One of the last to leave the locker room on Sunday, Bills veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson made a vow for the Buffalo defense.
“We’re definitely going to turn things around,” Thompson said.
Reminded that the team is now 4-0, Thompson pushed back.
“No, this is not about the record. This is about the defense,” Thompson said. “We wanna be the best? We gotta start – we’re gonna start playing like the best.”
The Buffalo Bills outlasted the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in Highmark Stadium, 31-19. The Bills defense did not have its best showing, but ultimately, the unit got stops where it needed to keep the Saints at bay.
“Obviously, it wasn’t our best game,” said middle linebacker and team captain Terrel Bernard. “You know, some things to clean up in the run game; quarterback (Spencer Rattler) got out on us a couple times.
“But it’s things that are correctable. You know, staying in your gap, tackling the ball when it shows up in your gap – think those are the main things that we’ll take away from this game.”
The Saints finished with 298 yards from scrimmage Sunday – but they had 189 rushing yards and averaged 5.6 yards per rushing attempt, far greater than their 3.9-yard average coming into the game. Rattler scrambled for 49 yards, and New Orleans converted on 5 of their first 10 third-down attempts.
Thompson also had specific ways for the Bills to meet their goal of playing like the best.
“That’s getting off the field on third downs,” Thompson said. “Not letting the quarterback scramble. Making tackles. Creating turnovers. That’s how you become the best.”
The Buffalo Bills were waiting … and waiting … and waiting for something good to happen Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at Highmark Stadium. It took a while, but ultimately, Josh Allen happened.
It’s too early in the season for the Bills defense to fully know its identity. It’s only Week 4, but also, the roster will look different soon, once a handful of players return from either suspension or injuries. Bernard emphasized that it’s important that the team is finding different ways to win, even if Sunday’s win wasn’t the prettiest.
The Bills continued their takeaway streak – a hallmark of the defense – with one takeaway in each game this season. On Sunday, it came by way of second-year safety Cole Bishop at a critical moment.
Late in the second quarter, the Saints had reached the Buffalo 5-yard line, trailing by just four points. On third-and-5, New Orleans ran a bizarrely timed trick play, with wide receiver Chris Olave throwing to quarterback Spencer Rattler. But Bishop realized what was happening. He broke for Ratler and made his first career interception, leaping for the ball near the goal line.
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“Huge play,” Bernard said. “The first thing I told him was, he saved points. They had a field goal that was coming up, possibly a touchdown there, and a play that really, really changed the game.”
Bishop’s interception was the defense’s highlight of the first half.
Overall, the Saints’ 189 rushing yards were their most of the season and their most since Week 11 of last year. The Bills have given up 100 or more rushing yards in every game this season.
Bills coach Sean McDermott pinpointed some areas of adjustment afterward.
“I thought, overall, they came out trying to run the football on us and keep the game – let’s call it close, and they did a good job of that,” McDermott said. “And I thought we did a better job in the second half in some situations, but everything starts with gap integrity in the run game and doing your job and then tackling.”
It was a specific point of emphasis during halftime, when the Bills led just 14-10.
“Gap integrity – we talked about it at halftime, just everybody stay in your gap, just show up in the run game, so, start to limit it,” Bishop said.
Meanwhile, the Saints’ 109 passing net yards were their lowest since Week 16 of the 2022 season.
The Bills are 4-0 for the first time since 2020 and the second time in Sean McDermott’s nine seasons as coach. They overcame 10 penalties and a turnover to avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the first 3-0 team to lose to a 0-3 team in 17 years.
There were other positives. The Saints were 5-of-13 on third downs, an improvement for the Bills’ third-down defense. Last week, they allowed the Miami Dolphins 10-of-15.
“Third downs were way better this go around,” McDermott said. “So, that’s a step in the right direction. And then closing the game out defensively was good to see us be able to get there with our front four and the rush and coverage work together there.”
In the fourth quarter, the Bills defense clamped down on New Orleans. On the Saints’ final drive of the game, the Bills had two sacks – one from A.J. Epenesa and a strip-sack from Joey Bosa (the Saints recovered).
“There’s enough signs of growth, but there’s on the other side of that. There’s plenty of signs that we’ve got a lot more work to do,” McDermott said. “But I’m happy, I’ll celebrate the win; that’s for sure.”
The players echoed that sentiment.
“At the end of the day, the goal is to is to win the game,” Bernard said. “Obviously, we haven’t played to our standard, but it’s Week 4. So, like I said, man, we’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up, but at the end of the day, we gave up 19 points to a hungry offense that came in here and tried to assert their will. And we did what we had to do to win the game.”
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Katherine Fitzgerald
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