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Game Recap

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Bills 31, Saints 19 | Final score, game recap + highlights 

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Location: Highmark Stadium

Final score: Bills 31, Saints 19

Records: Bills (4-0), Saints (0-4)

Next opponent: Bills vs. Patriots on Sunday, October 5 at 8:20 p.m. EST

The Bills looked to extend their 21-19 lead with 12:59 left in the fourth quarter, hoping to keep New Orleans at bay. Though the tight ends were shy for majority of the game, Dalton Kincaid flipped the narrative, scoring his third touchdown of the season.

After a turnover on downs on the previous Buffalo drive, Quarterback Josh Allen and his offense took the field at their own 40-yard-line. Running Back James Cook III got the offense rolling, catching a short pass up the middle from Allen for five yards.

On third-and-five, Allen took matters into his own hands and scrambled for 27 yards up the middle of the field. He didn't settle for a slide after picking up the first down and put Buffalo in a prime spot inside the Saint's 30-yard-line.

Allen connected with Kincaid who was running along the right sideline with his sights set on the end zone. The tight end took it all the way in for a touchdown that put the Bills up 28-19.

With over eight minutes left, Buffalo's defense showed up with two consecutive fourth down stops; with one resulting in the Bills going down for a field goal and the other forcing New Orleans to settle for 19 points on the game. Defensive End A.J. Epenesa capped off the Saints' afternoon with a sack while Joey Bosa punched the ball out and forced a fumble. Allen took the field and three kneels to run the clock out.

Game Summary

The Bills wasted no time getting to work from their own 22-yard-line, bouncing back-and-forth between the run game and pass game. Khalil Shakir ended up with the ball just over four minutes into the game when Buffalo put the first score on the board. The wide receiver made the catch behind the line of scrimmage and taking it all the way into the end zone for a total 43-yard touchdown pass.

New Orleans answered accordingly. The drive was powered initially by Saints Quarterback Spencer Rattler's run game, escaping pressure from the Buffalo defense twice in this first drive. A holding call on the Bills gave New Orleans an extra five yards on the play as well. Rattler connected with Tight End Juwan Johnson on a 17-yard pass and handed it off to Kendre Miller on the next snap. Miller avoided getting tripped up by the Bills and tied the game, 7-7, with under seven minutes left of the first quarter.

Buffalo converted quickly once they took the field for a second time. Allen connected with Keon Coleman who easily separated himself from the Saints and had nothing but open space to catch the 17-yard pass. Cook continued posting significant, multi-yard runs. On first-and-goal, Cook tried to drag the Saints defenders into the end zone with him, but recorded Buffalo's second touchdown on the next play, only needing to pick up one yard.

Just as New Orleans developed a rhythm, looking like it was going to find an answer to the Bills' second touchdown, Defensive Tackle DaQuan Jones got the first sack of the afternoon and his second of the season. The Buffalo defense lit up as captain Terrel Bernard flew towards Rattler on the next play that forced the quarterback to throw away the ball. He picked up an intentional grounding penalty as the pass didn't cross the line of scrimmage, but regardless, the defense forced the Saints to punt.

Given a chance to extend the lead, Allen and the offense fell short. Saints Tight End Jonas Sanker knocked the ball out of Dawson Knox's reach on second down and Allen looked down the field to find Coleman at the Buffalo 49-yard-line. Sanker showed up big for the Saints again and intercepted the pass. It was his first interception of his career, and the first turnover for the Bills since December 2024 against the Patriots.

Buffalo's defense forced another three-and-out to put the offense back out on the field as quickly as possible, but New Orleans had the same goal in mind. Once the Saints' offense retook the field, it was back in the Bills defense's hands to control. Bernard sat out for one play after getting stepped on but was back out on the field and instantly applied pressure that forced New Orleans to eventually settle for a field goal. The 54-yard attempt was good.

Four points down, the Saints capitalized on the lack of fire underneath Buffalo's offense. With offensive penalties and a sack on Allen, the Bills were pushed back into a third-and-22 situation. Carl Granderson fed off the defensive strides and delivered a second sack that forced Buffalo to punt it away.

Rattler and his offense crept up on the end zone, using up time under the two-minute warning in attempts to keep the ball from going back in Allen's hands. Eating up time, though, didn't work in the Saints' favor. On third-and-goal, New Orleans tried putting Chris Olave in Rattler's position as the quarterback ran towards the endzone prepared to catch the pass from his wide receiver. Safety Cole Bishop read the play and earned his first career interception.

