Drew Brees threw five touchdown passes for an NFL-record eighth time and the Saints forced three Thaddeus Lewis turnovers to beat Buffalo 35-17.
Brees helped New Orleans overcome a mostly sluggish first 25 minutes in which his offesnse only put up 64 yards of offense to an eventual 386 yards . Brees completed 26 of 34 passes for 332 yards despite the Bills limiting top targets Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, and Darren Sproles to a combined 10 catches for only 55 yards.
Photo by Michael C Hebert
for New Orleans Saints
Bills head coach Doug Marrone said the team’s turnovers and key penalties cost his team huge chances against a good football team.
“We have to do a better job all of the way around,” said Marrone. “At the end of the day, we really lost this game as a team. We are going to have to make those plays and not have those penalties for us to win football games. We have been doing a very good job in the turnover situation (this season, but way too many turnovers today. We are not good enough to miss those opportunities. We’re really not.”
Buffalo’s offense had an inauspcious start, as Lewis fumbled on a quarterback draw after a hugh hit by linebacker David Hawthorne, giving the ball to New Orleans on its own 22 yard line. Lewis laid on the field for a few minutes, with backup Jeff Tuel warming up on the sideline, but Lewis would return on the next possession.
“There was no doubt in my mind that after the very first hit that I was going back in the game,” said Lewis. “I never doubted that – I just took some time to catch my breath because I had the wind knocked out of me a little bit, but I was fine and I just told the docs (doctors) that I was going back out there.”
Photo: Derek Zeller
Fortunately for the Bills, a sack by Jerry Hughes helped force the Saints to take a 47-yard field goal, which was missed by Garrett Hartley. Lewis returned to lead the Bills on the next drive into field goal range, but the normally consistent Dan Carpenter, who had started the year 15 of 16 and 3 of 3 from 50 yards or more, missed a 50 yarder, keeping the game scoreless.
On Buffalo’s next possession, Lewis was sacked by defensive end Cameron Jordan, who picked up the ensuing fumble at the Bills’ 21 yard line. This time the Saints would take full advantage, with Brees throwing a 15 yard strike past the hand of rookie corner Nickell Robey into the hands of receiver Lance Moore, who had missed three straight games, giving New Orleans a 7-0 lead with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Saints had an opportunity to extend their lead, but a drive that was at the Buffalo 11 yard line ended with a pair of false start penalties on Drew Brees. Hartley again missed a field goal, this time pushing his 38 yarder just outside the left upright.
The Bills responded with an eight-play, 72 yard drvie that ended with Lewis finding Steve Johnson between two defenders from 13 yards out. After a New Orleans 3-and-out, Buffalo’s offense again entered the red zone, but tight end Scott Chandler couldn’t corral a possible one-handed touchdown, and the drive ended with a Carpenter field goal from 37-yard field goal with 4:38 left in the half.
Afterward, however, it was nearly all Saints, as Brees connected on two passes for 86 yards on the next drive, including a 69-yard touchdown to rookie receiver Kenny Stills, who blew past linebacker Jerry Hughes in coverage. Marrone said the team needed to be “careful about those situations”
“It was a good call by them and it got us in a tough call,” said Marrone. “We put Jerry (Hughes) in a tough situation on that play. We told him that when they came off of the field. Those things happen in this game, but you feel really, really terrible as a coach when that happens because you feel that you put them in a bad situation. That’s what happened. Jerry was good about it. He said, ‘No, I’ve got to do a better job.’ That’s what you want to hear.”
Photo Derek Zeller
New Orleans found the endzone again before the half, with Brees finding Jimmy Graham from 15 yards out with 35 seconds left, giving them a 21-10 lead. With 5:15 left in the third quarter, Brees threw a 13-yard touchdown to Graham, who caught three passes for 37 yards in limited time with a partially torn plantar fascia.
Down 28-10, the Bills finally answered with a nearly six-minute drill that ended with a 1 yard Fred Jackson touchdown run with 14:20 left in the game. The drive included Lewis sustaining two hits to the head from cornerback Corey White that resulted in roughing the passer penalties.
Buffalo got the ball back 11:42, but after a first down, Lewis threw an errant pass that was intercepted by cornerback Keenan Lewis. After getting the Saints in a 3rd and 20 situation, the Bills again allowed Stills to make a big play, as he caught a 42 yard pass in the endzone, ending any chance of a Buffalo rally with the score 35-17 with 7:34 left.
Lewis completed 22 of 39 for 234 yards and his lone touchdown to Steve Johnson, while being sacked four times and hit countless others. Stevie Johnson caught seven passes for 72 yards, but played with a noticeable limpo during the game and did not play on several occasions.
Johnson said that other players got “dinged up” but they knew they had to play through it and will have to heal quick for the next game. He also said that Lewis “showed his toughness today”, and knew he “was hurting today”.
This loss for the Bills is the first in which they were not within a touchdown inside the last two minutes, and puts them at 3-5, last in the AFC East. Buffalo will return home to play the unbeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, while the Saints will go the Meadowlands to play the Jets.
