The Skinny:
In a game that was suppose to feature lots of scoring, one great offense, and one decent offense it turned out to be a defensive struggle for most of the game before the Saints pulled away for a 27-7 victory. The Bills defense came ready to play early and held the Saints high powered offense to just 10 points through three quarters. The Bills could do nothing offensively though as they were held without any points and eventually the defense tired in the fourth quarter. Buffalo's only touchdown came on a deja vu play that had everyone flashing back to last year's opener. Brian Moorman pulled the ball up on a fake field goal attempt and threw to a wide open Ryan Denney for a touchdown that tied the game in the second quarter. The Saints went up 10-7 when they were held to a field goal following a Roscoe Parrish fumbled punt return. It stayed that way until the fourth quarter when Pierre Thomas scored two touchdowns in between a field goal for the Saints that made it look more like a rout than it was.
The Turning Point:
With the Bills facing a 3rd and 3 at their own 28 early in the fourth quarter the Bills took a shot deep. Edwards overthrew Owens who had a step on his man, if he hits it, it's a touchdown. Instead it results in a punt and the Saints struck quickly.
The Big Drive:
The Saints finally took advantage as they only took three plays to get in the end zone. The 66 yard drive was helped by a 15 yard face mask penalty on Bryan Scott and ended with a 34 yard touchdown run by Pierre Thomas.
Stat of the Game:
The Bills were called for 12 penalties for 116 yards in loss yardage. Dick Jauron's teams are normally very disciplined but so far this year they have committed many penalties.
What You Don't See On The Stat Sheet:
The Saints went through a stretch in this game where they were 0 for 7 on third downs as the Bills defense played inspiring ball before succumbing in the final quarter as the defense finally wore down as they could have sued the offense for non support. They held the Saints to just three points off of two Buffalo turnovers and they went three quarters between touchdowns.
Quick Slants:
- The Bills have won the coin toss all three games and deferred all three times. The first time it hurt them was this game as the Saints went 82 yards in 10 plays to gain an early lead.
- Drew Brees had a streak of 22 straight 200 yard passing games snapped.
- Terrell Owens had a streak of 185 straight games with a reception snapped. It was the longest active streak in the league.
- Brian Moorman is now 3 for 7 lifetime throwing the football. Both of his touchdown passes went to Ryan Denney on fake field goals.
My Take:
Everyone was impressed with the offense after two games, today it was time to be impressed by the defense. Unfortunately it came in a losing effort but at least it was a non conference game. There is a chance they can take away a few positives from the loss. The bottom line though is they are 1-2 and they still don't know how to beat good teams in the Dick Jauron era. Owens looked ready to blow in the locker room after the game and now there is a growing running back controversy with Marshawn Lynch returning. It should be an interesting week at One Bills Drive.
What's Ahead:
The Bills head to Miami next Sunday for another 4:05pm start. It's a battle between the two teams at the bottom of the AFC East. The Bills haven't won a division game since 2007 and need to win this one to keep their heads above water but will have to get through what could be a controversy filled week off the field.
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Positional Breakdown and Grades
