Bills vs. Saints Week 4 snap count analysis

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!

Bills offensive snap counts (59 snaps)

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 every-down back we’ve been waiting for.

Due to Cook’s strong play, both Ray Davis (8%) and Ty Johnson (12%) have taken a backseat when it comes to offensive snaps. Davis has totaled just nine total snaps across the last two weeks after totaling 30 across the first two weeks.

The ‘everybody eats’ mentality remains a focal point of this Bills offense, with seven different pass-catchers recording at least one reception. Khalil Shakir (53%) showed off his elite YAC skills by turning a quick screen pass into a 43-yard touchdown on Buffalo’s first possession of the game, and finished the game leading all pass catchers in receptions (5) and yards (69). Keon Coleman (73%) continues to lead the wide receiver room in snaps but wasn’t targeted once in the second half after hauling in 3-of-4 targets for 45 yards across Buffalo’s first five drives. Coleman was the target on Allen’s interception.

Two things to note: rookie tight end Jackson Hawes (53%) out-snapped both Dawson Knox (41%) and Dalton Kincaid (37%) and Curtis Samuel (34%) out-snapped every receiver not named Shakir or Coleman. Buffalo totaled 32 rush attempts compared to just 22 pass attempts, so the usage of Hawes for extra blocking certainly makes sense. However, Samuel has been a healthy scratch each of the first three weeks, and ended up out-snapping guys like Elijah Moore (31%) and Joshua Palmer (25%). Perhaps it was a showcase for other teams to potentially trade for Samuel.

Bills defensive snap counts (67 snaps)

T.Rapp S 67 100%
T.Bernard LB 66 99%
C.Benford CB 66 99%
C.Bishop S 66 99%
T.Johnson CB 62 93%
D.Williams LB 56 84%
T.White CB 51 76%
J.Bosa DE 49 73%
G.Rousseau DE 44 66%
D.Jones DT 39 58%
T.Sanders DT 36 54%
D.Walker DT 34 51%
J.Phillips DT 27 40%
A.Epenesa DE 23 34%
J.Solomon DE 18 27%
D.Strong CB 15 22%
S.Thompson LB 11 16%
C.Lewis DB 6 9%
J.Andreessen LB 1 1%

This defense, man. It’s hard to watch poor offenses look good against the Bills, and the Saints are exactly that. New Orleans entered Week 4 ranked 25th in offensive EPA/play, so naturally, it drove 70 yards in seven plays on its first possession to tie the game at 7-7. Despite playing from behind all game, the Saints totaled 189 yards on 34 rushing plays compared to just 109 passing yards on 29 attempts. That isn’t too surprising, though, considering the success they found on the ground starting from the first drive. Still, I won’t be all negative about the defense because it made big stops and held New Orleans to field goals despite starting in plus territory.

Trusting the run game and giving quarterback Spencer Rattler easy opportunities was the game plan until Saints head coach Kellen Moore tried the Philly special right before the end of the first half. Safety Cole Bishop (99%) finally showed up, grabbing a one-handed interception thrown by wide receiver Chris Olave on the Bills’ five-yard line, a huge momentum shift for Buffalo. Cornerback Christian Benford (99%) continues to struggle a bit in coverage, allowing Olave to haul in a third-quarter touchdown catch to decrease the deficit to just two points for New Orleans.

Perhaps the most interesting development was the rotation between cornerbacks Tre’Davious White (76%) and Dorian Strong (22%), who swapped defensive possessions throughout the game. Head coach Sean McDermott claimed it had nothing to do with White’s play and that he wanted to give Strong meaningful reps to see how he’d fare. White was flagged for two separate holding penalties on Buffalo’s first two defensive possessions.

The only practice-squad call-up, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (40%), totaled 27 snaps and was seen hyping up the home crowd multiple times, per usual. The legend of rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker (51%) continues to grow, and he totaled the most snaps in a game thus far in Week 4 with 34 snaps. T.J. Sanders (54%) out-snapped Walker by two snaps, but Walker showed up on the stat sheet with tackles for a loss.

Edge rusher A.J. Epenesa (34%) entered Week 4 labeled as questionable with a pectoral injury but looked good, totaling one sack and a tackle for a loss. Joey Bosa (73%) continues to lead the pass rushers in snaps, which isn’t ideal given his injury history and the fact that Buffalo needs him to be healthy for the playoffs. Michael Hoecht is coming back from suspension soon, however, which should allow Bosa to play fewer snaps moving forward.

Bills special teams snap counts (26 snaps)

R.Gilliam FB 21 84%
J.Andreessen LB 19 76%
S.Franklin DB 16 64%
J.Solomon DE 16 64%
C.Lewis DB 14 56%
T.Shavers WR 14 56%
A.Epenesa DE 13 52%
D.Williams LB 12 48%
M.Prater K 11 44%
T.Johnson RB 8 32%
D.Walker DT 8 32%
D.Hamlin S 8 32%
C.Johnston P 8 32%
J.Hancock DB 8 32%
R.Ferguson LS 8 32%
R.Davis RB 7 28%
D.Strong CB 7 28%
A.Anderson T 6 24%
S.Thompson LB 6 24%
R.Van Demark T 5 20%
O.Torrence G 5 20%
D.Dawkins T 5 20%
D.Edwards G 5 20%
J.Hawes TE 5 20%
C.Samuel WR 5 20%
S.Van Pran-Granger C/G 5 20%
T.Bernard LB 4 16%
C.Benford CB 4 16%
G.Rousseau DE 4 16%
D.Jones DT 4 16%
T.Sanders DT 4 16%
K.Shakir WR 3 12%
C.Bishop S 3 12%
T.Rapp S 1 4%
T.Johnson CB 1 4%
T.White CB 1 4%
J.Bosa DE 1 4%

With Brandon Codrington labeled a healthy scratch, Shakir (12%) took over punt return duties, with Samuel (20%) and Ty Johnson (32%) assuming kick return duties. Codrington feels like one of those players who will end up getting the short end of the stick once suspensions and injuries are factored into the 53-man roster.

Punter Cam Johnston (32%) had a rough day punting the ball and even busted his knee late in the game, which led to a roughing-the-kicker penalty. His status will be important to monitor throughout the week, but it sure feels like Buffalo may be giving Brad Robbins a call again.