The New Orleans Saints (0-3) will travel from the West to the East Coast for their second road game of the season. They travel to Orchard Park, New York, to face the Buffalo Bills (3-0).
New Orleans is coming off arguably their worst performance in over a decade after losing to the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday, 44-13. To begin the season, the Saints have scored 21 or fewer points and played three out of four NFC West teams.
Buffalo, on the other hand, has cruised to a 3-0 record after scoring at least 30 points in every game so far this season. In the last two weeks, the Bills secured two wins against in-division foes in the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.
Kickoff between the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills inside Highmark Stadium is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 28th.
HEALTHY LINE OF SCRIMMAGE
For the first time all season, the New Orleans Saints’ offensive line may be healthy. Through the first three weeks, the Black and Gold had multiple injuries across the line.
Most notably, left guard Trevor Penning is expected to make his season debut after missing the first three weeks due to a toe injury. Taliese Fuaga has also been dealing with a knee and back injury that kept him out of last week’s loss. The second-year tackle has also progressed through the injury after being a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday. Having all five starters on the field at the same time should be a boost to this Saints offense, and more specifically, the run game.
With the positive comes negative news as edge rusher Chase Young will officially miss his fourth game of the year. Young has yet to participate at all since the end of the preseason with a calf injury. Buffalo will be without its best interior defensive lineman, Ed Oliver, and off-ball linebacker, Matt Milano.
ESTABLISH THE RUN
A boost in the run game will be much needed against one of the best teams in the NFL. Through three games, New Orleans averages 102.3 yards on the ground on over 26.3 attempts per game. That’s helped the Saints control the ball for over 29 minutes a contest.
If the Black and Gold can effectively run the football early and often, they’ll keep themselves in the game. A fully available offensive line should also give Saints head coach Kellen Moore more of an incentive to run the ball and keep the Bills’ defense honest.
Buffalo will also want to run the ball. They lead the league in yards per game on the ground with 163. With that, running back James Cook has the second-most rushing yards with 284 and has reached the endzone four times. Quarterback Josh Allen is also a threat with his legs as he’s rushed for 114 yards on 24 carries.
BETTER SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY
The Saints’ special teams made numerous mistakes on the road last Sunday against the Seahawks. Last week’s performance was arguably the worst from that unit in over a decade.
Just in the first quarter, New Orleans’ punt coverage team allowed a 95-yard return for a touchdown by Seattle rookie wide receiver Tory Horton. Then, on the punt, punter Kai Kroeger’s kick was blocked by D’Anthony Bell. Those plays led to a 21-0 opening-quarter deficit for the Black and Gold.
Blake Grupe also missed his third field goal of the season in the second quarter. Everything and more resulted in a 44-13 loss for New Orleans that dropped them to 0-3 on the season. Buffalo’s kicker Matt Prater hasn’t missed a field goal since week one.
SERIES RECORD: Saints lead 7-5
Last 5 Meetings:
2021: BILLS 31 – SAINTS 6
2017: SAINTS 47 – BILLS 10
2013: SAINT 35 – BILLS 17
2009: SAINTS 27 – BILLS 7
2005: SAINTS 19 – BILLS 7
STAT LEADERS:
Saints
Spencer Rattler: 80-119, 639 Yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Alvin Kamara: 50 Carries, 186 Yards, 1 TD
Juwan Johnson: 19 Catches, 176 Yards, 1 TD
Carl Granderson: 3.5 Sacks
Demario Davis: 31 Tackles (13 Solo)
Demario Davis & Pete Werner: 1 FR
Blake Grupe: 4-of-7 Field Goals, Long of 36, 5-of-5 PAT
Bills
Josh Allen: 69-99, 755 Yards, 5 TD
James Cook: 53 carries, 284 Yards, 4 TD
Keon Coleman: 14 Catches, 158 Yards, 1 TD
DaQuan Jones, Matt Milano, Ed Oliver, Joey Bosa & Cole Bishop: 1 Sack
Christian Benford: 15 Tackles (10 Solo)
Terrel Benford: 1 INT
Matt Prater: 7-of-8 Field Goals, Long of 52, 9-of-9 PAT
INJURY REPORT:
Saints
Dillon Radunz, OL, Toe, Out
Chase Young, DE, Calf, Out
Taliese Fuaga, T, Knee/Back
Trey Palmer, WR, Hamstring
DeVaughn Vele, WR, Hip, Questionable
Cameron Jordan, DE, Groin, Probable
Trevor Penning, G/T, Toe, Probable
Bills
Spencer Brown, OT, Calf, Questionable
Matt Milano, LB, Pectoral, Out
Ed Oliver, DT, Ankle, Out
AJ Epenesa, DE, Pectoral, Questionable