The Buffalo Bills host the New Orleans Saints this weekend in what appears to be a lopsided matchup, at least on paper. The Bills are among the NFL’s elite, sitting at 3-0 with the top scoring offense in the league. The Saints, meanwhile, are in the bottom-third of the league in both points scored and points allowed, and they’ve lost all three of their games so far.
In an odd scheduling quirk, this is New Orleans’ first game this season that will come against an opponent outside of the NFC West, as they’ve
lost to the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks so far this year. For the Bills, this is their first game against an NFC opponent after taking down the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins in successive weeks.
If the Saints want to pull a massive upset, they’ll need help from their key players. Here are five we’re watching this Sunday.
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RB Alvin Kamara
Look, I love Kamara. I drafted him as a rookie in a dynasty league way back when he was the RB3 on the Saints’ depth chart, and I rode his early career elite production to plenty of wins. His career has been interesting, as he is an elite receiver out of the backfield and a great runner, yet he’s never surpassed 1,000 rushing yards or 1,000 receiving yards in a single year. He has, however, been over 1,100 yards from scrimmage in every year of his career.
While Kamara’s definitely lost a step, he’s still a dangerous runner, as he totaled a career-high 950 yards last year in his age-29 season. Kamara is averaging just 3.9 yards per touch this season, which would be a career-low by far if he were to remain at that level for the whole season.
Buffalo has allowed a league-worst 6.2 yards per carry this season, with most of that damage coming in Week 1 against Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. They have allowed at least 100 yards rushing in every game thus far. If the Bills can take Kamara away and force quarterback Spencer Rattler to do the heavy lifting this week, they’ll be in great shape.
WR Chris Olave
Olave burst onto the scene in 2022, starting his career with two fantastic seasons while catching passes from the likes of Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston, and Derek Carr. In 2024, though, Olave played in just eight games while suffering two concussions, the second of which occurred in Week 9 and led him to miss the remainder of the season.
After averaging a line of 80/1,083/5 over his first two seasons, Olave totaled just 32 catches for 400 yards and a score last year. This season, he’s played in all three of New Orleans’ games, and he leads the team in both targets (37) and receptions (26). He has only 165 receiving yards, though, averaging just 7.2 yards per catch.
Rattler’s limitations likely come into play here, but the Bills can’t fall asleep at the switch. They need to make sure that they keep Olave contained.
DE Carl Granderson
Josh Allen’s college teammate is also the New Orleans team leader in sacks. At 6’5” and 261 pounds, he’s a bigger guy who does a nice job setting the edge, but he’s also been a steady, effective pass rusher since entering the league in 2019.
Granderson sacked Allen the last time these two teams met, which was all the way back on Thanksgiving night during the 2021 season. With Bills right tackle Spencer Brown dealing with a calf injury that could take him out of the game or limit his effectiveness, it might be up to Ryan Van Demark or Alec Anderson to step in and keep Allen upright.
LB Demario Davis
Part of the fun of playing a team you don’t see regularly is that you can watch players you don’t normally see in action against the Bills. While Davis was once a member of the New York Jets, suiting up for Gang Green from 2012-2015 and then again in 2017, he’s been with the Saints since the 2018 season.
At 36 years old, this could be the last time we see him in action against the Bills. The four-time All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler has been an outstanding linebacker throughout his career, and he’s leading the Saints’ defense so far with 31 tackles.
He’s never been a great coverage linebacker, so the Bills could once again look to take advantage by using their tight ends over the middle of the field, just like they did against Tyrel Dodson and the Dolphins last week. Trying to isolate Davis against a running back would be a big advantage to Buffalo, as well.
CB Alontae Taylor
Taylor is to Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley as Roy Kent is to AFC Richmond Coach Ted Lasso: He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-bleeping-where. Taylor has been a slot corner and an outside corner in his career, and with Staley calling the defense, he’s occupied more of a “STAR” role. That involves blitzing off the edge, playing in the slot, and moving all over the field.
Taylor is aggressive, and he’s already shown off that versatility this year. He leads the team with three pass breakups so far, and he also has a sack to go with two tackles for loss and 10 total tackles. He’s allowed two touchdowns already, as well.
If the Bills go with a heavy package, Taylor’s effectiveness is neutralized. If they put Josh Allen under center and run some play-action, they can use his aggressiveness against him, as well. Taylor has big-play potential for both teams this weekend.
