Cameron Jordan reaches to recover one of Thad Lewis’ two fumbles lost on Sunday.
The New Orleans Saints defeated the Buffalo Bills by the score of 35-17 on Sunday, but it felt like a much closer game than that. The Saints did not seem very happy with their performance on the field, although they’ll certainly take the win. Both Sean Payton and Drew Brees talked about it being a sloppy performance with many aspects in need of fixing from the game. As well-coached as New Orleans is, along with the leadership they have, you’d expect more from them coming out of a bye week. Thankfully, they faced a much inferior opponent, which allowed them to recover from a slow start.
The Saints went on a 28-7 scoring run after Buffalo took their one and only lead with 4:35 left to play in the first half on a 37 yard Dan Carpenter field goal. Within a minute, Kenny Stills was running down the sideline for a 69 yard touchdown to retake the lead. From that point on, the offense got rolling and looked like their usual selves, but it wasn’t that easy from the opening snap.
On the first play from scrimmage, David Hawthorne drilled Bills’ quarterback Thad Lewis on a read option and forced a fumble that was recovered by Junior Galette at the Bills 22 yard line. It looked like the Bills had given the Saints a gift, but it actually turned out being beneficial to Buffalo. New Orleans went three and out, losing seven yards on the drive and eventually missing a 47 yard field goal. The Bills then got the ball at their own 30 yard line, which was a ten yard improvement from where they started before the fumble.
After trading missed field goals back and forth, the Saints opened the scoring with a 15 yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Lance Moore. Buffalo then answered with a 13 yard touchdown pass from Thad Lewis to Stevie Johnson and a 37 yard field goal to take the lead. After Stills’ long touchdown reception, the defense forced a quick punt and the offense took over with a chance to get more points on the board before the half. They did just that when Jimmy Graham caught his first of two touchdown receptions on the day, coming from 15 yards out. New Orleans led 21-10 at halftime behind 3 first half touchdowns from Drew Brees.
Graham caught his second touchdown of the day late in the 3rd quarter, coming from 13 yards out. His two touchdowns were part of only three catches on the day, as the Saints limited Graham’s snap count to just 18 plays to keep him from further injuring his partially torn plantar fascia.
Buffalo scored to get back within two scores on a 1 yard touchdown run from Fred Jackson early in the 4th quarter, but that would be the final time they touched the scoreboard. New Orleans closed out the scoring on another big touchdown catch from Kenny Stills. On a 3rd and 20, Brees was running for his life and launched the ball deep in to the end-zone for Stills in one-on-one coverage. The Saints took a 35-17 lead, which would eventually be the final score.
Stats
New Orleans
Drew Brees – 26-34 / 332 yards / 5 TDs / 0 INTs
Pierre Thomas – 14 carries / 65 yards / 3 receptions / 29 yards
Kenny Stills – 3 receptions / 129 yards / 2 TDs
Jimmy Graham – 3 receptions / 37 yards / 2 TDs
Lance Moore – 3 receptions / 34 yards / 1 TD
David Hawthorne – 8 tackles / 1 sack / 1 forced fumble
Junior Galette – 6 tackles / 1 sack / 1 fumble recovery
Glen Foster and Cam Jordan – 1 sack each
Keenan Lewis – 2 tackles / 2 passes defended / 1 INT
Buffalo
Thad Lewis – 22-39 / 234 yards / 1 TD / 1 INT
Fred Jackson – 15 carries / 45 yards / 1 TD
Stevie Johnson – 7 receptions / 72 yards / 1 TD
Scott Chandler – 7 receptions / 72 yards
Kiko Alonso – 11 tackles
Kyle Williams – 9 tackles / 1.5 sacks
Observations
– Jimmy Graham did not look very hobbled at all by his injury. I read before the game that the injury he has can’t be damaged any more by playing on it. It’s all about pain management.
– Keenan Lewis came up gimpy after his interception in the 4th quarter, but returned to the game.
– Malcolm Jenkins didn’t play at all in the 2nd half after a knee injury that no one seemed to know about until he wasn’t on the sideline to start the half.
– The Bills continued to get penetration in to the Saints’ backfield, especially up the middle. Former LSU Tiger Kyle Williams created constant disruption and made Brian De La Puente struggle.
– Ben Watson had a couple nice catches. He, along with rookie tight-end Josh Hill, did a nice job of filling in on plays that Graham sat out.
Next Week
The 6-1 Saints travel to New York to face the 4-4 Jets. Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan will square off with his twin brother, Rex Ryan, the head coach of New York.
