The Buffalo Bills and the Saints are both going to be trying to get back on track Thursday night in New Orleans. The Bills have lost three of their last five contests, while the Saints have dropped three in a row.
Here are my three keys to the game for the Bills to avoid a second-straight loss:
1.) Take advantage of a depleted Saints team
The Saints are really banged up right now, and plenty of starters are out for the game, including running back Alvin Kamara, offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, and defensive ends Marcus Davenport and Tanoh Kpassagnon.
Running back Mark Ingram is questionable to play, as is offensive tackle Terron Armstead.
They’ll be limited offensively, which means Saints head coach Sean Payton will, most likely, try to be creative to manufacture offense. The Bills can’t let that happen and take advantage of an under-manned group.
2.) Stop the run
It doesn’t matter who is available and who isn’t for the Saints.
The Saints saw the Indianapolis Colts run for 264 yards on the ground last week against the Bills, and there’s almost no doubt they’ll be trying to replicate that with their own run game. This includes jack-of-all trades player Taysom Hill, who lines up in different spots and does a lot of different things.
Going back to the first key, it will be a lot easier for New Orleans to overcome the numerous injuries they have on offense if they can control the clock with their run game.
3.) Air strikes
Even though the Saints gave up 242 yards rushing last week to the Philadelphia Eagles, they still come into the game with the third-best run defense in the NFL in yards per-game given up (89.8) and the very best at yards per-play allowed (3.40).
However, they are 22nd and 25th, respectively, in yards per-game and yards per-play given up through the air.
The game will be played in a dome, a controlled environment. Weather won’t matter. Josh Allen and the Bills offense need to get back on track throwing the football.
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