Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
A tough start to the season was expected for the New Orleans Saints after so much turnover throughout the 2025 offseason. However, last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks served as a bit of a wake up call for the team.
New Orleans went into halftime in Seattle down 32 points, the largest halftime deficit since 2005.
While many anticipated the Saints would need time for their new systems, leaders and players to settle in, the history the team repeated was starkly different even from the low expectations already surrounding it.
This week against the Buffalo Bills, the Saints will search for a bounce back but will have to do so by taking on one of the NFL’s best clubs.
In squaring off with an undefeated Buffalo team that averages more than 30 points per game while boasting the league’s No. 2 passing defense, a win feels unlikely. However, a win isn’t necessary to show progress and ideally promise.
If New Orleans comes out against Buffalo and looks prepared, that’s progress. If the team can show that it belongs on the same field with a championship contender, that’s progress if the Saints leave Highmark Stadium having given the Bills a run for their money, much like the Miami Dolphins did over a week ago, that’s promise.
Fielding a competitive, composed and disciplined team would be the biggest win the Saints could get without claiming victory on the scoreboard.
Penalties, missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds are elements that have defined the Saints’ early season performance. The team is now competing against those factors and themselves just as much as it is competing with the Bills on Sunday.
Showing marked improvement on those areas along with growth in all three phases of the game would provide as much promise as any win this week. The Saints don’t have to focus on the scoreboard, they have to focus just about everywhere else and maintain their competitive persona from the first two weeks.
If they do so against Buffalo, a Super Bowl probable, the momentum could carry them to great heights as the season continues on and the team’s rebuild begins to take shape.
