Week 4 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 7, New Orleans Saints 19

What you need to know

Buffalo Bills

J.P. Losman had another bad game throwing the football. He completed just seven passes and again had trouble when trying to throw long. His longest completion of the day was 19 yards to convert a third and long, but he averaged only five yards per attempt. Losman looked deep for Eric Moulds on the Bills’ fourth possession, but the pass was overthrown by a long way and Jason Craft was able to make a comfortable interception for the Saints. Losman was sacked three times in the game, and fumbled on one of them but recovered the ball. He was almost sacked in the end zone on the Bills’ second drive, but just managed to get a pass off. With 13:31 left in the fourth quarter, Kelly Holcomb replaced Losman at quarterback. Holcomb did not fare well either, completing three of six passes and taking a sack. There will undoubtedly be a lot of speculation over which quarterback will start for the Bills next week.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bills looked better than last week for much of the game. The run defense was able to stifle Deuce McAllister in the first half, holding him to 28 yards on ten carries. McAllister found success running the ball in the fourth quarter as the Saints tried to run out the clock. After looking strong for most of the game, the Bills ended up conceding 130 yards rushing to McAllister and 167 net rushing yards on the day, including a four yard touchdown run to Aaron Brooks. The Bills’ pass defense did well for the majority of the game, allowing 166 net passing yards. The defense was quick to tackle and did not give up many big gains, but Donte’ Stallworth eventually broke free for two receptions of over 20 yards.

Rian Lindell missed his first kick of the year when a 45 yard field goal attempt slid to the right of the upright. Terrence McGee almost gave the Bills a spark when he returned a kickoff 81 yards as time expired in the first half. He looked as if he would be stopped on several occasions but broke numerous tackles and got clear. He appeared to trip over his own blockers four yards short of a score.

New Orleans Saints

This was the closest that the Saints have come to a home game this year, and the crowd in the Alamodome was extremely loud, forcing the Bills into an early delay of game penalty.

With the Bills’ run defense ranked last in rushing yards allowed, the Saints failed to run the ball as well as expected in the first half. Deuce McAllister was only given ten carries in the opening 30 minutes, and he made just 28 yards. It was a different story in the second half and McAllister ended the game with 27 carries for 130 yards, although he was held scoreless. He had four consecutive first down carries as the Saints used him to take some time off the clock in the fourth quarter, including a 26 yard run to take the Saints into field goal range. Aaron Brooks also had success running the ball, ending the day with seven carries for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Joe Horn was inactive for the Saints as he rested his injured hamstring, leaving Donte’ Stallworth as the main receiver and Az-Zahir Hakim as the other starter. On the Saints’ second drive, Stallworth dropped an easy catch for what would have been a big gain, and McAllister dropped a pass on the next play to end the drive. Stallworth was by far the most heavily targeted receiver in the game, and finished the day with eight receptions for 129 yards.

The Saints’ pass defense had a great game and was able to apply pressure on the Bills’ quarterbacks all day. Charles Grant led the way with seven solo tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. Darren Howard had two sacks and Will Smith another. Jason Craft intercepted Losman’s longest passing attempt of the day. The Bills were held to 67 net passing yards in the game. Willis McGahee was able to move the ball on the ground, and the Saints’ run defense allowed 141 net rushing yards. But the overall defensive performance was strong, and the Saints did not look like they would give up the lead in the second half.

What you ought to know

QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 7 - 15 - 75 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 38 - 0

Losman had a bad day and was replaced early in the fourth quarter. He only attempted 15 passes, completing seven and throwing an interception to Jason Craft. The interception came as Losman tried to go deep to Eric Moulds, but the pass was well overthrown and was caught comfortably by Craft. Losman looked tentative for the most part, almost getting tackled for a safety in the end zone, before getting sacked three times on the day. His interception led to several conservative attempts to pass the ball, and he managed just five yards per attempt in the game. Losman ran the ball four times for 38 yards including a 14 yard run for a first down. His mobility is not in question, but his status as starter is in doubt for the immediate future.

