New Orleans (0-3) at Buffalo (3-0)
Sunday 1 p.m. EDT, CBS
Against the spread: Bills 2-1; Saints 0-3.
Series record: Saints lead 7-5.
Last meeting: Bills beat Saints 31-6 on Nov. 25, 2021, in New Orleans.
Last week: Saints lost to Seahawks 44-13; Bills beat Dolphins 31-21.
Saints offense: overall (19t), rush (18), pass (18), scoring (21).
Saints defense: overall (15), rush (14), pass (17), scoring (25).
Bills offense: overall (1), rush (1), pass (5), scoring (4).
Bills defense: overall (9), rush (32), pass (2), scoring (20).
Turnover differential: Saints even; Bills plus-3.
Fourth-year receiver Chris Olave — whose playing future was unsure after at least the fourth concussion of his NFL career caused him to miss the last eight games of last season — has made it through the first three games of this season without injury and leads the team in catches with 23.
Though offseason free-agent addition Joshua Palmer has made an impact with eight catches for 113 yards, the fifth-year receiver has yet to display his stretch-the-field ability. A big reason for that is opposing defenses protecting against the deep pass. That could change as early as this weekend should the Saints crowd the line in a bid to contain RB James Cook, who's 284 yards rushing rank second in the NFL entering Week 4.
Josh Allen versus Saints secondary. Allen has combined for five touchdowns passes in two home games, and is facing a defense that’s allowed seven TD passes so far this season. The Saints secondary is relatively stingy in allowing just 210 yards passing per outing. New Orleans, however, has allowed eight passes of 20 or more yards, including four against Seattle.
The Saints played last week without starting RT Taliese Fuaga because of knee and back ailments that could continue to affect his availability this week. DL Chase Young has yet to play this season after straining his calf during a Week 1 practice. ... The Bills ruled out starting DT Ed Oliver (ankle) and starting LB Matt Milano (pectoral). Right tackle Spencer Brown (calf) and edge rusher AJ Epenesa (pectoral) are listed as questionable.
New Orleans has won four of five at Buffalo and not lost there since Oct. 30, 1983, the teams' first meeting at Orchard Park, New York. The Saints also have won five of the past six, including a 47-10 win in their most recent trip to Buffalo in 2017, which stands as the largest margin of victory in series history.
The Saints are seeking to avoid opening a season 0-4 for just the ninth time in team history, and first since 2012. ... QB Spencer Rattler had career-high 28 completions to go with a TD pass in Week 3. ... Rattler is the only QB with 25 or more completions in each of the first three weeks of this season and has four games in a row with at least 25 completions since last season. ... Rattler has completed at least 70 percent of his passes during his past two games. ... RB Alvin Kamara had 138 scrimmage yards and a TD rushing in his only career game at Buffalo as a rookie in 2017, when Kamara also was the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. ... Kamara has 582 catches and needs six more to surpass Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen (587) for fifth most by a running back all time. ... TE Juwan Johnson had six catches for 51 yards last week to give him at least five catches in five straight games. ... Johnson ranks second among TEs in receptions with 19 and fifth in yards receiving with 176 this season. ... Olave had a career-high 10 catches last week for 57 yards, giving him three straight games with at least six catches. His 23 receptions rank second among WRs. ... DE Cameron Jordan has nine tackles for losses in his past seven games. ... DE Carl Granderson twice has had 1 1/2 sacks in a game this season. ... LB Pete Werner tied his career high with 13 tackles and had his third career fumble recovery last week. Werner has at least five tackles in each of his past 15 games. ... The Bills seek to get off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2020 and just the 10th time in team history. ... Buffalo has won 13 straight regular-season home games, two short of matching the team record spanning 1990-91. The current run dates to a 24-22 loss to Denver on Nov. 13, 2023. ... Buffalo has scored on its opening drive in all three outings this season and is 10-1 when doing so going back to the start of 2024. ... Allen has committed one turnover — an interception against New England on Dec. 22 — in his past 13 starts, including playoffs. He's 35-7 overall when not throwing an interception or losing a fumble. ... The Bills have not committed a turnover in 574 consecutive offensive snaps — the NFL's longest streak since 1950. ... Cook has scored a TD rushing in seven straight regular-season outings, matching the team record held by three players, including O.J. Simpson. ... Buffalo is 24-5 when topping 100 yards rushing since the start of 2023. ... LB Terrel Bernard has had a hand in two of Buffalo's three takeaways this season, both coming in the fourth quarter. He recovered Derrick Henry's fumble in the opener, and intercepted Miami's Tua Tagovailoa. ... The Bills allowed Miami to convert 10 of 15 third down opportunities a week after limiting the Jets to 0 of 11.
Kamara remains a must-start, but expectations should be measured. The Bills might be statistically porous against the run, but much of that is a result of allowing 238 yards rushing in a season-opening 41-40 win over Baltimore. The following week, Buffalo limited Breece Hall to 29 yards rushing in a 30-10 win at the New York Jets.
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