by TYLER HATHAWAY
The Buffalo Bills enter Week 4 with a 3-0 record, and are readying to host a struggling New Orleans Saints team on Sunday. In Week 3, Buffalo survived a scare from divisional rival Miami, while New Orleans got run out of the building in a road loss at Seattle. The Saints now make the trip up to Orchard Park searching for not only their first win of the season, but head coach Kellen Moore’s first win of his young coaching career. Here’s the breakdown:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-3/NFC South)
vs.
BUFFALO BILLS (3-0/AFC East)
Storyline #1: Bills have multiple key pieces on injury report
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott announced the injury report on Wednesday, and it features some players who missed time with injuries last week and some new ones who might miss the game against New Orleans.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver did not practice on Wednesday after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. Linebacker Matt Milano, who also missed time in Week 3, was held out of practice Wednesday due to a pectoral injury. Tackle Spencer Brown and defensive end A.J Epenesa are new to the injury report, with Brown having a calf injury and Epenesa dealing with a pectoral injury. Brown did not practice on Wednesday, and Epenesa was limited.
Storyline #2: Kellen Moore’s coaching career off to rocky start
The Saints are one of six teams to open the season 0-3 this year, and are coming off a 31-point road loss in Week 3 to the Seattle Seahawks. Head coach Kellen Moore is in his first season as an NFL head coach after being the offensive coordinator for a handful of teams, including most recently the Philadelphia Eagles. Moore and New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn are the 31st and 32nd coaches in NFL history to be winless through the first three games of their coaching career.
“It’s been head down, back to work,” Moore said to reporters Wednesday about responding to Week 3’s loss. “The energy has been good. Obviously there’s a lot of growth opportunities for us and we’re excited to keep navigating and keep moving.”
Storyline #3: Bills’ road to the #1 seed looking better than ever
Since 2018, only once have the Baltimore Ravens or Kansas City Chiefs not been the top-seed in the AFC. Buffalo has earned the second seed in the conference four of the past five years, never in the McDermott era being able to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a bye into the divisional round. This year presents a new opportunity for the Bills, as it’s the best shot they’ve had at earning their first first-round bye since the early 90s.
Buffalo has opened the season with a perfect 3-0 record and the only playoff team from 2024 they play in its next six games is in a Week 9 home clash against Kansas City. Speaking of the Chiefs, both them and the Ravens have opened the season 1-2 and face each other in Week 4, guaranteeing that one of the two perennial AFC powerhouses falls to 1-3 (outside of the slim chance of a tie). Add on the fact that the Bills own the tiebreaker over the Ravens, and Buffalo’s path to finishing with better records than those two teams has never been clearer.
However, it’s important to mention that the Bills are not the only undefeated team in their conference through three games- the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers have also both rattled off three consecutive wins to open the year and joined the list of contenders in the AFC.
Key to the game #1: Score early and often
With the Bills being such heavy favorites for the second straight week, it’s important that they take a look around the NFL to see what can happen when teams face a heavy underdog.
The Green Bay Packers opened the season with two convincing wins against two 2024 playoff teams in the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders but stalled out in Cleveland in Week 3, falling 13-10 on a walk-off 55-yard field goal to a Browns team that lost by four scores in their previous outing. The Atlanta Falcons were coming off an emphatic statement win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football but got blanked by an 0-2 Carolina Panthers team in Week 3. The Bills even almost fell victim, escaping thanks in part to a late Terrel Bernard interception in their 31-21 win over Miami last Thursday.
It’s imperative Buffalo doesn’t fall victim to the upset like Green Bay and Atlanta did due to an inability to execute on offense. Against a team coming off a big loss like the Saints, the offense should come out flying with bells and whistles to seize control of the game. Take the ball if you win the coin toss. Get quarterback Josh Allen in a rhythm early. Establish the run with tailback James Cook, who is currently second in the NFL in rushing yards. Do anything and everything to not let the Saints get any feeling that they can hang with a team that currently touts the #1 overall offense through three weeks.
Key to the game #2: Play clean football
The Bills need to continue to play clean football. The Bills have been able to avoid turning the ball over through the first three weeks, and are one of three teams to still be turnover free in 2025.
To once again use the rest of the NFL as an example, turnovers are the easiest way to lose a game you should win. The New England Patriots turned the ball over five times last week despite nearly doubling the total yardage of the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 21-14 loss. The good news is that the Bills have not fallen victim to excessive turnovers in a long time, and are currently on a 25-game streak of winning or tying the turnover battle.
X-Factor: Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman
Bills wideout Keon Coleman opened his second season in the NFL with a bang, finishing with eight receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. However, the Florida State product has been quiet in his last two games, catching three balls in each and producing a total of 46 receiving yards.
This week’s game against a Saints defense that gave up 44 points in Week 3 could provide an excellent opportunity to get the young receiver some extra touches. Pass-catchers have found success against New Orleans’ secondary this year- Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had five catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in Week 3.
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