The Buffalo offense ultimately let the second quarter clock run out and could not capitalize on the interception by Bishop. Coming out of the locker room for the second half, the offense needed to regroup and fire up again while the defense needed to stay consistent. Both came out doing just that.

Check out the best game photos from Sunday's game between the Bills and Saints at Highmark Stadium. This gallery is presented by Gabe's Collision.

After New Orleans was forced to punt on the first possession of the half, Cook steamrolled down the field to spark the offense as he picked up two consecutive first downs on one play, each for a total of 25 yards. Allen connected with his first tight end of the afternoon, Jackson Hawes, with a 15-yard pass that put the Bills at the Saints' 10-yard-line. After Cook logged his third consecutive 100-plus yard game, Allen scrambled after the fake and tallied his 68th rushing touchdown of his career.

Olave redeemed himself on the next drive. He and his quarterback kept it simple this time, keeping Rattler as the passer in the short, three-yard touchdown throw to the wide receiver. Instead of settling for an extra point, New Orleans set up for its first two-point conversion attempt of the season to cut its deficit to three. Buffalo put a stop to the play, keeping it a two-possession game with seconds left in the third quarter.

The Saints fought again for their offense as the defense halted the Bills once again. On fourth-and-two on the first set of downs, Shakir was swallowed up and the ball was back in New Orleans' hands at its own 49-yard-line. The offense converted the turnover on downs into a 45-yard field goal after an incompletion from Brandin Cooks who couldn't control the catch in the endzone.

From thereon out, the Saints couldn't climb out of the deficit anymore despite a valiant fight throughout the afternoon as Kincaid's touchdown made it a two-possession game. Even sacking Allen for a third time didn't phase Buffalo, as the defense took the field and put up two fourth down stops. The turnover on downs before the two-minute warning was turned into a field goal that put the Bills up 31-19. They finished their fourth consecutive game in the season with 30-plus points scored.

Take a look at how the Bills celebrated their 31-19 win on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. This gallery is presented by Ticketmaster.

Key Stats and Facts

  • The Bills have scored a TD on their opening drive in all 4 games this season.
  • The Buffalo Bills have scored 30+ points in each of the first 4 games for the third time in team history – first time since 1992.
  • Josh Allen's pick ended a run of 391 straight offensive plays without a turnover, ending what was the longest active streak in the NFL.
  • Josh Allen's 27-yard rush was his 19th career rush of 25-plus yards, fifth most among QBs since 1991.
  • Josh Allen had over 100 yards passing in the first quarter for the 16th time in his career, including playoffs. Bills are 14-1 when he throws for 100+ yards in the first quarter.
  • There were 251 total yards in the first quarter (Bills 145, Saints 106), the second most in the first quarter of any Bills game since 2014.
  • The Bills are over 600 yards rushing through four games of a season for the first time since 2013.
  • James Cook tied the franchise record for consecutive home games with a rush TD.
  • James Cook has crossed the 4,000-yard mark from scrimmage in his career. In his 53rd game, he's the fifth fastest player to do so for the Bills.

Scoring plays

1st Quarter

BUF 7, NO 0 —J.Allen pass short right to K.Shakir for 43 yards, TOUCHDOWN. M.Prater extra point is GOOD

BUF 7, NO 7 — K.Miller left guard for 18 yards, TOUCHDOWN. B.Grupe extra point is GOOD

BUF 14, NO 7 — J.Cook left tackle for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN. M.Prater extra point is GOOD

2nd Quarter

BUF 14, NO 10 — B.Grupe 54 yard field goal is GOOD

3rd Quarter

BUF 21, NO 10 — J.Allen scrambles right end for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN. M.Prater extra point is GOOD

BUF 21, NO 16 — S.Rattler pass short middle to C.Olave for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. TWO-POINT CONVERSION ATTEMPT. S.Rattler rushes left guard. ATTEMPT FAILS.

4th Quarter

BUF 21, NO 19 — B.Grupe 45 yard field goal is GOOD

BUF 28, NO 19 — J.Allen pass deep right to D.Kincaid for 28 yards, TOUCHDOWN. M.Prater extra point is GOOD

BUF 31, NO 19 — M.Prater 35 yard field goal is GOOD

FINAL

Milestone Watch

  • Sean McDermott won his 90th career game, becoming the fastest NFL coach to do so (135 games) since George Seifert (117 games).
  • Bills are 4-0 for the first time since 2020.
  • Bills won their first over the Saints at home since Oct. 30, 1983 (27-21).
  • Bills won their 14th consecutive home regular season game.

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