Saints vs Bills: Key Matchups in Week 12

As if the New Orleans Saints current situation could not get any worse, the Buffalo Bills are coming to town for the Thanksgiving primetime game. Both teams are coming off of a loss on Sunday, but the Bills are relatively healthy. Of course, most teams are healthy when compared to the Saints right now. This will be another tough game for the Saints in this mid-season stretch. The Bills are favored by our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook, and Saints will be looking to stay above .500 while the Bills will be looking to keep pace in the AFC East race. These are some of the key matchups for the Saints versus Bills matchups in prime-time Thanksgiving night.

Trevor Siemian and the Island of Misfit Receivers

It is no secret that Trevor Siemian has been mediocre, at best, since taking over as the starter for the Saints. This is mostly standard for Siemian though. Over this career, he completed passes at just a 59% rate. Compared to this year, that is actually better than this year. Although Siemian has the best interception and touchdown rate of his career, his completion percentage has fallen a bit to 57%. Siemian’s yards per attempt sits at a career low as well. Siemian should not shoulder the burden of his numbers by himself though.

All of the Saints pass-catchers have to do better. On the season, no Saints receiver has over 26 receptions for the entire year. For comparison, Mark Ingram has played just four games with the Saints so far this season and has the fifth most catches of any player on the team. Only one Saints receiver has over a 70% catch percentage and that is Ty Montgomery, who has missed several games this season. As if that is not bad enough, not a single Saints pass-catcher is averaging over 50 yards per game in the air. This is bad news for the Saints who will be trying to keep up with the dangerous Buffalo Bills offense.

Saints fans versus the Second Half

It is not looking good for Saints on this Thanksgiving primetime game. The Bills are one of the best AFC teams and they will likely be the team to bounce back this Thursday. The Saints are on the wrong side of the injury report and the short week will not help that cause. The Saints will also host the Dallas Cowboys next Thursday as well. That NFC matchup would likely mean more for playoff seeding. The Saints could decide to waive the white flag in the second half. Fans will have bellies full of food and minds tired from visiting family, eyelids might have a very tough time staying open Thursday night.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Josh Allen versus the Saints defensive front

Jalen Hurts showed up the Saints defense in Week 11. Hurts rushed for three touchdowns on the game, shredding the Saints defense throughout the game. This week does not get much easier. Josh Allen is a much more dangerous offensive weapon than Hurts. Allen is a better passer than Hurts and has many more weapons. Emmanuel Sanders will make his return to New Orleans. Along with Stefon Diggs, Dawson Knox and Cole Beasley, the Bills give Allen plenty of options when taking snaps. Of course, Allen can rush at any time also. This will give the Saints defense many things to think about this week. The Bills have not been sharp lately and that might help the Saints defense keep up on a short week.

Make sure you follow Canal Street Chronicles on Twitter at @SaintsCSC , “Like” us on Facebook at Canal Street Chronicles, and make sure you’re subscribed to our new YouTube channel.