Week 4 of the NFL season will pit the 0-3 New Orleans Saints against the 3-0 Buffalo Bills. The Saints will travel to Buffalo for this matchup, just one week after a 44-13 road thrashing at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Buffalo will be at home for the second straight week and third time in four games. They also have a few extra days of rest after a 31-21 win over the Miami Dolphins last Thursday.

New Orleans comes into this meeting ranked 19th in total offense, but only 29th in points scored. They’ll face off against a Bills defense ranked 9th overall and 20th in points allowed. So far, Buffalo has been much more formidable against the pass. This is where our focus on this Week 4 game will be today.

Bills Pass Defense131.3 yards per game (2nd)61.3% completion percentage5 touchdowns1 interception6 sacks12 QB hits2024 Rankings226.1 yards per game (24th)68.5% completion percentage28 touchdowns (24th)16 interceptions (5th)37 sacks93 QB hits

Buffalo has allowed less than 200 yards through the air in all three of their games and less than 150 to the Jets and Dolphins in their last two matchups. They’ve allowed only one player to have more than 50 yards receiving through those three contests. Only Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson has completed over 65% of his throws against Buffalo coverage so far this season.

Even though the Bills have a modest 6 sacks this season, they’re capable of bringing terrific pressure from the outside with ends Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, and AJ Epenesa. They also get good pressure inside from tackles Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones. A secondary that finished near the top of the league in interceptions last year returned intact. Corners Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, and Tre’Davious White can stick with wideouts in man duties and get terrific breaks on throws in off-ball coverage. The Bills complement them with a few physical safeties in Cole Bishop, Taylor Rapp, and Demar Hamlin.

Saints Passing Attack199.7 yards per game (18th)66.1% completion percentage4 touchdowns1 interception6 sacks2024 Rankings205.2 yards per game (23rd)61.7% completion percentage21 touchdowns (20th)12 interceptions (16th)37 sacks

Spencer Rattler hasn’t put up bad numbers — actually much-improved from his rookie year. However, Rattler hasn’t been accurate at all on downfield throws and has often failed to deliver the ball to his receivers in stride on shorter routes. As a result, explosive wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed have averaged less than eight yards per catch combined. Rattler’s 5.4 yards per completion and 8 yards per attempt are both near the bottom of the league.

Olave and Shaheed also both need to gain more yards after the catch when throws are on target. Shaheed has only 127 yards on his 14 catches, while Olave has 165 yards on a team-high 23 receptions. Tight end Juwan Johnson has been a security blanket for Rattler. Johnson has a team-best 176 yards on 22 catches. These three are the only Saints pass catchers with double-digit receptions. Veteran Brandin Cooks has made a small contribution, but the offense needs more from newly-acquired receiver Devaughn Vele, the biggest wideout of the group. Vele (hip) missed last week’s loss at Seattle but had only 2 catches on three targets in his first two games.

Alvin Kamara needs to be more involved as a receiver. Kamara has 9 catches, but for only 47 yards, with six of those catches coming in Week 2. Still arguably the best receiving back in football, coach Kellen Moore needs to recognize this and use Kamara’s route running skills to create matchup problems for opposing defenses. Those abilities would be a big advantage against the Buffalo linebackers in space.

If Moore’s play-calling won’t take advantage of the deep speed the team has, as has been apparent in the first three weeks, then there are other ways to test a defense. Olave and Shaheed could be used more on quick throws and WR screens, while Kamara can be used on option routes out of the backfield. For these to be successful, Rattler and the Saints need competent pass protection up front. They get it from rookie left tackle Kelvin Banks and right tackle Taliese Fuaga, who’s trending to return to the lineup with back and knee injuries. They’ve decidedly not gotten it from Cesar Ruiz, a human turnstile at right guard. Trevor Penning (toe) looks like he’ll see his first start of the season, but fellow guard Dillon Radunz (toe) will miss his second straight contest.