Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills remain the only unbeaten AFC team after defeating the winless New Orleans Saints 31-19 at Highmark Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Buffalo has now won 14 straight home games, with its most recent loss coming against the Denver Broncos in Week 10 of the 2023 season.
This is becoming a weekly occurrence at this point, but quarterback Josh Allen broke two more records on Sunday. Allen totaled his 70th career scrimmage touchdown (rushing or receiving), surpassing O.J. Simpson for the third-most in team history. The Week 4 win also marked JA17’s 45th career game with both a passing and rushing touchdown, tying Cam Newton for most such games in NFL history.
Thankfully, the Bills’ schedule has been weak amid their injury woes, primarily defensive tackle Ed Oliver and linebacker Matt Milano. However, right tackle Spencer Brown was ruled out ahead of Sunday’s game due to a calf injury that “popped up” during last week’s win against the Miami Dolphins. Cornerbacks Brandon Codrington and Ja’Marcus Ingram also joined the inactive list for the first time this season.
See the full list of Week 4 inactives here!
R.Van Demark T 59 100%
C.McGovern G 59 100%
J.Allen QB 59 100%
O.Torrence G 56 95%
D.Dawkins T 56 95%
D.Edwards G 56 95%
J.Cook RB 43 73%
K.Coleman WR 43 73%
J.Hawes TE 31 53%
K.Shakir WR 31 53%
D.Knox TE 24 41%
D.Kincaid TE 22 37%
C.Samuel WR 20 34%
E.Moore WR 18 31%
R.Gilliam FB 17 29%
J.Palmer WR 15 25%
T.Shavers WR 14 24%
T.Johnson RB 12 20%
R.Davis RB 5 8%
A.Anderson T 3 5%
S.Van Pran-Granger C/G 3 5%
C.Lundt T 3 5%
Buffalo’s first two possessions in the first quarter were nearly the same, with each totaling seven plays, lasting just over four minutes and resulting in touchdowns. However, the Bills wouldn’t find the end zone again until the third quarter, thanks to numerous penalty calls and even Allen’s first interception of the season on the third possession of the game. Allen (100%) was still lights out, totaling 254 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns on top of completing 73% of his passes.
His day wasn’t necessarily easy, however, with Spencer Brown sidelined, which resulted in Ryan Van Demark (100%) drawing just his third start of his career. It was rather noticeable, too, considering the Saints sacked Allen three times, with Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson finding success on the right side against Van Demark. For reference, Allen was sacked four times across the first three games combined.
The offensive line still played well, though, especially in the running game, which allowed James Cook (73%) to continue his weekly cookin’ of opposing defenses. The 26-year-old has now totaled at least 100 rushing yards in three straight games. His 73% snap count percentage is the second-highest percentage of his career, as well as his total carries (22). After getting paid, it seems like Cook has finally arrived as the elite...
