Staff score predictions for New Orleans Saints vs. Buffalo Bills

Are you buying into the shifting line for Week 12’s Thanksgiving nightcap between the New Orleans Saints and the Buffalo Bills, or do you think the Saints have a real shot at winning in a big spot?

It’s not going to be easy, but there’s reason to think the Saints could surprise a lot of people and upset the visiting Bills. New Orleans has run the ball effectively, averaging 117.9 rushing yards per game, while the Bills’ shaky run defense bottomed out with 264 rushing yards allowed in last week’s game against Colts stud Jonathan Taylor. If the Saints can overcome their injuries on offense and play tighter coverage on defense, they’ve got a chance.

Still, this doesn’t feel like it’ll be a high-scoring affair. Here are our score predictions:

Maddy Hudak: Saints 24, Bills 18

Hudak: The last two times the Saints have lost four consecutive games were in 2012 and 2015. A severe backslide compounded by injury makes this a must-win to keep the season alive. Buffalo was unable to defend the run whatsoever on Sunday and has looked weak as of late; perhaps some bizarre triple-option fullback nonsense with new Swiss Army Knife Malcolm Perry is the necessary competitive edge they need.

John Sigler: Saints 28, Bills 18

Sigler: New Orleans has a defense that can confuse Bills QB Josh Allen with complicated coverage, and Buffalo’s run defense is looking vulnerable against the Saints with or without Alvin Kamara (and maybe without or without Mark Ingram, too). I’ll be bold and say the Saints snap their losing skid and put the league on notice that they aren’t dead yet.

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