QB Kelly Holcomb, Pass: 3 - 6 - 28 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0

Holcomb entered the game with 13:31 left in the fourth quarter after J.P. Losman had again looked ineffective. Holcomb’s first pass was batted down and he did little to impress in his limited action. He fumbled one snap but held onto the ball, but lost a fumble after being sacked by Charles Grant.

RB Willis McGahee, Rush: 16 - 84 - 1, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (4 targets)

McGahee began the game by breaking free for a 25 yard run on the first play of the game. He capped the drive by going in from the one yard line, diving over the approaching defenders. The Bills failed to find success on offense for the remainder of the first half, and McGahee only had 30 rushing yards by half time. He had a 14 yard gain on the Bills’ opening possession of the second half, but the drive stalled. He broke a 40 yard run when Holcomb entered the game, but a holding penalty took away some of the gain. The Bills used McGahee on third and short at the Saints’ 48 yard line but he failed to convert. With the game slipping away, the Bills were forced to try and convert on fourth down but McGahee was hit for a two yard loss by Dwight Smith in his return to the strong safety role.

RB Shaud Williams, Rush: 2 - 19 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets)

Williams had a 12 yard run for a first down in the second quarter, but did not make any other significant contributions for the Bills.

WR Eric Moulds, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (6 targets)

Moulds was the intended target on a deep pass from J.P. Losman, but the ball was intercepted by Jason Craft. Moulds was not at fault on the play as the ball was well overthrown. Moulds made a great 11 yard catch on second and 19, and the Bills converted the next play for a first down. Moulds seems to still have plenty of ability but the ineffective play at quarterback is limiting his chances.

WR Jonathan Smith, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (3 targets)

Smith caught two passes on the day. The most significant was a 19 yard reception to convert on third down after the Bills had been in a first and 22 situation following a holding penalty. Smith had a 64 yard kickoff return, but the Bills had to start at their 40 yard line after being called for holding during the return.

WR Lee Evans, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (4 targets)

Evans caught passes of 15 yards and 13 yards on the opening drive, both for first downs. He was not a factor for the remainder of the game.

WR Josh Reed, Rec: 1 - 14 - 0 (1 targets)

Reed caught the only pass thrown his way, gaining 14 yards and a first down.

TE Mark Campbell (1 targets)

Campbell was targeted on Kelly Holcomb’s opening pass, but the ball was batted down. Campbell appeared to get in the way of Terrence McGee on a kick return at the end of the first half, possibly costing the Bills a touchdown.

PK Rian Lindell 0 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points

After making all nine of his field goal attempts so far this year, Lindell finally missed as a 45 yard attempt slid just right of the upright. Lindell made his extra point attempt.

BUF Rush Defense

The Bills entered the game with the worst run defense in the league after giving up 522 yards through three games. With Takeo Spikes on injured reserve, Angelo Crowell started the game. The first half looked promising as the defense held Deuce McAllister to 28 yards on ten carries, although Aaron Brooks was able to run in a touchdown from four yards out. The second half was a disaster for the Bills as McAllister carried 17 times for 102 yards. Much of the damage was done in the final few minutes as the Bills’ defense tired. At one point the defense allowed McAllister to run for four consecutive first downs.

BUF Pass Defense

The Bills allowed 167 net passing yards on the day, and were quick to tackle for the most part when a Saints’ receiver did catch the ball. But Donte’ Stallworth eluded them for big gains on a couple of occasions. Aaron Schobel gained good penetration several times during the game, but Brooks was able to scramble away each time. Schobel did manage one sack, but the play was negated on a holding penalty committed by Nate Clements. London Fletcher had the Bills’ only valid sack of the day.

QB Aaron Brooks, Pass: 15 - 26 - 172 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 7 - 33 - 1

Brooks was almost picked off on the Saints’ opening series when looking for Donte’ Stallworth, but he recovered and played well in the game. The second drive ended after Stallworth and McAllister dropped passes that should have been caught. Brooks found Stallworth for a 24 yard gain and the play would have gone for a touchdown had Lawyer Milloy not made a saving tackle for the Bills. Brooks ran well in this game, scrambling for two first downs and running in the Saints’ only touchdown of the day. Brooks did not make any costly errors in the game, but failed to throw any touchdown passes.

RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 27 - 130 - 0, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (4 targets)

McAllister started slowly but ended up being a big factor in the game. After being held to 28 yards on ten carries in the first half, McAllister become more of a factor as the Bills’ defense tired. He was responsible for around half of the Saints’ first downs, and had a stretch late in the game where he ran for first downs on four consecutive plays, the last of which went for 26 yards. McAllister did not score a touchdown, but did have carries from the three yard line and then the two on one drive, before it stalled resulting in a field goal. He caught two passes in the game, including an 11 yard reception for a first down. Another drive stalled when McAllister dropped an easy pass on third down.

RB Antowain Smith, Rush: 4 - -2 - 0, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets)

McAllister was spelled by Antowain Smith on a few plays, but Smith ended the day with negative yardage on four carries, and a three yard reception on his only target of the game.

RB Mike Karney, Rush: 3 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Karney was not a factor in this game, making only one reception for four yards in the third quarter.

WR Donte Stallworth, Rec: 8 - 129 - 0 (11 targets)

Stallworth was the most heavily targeted receiver in the game, and was clearly the go to guy for Aaron Brooks with Joe Horn inactive due to a hamstring injury. Stallworth was the target on the Saints’ opening drive when McGee almost intercepted the pass from Brooks. The next time Stallworth saw the ball was on a perfectly thrown pass on the Saints’ next drive, but he dropped what should have been an easy catch. He then almost scored after making a 24 yard catch but was just tackled by Lawyer Milloy. Stallworth accounted for 129 yards of the Saints’ 167 net passing yards and he had several key catches for first downs. Stallworth saw action on special teams with Lewis and Stecker out, but he did not distinguish himself by fumbling one of his two returns. He did however recover the ball.

WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (3 targets)

Henderson did not have a big role in the game, catching one of his three targets.

WR Az-zahir Hakim (1 targets)

Hakim started the game due to Joe Horn being inactive. He was targeted once in the end zone, but came down out of bounds after making the catch. He returned two punts for a total of 13 yards.

WR Joe Horn

Horn was inactive for this game with a hamstring injury.

TE Ernie Conwell, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (4 targets)

Conwell caught one of his four passes for five yards. He allowed one pass to slip through his hands and would have had a first down had he been able to hang on to the ball.

TE Lamont Hall, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets)

Hall caught the only ball thrown his way and brought up a first down. He was not used in the passing game for the remainder of the day.

PK John Carney 4 - 5 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 13 points

Carney missed a 32 yard field goal attempt on the opening drive of the second half, but was otherwise perfect in the game. Carney accounted for the bulk of the Saints’ points with successful kicks of 23, 40, 20 and 37 yards. He also made his extra point attempt.

NO Rush Defense

The Saints’ rush defense allowed 141 net rushing yards at an average of 4.3 yards per carry, but did enough to keep the team on top. Willis McGahee had success and scored on the opening drive, but he only carried the ball 16 times in the game as the Bills were unable to sustain drives due to poor quarterback play. The rush defense did manage to stop McGahee on third and short, and then forced the Bills to turn the ball over on downs when Dwight Smith stopped McGahee on a fourth down attempt.

NO Pass Defense

The Saints did a good job of pressuring J.P. Losman, sacking him three times in the game. Charles Grant almost tackled Losman in the end zone before Losman was sacked by Darren Howard (twice) and Will Smith. Grant was very active in the game, ending with a sack and seven solo tackles. Jason Craft intercepted Losman after the Bills attempted to find Eric Moulds deep. The pass was badly overthrown and Craft made a simple interception. Kelly Holcomb replaced Losman with just over 13 minutes left in the game, but he was also ineffective, fumbling a snap (which he recovered) and later losing a fumble resulting from a sack by Charles Grant. The Bills were held to 67 net passing yards on the day.