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Bills’ glaring defensive issue exposed again in Week 4 vs. Saints

Buffalo downed a lowly New Orleans team despite an uneven defensive performance
Khari Demos|
New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller (5) and Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47).
New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller (5) and Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47). | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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The Buffalo Bills have successfully got to 4-0 in 2025. But they have a glaring defensive issue that could slow them down as the season goes along.

Buffalo eked out a 31-19 win over the New Orleans Saints to close out the month of September undefeated. But once again, the Bills’ run defense looked porous throughout.

Buffalo has allowed at least 100 rushing yards as a team in each game this season. In two of those four games, the Bills allowed 185+ rushing yards, including Sunday’s 189 for the Saints.

In three of Buffalo’s games this year, the Bills have yielded a rushing touchdown.

Bills defensive captain Terrel Bernard addressed the defensive play postgame. He shared his “perspective” on what some of these reoccurring issues are with the team’s run D.

“It’s missed tackles, it’s guys staying in their gaps, doing their jobs,” said Bernard, who finished with six stops in the win. “Like I said, that’s correctable. We’ll get back to work and get those things cleaned up.”

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott also commented on the run defense. He said that NOLA was utilizing the run to keep the game "close," which he acknowledged was accomplished.

"They did a good job of that. I thought we did a better job in the second half, in some situations," said McDermott, whose Bills' run defense entered Week 4 allowing a league-high 6.2 yards per carry.

"But everything starts with gap integrity in the run game, and doing your job and then tackling. I thought, at times, we could have tackled better than we did."

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One bright spot in the run game was rookie Deone Walker. The mammoth defensive lineman made two stops against the run that show just how bright his future could be as a 21-year-old.

But the rest of the Buffalo run D will need to step up as the Bills look ahead to 13 remaining regular-season games.

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Khari Demos
KHARI DEMOS

Khari Demos is an award-winning sports media creator and is a contributor for Bills On SI. He has written sports betting article covering the NFL for The Athletic and has written pieces about the NBA, MLB, college football and basketball, and more, throughout his career.