely to start in his place.

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier does use a rotation on the defensive line, but being without Lotulelei is another hurdle for the Bills against the Colts' tough running game. Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is also on pace to miss a second straight week with a hamstring injury.

Since 2019, the Bills have given up 100 rushing yards to a single player only eight times and Buffalo has a 4-4 record in those games. Henry is the only player over that stretch to rush for over 100 yards and finish with multiple touchdowns.

In the Colts and Bills’ playoff meeting last year, Taylor had 78 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. This time around, with the type of season the running back is having, it will be a tougher task to limit him on the ground.

“It's fun for us. It's a challenge, and what's life without challenges?” Rousseau said. “The league's full of special players, really good players and also really special players, players like Jonathan Taylor. It's a great challenge for us. We're excited for it. We're ready to go and attack it.”