The Buffalo Bills didn’t make it easy but they still got the job done.
The Bills (4-0) kept their winning ways going in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints (0-4) in a 31-19 final.
While a victory, Buffalo kept a bit of a tradition going that has started to build. The Bills allowed the Saints to stick around for a chunk of the game when New Orleans did not have much right doing so when you look at these two rosters on paper.
With that, here are Bills Wire’s five takeaways from the Bills’ win over the Saints:
Played down
It’s early in the 2025 NFL season, but the Bills have that trend going.
At least it’s a two-sided coin.
Buffalo is undefeated this season. However, the Bills have had a knack for playing down to their opponents in recent weeks. Buffalo narrowly beat the Miami Dolphins a week ago and now we have this win against the Saints that was close for most of the day.
Having said that, that being a “bad” day for the Bills… is not so bad… in both of those games Buffalo ended up scoring 31 points.
If your team is putting up 31 points and it’s a rough outing? That’s not the worst thing in the world.
But clean it up.
Josh makes it happen
The Bills did not have a stellar game from quarterback Josh Allen. He threw his first interception of the season.
Allen still did plenty to will his team to victory. The QB had three total touchdowns and his ability to extend plays in the second half with his legs paid off tremendously.
Allen finished 16-for-22 passing for 209 yards with two passing touchdowns and that pick. Allen rushed seven times for 45 yards and another score.
Some rotation at corner
Interestingly, the Bills defense had a rotation at cornerback during portions of the contest. Veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White and rookie Dorian Strong were rotating series out on the field across from Christian Benford.
White still finished with a team-high sevent ackles including one for loss. Strong added four tackles.
It remains to be seen what head coach Sean McDermott says about the rotation.
James keeps cooking
Bills running back James Cook had 117 yards rushing on 22 carries (5.3 avg) against the Saints. The Pro Bowler has started this season with four-straight games with more than 100 all-purpose yards and in three of those, he had over 100 yards rushing.
Cook is overshadowed by Allen in terms of star status, but re-signing him is looking like an excellent decision by the Bills’ front office.
Breakouts?
Despite the issues keeping the Saints in the game because of problems such as poor run defense at times, untimely penalties and losing the field-position battle, the Bills will hope they had two breakouts happen against New Orleans.
Buffalo saw safety Cole Bishop record the first interception of his NFL career and he did it in style with one hand.
On top of that, tight end Dalton Kincaid continued rolling. He recorded his third touchdown catch of the year. That’s already a career-high for a single season.
Can those two young players build on that?
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 5 takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 31-19 win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 4
Reporting by Nick Wojton, USA TODAY / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
