The Saints have lost starting LT Jamaal Brown for the year due to a injured hip and a sports hernia.  Brown was the Saints’ best offensive lineman coming into this season.  Jermon Bushrod had been doing a outstanding job as Brown’s replacement until he injured his ankle over the weekend.  If Bushrod misses any time the Saints’ offense could suffer a little bit.

The New Orleans Saints (3-0) took down the Buffalo Bills (1-2) today and it was the Saints’ defense that stood out today and not their high-powered offense.  The Saints held star wide receiver Terrell Owens to zero receptions.  TO hasn’t gone without at least one reception in a game since his 1996 rookie season.  The Saints offense didn’t look very good until they broke out in the fourth quarter for 17 points.

Saints’ running back Pierre Thomas had been out with a knee injury up until this game, and he had himself a career game.  Thomas racked up a career high 126 yards on 14 carries (9.0 avg) with two touchdowns and it all came in the second half.  Thomas’ two touchdowns both came in the 4th quarter, as one was for 34-yards and the other a 19-yard run.  Brees had an uncharacteristic 172-yard passing day, with no touchdowns and no interceptions on 16/29 passes (55%).

The Saints defense is what won this game though, as they held the Bills to 243 total yards and a season low seven points.  The only points the Bills did get, was on a fake punt that fooled the Saints and resulted in a 25-yard touchdown for the Bills.  Other than being tricked on a fake punt, the defense was very good.  Malcolm Jenkins recovered a fumble for the Saints and Will Smith got himself an interception.  If the Saints defense can keep up this type of play, and you combine that with their impressive offense, they will be Super Bowl bound.

The New Orleans Saints (2-0) are on the road against the Buffalo Bills this week (1-1) and are looking to continue their offensive dominance.  Drew Brees has gotten off to an amazing start as he has 669 passing yards and nine touchdowns with a 132.9 passer rating.  He lead the Saints to easy wins over the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Lions are just flat out bad and the Eagles were without McNabb, but the Saints were still very impressive on offense.

Running back Mike Bell has been almost as equally impressive as Brees, as he has rushed for 229 yards and a touchdown in two games.  Unfortunately for the Saints though, Bell sprained his MCL and will not be able to go against the Bills.  Pierre Thomas is returning from a knee injury, and expect him and Reggie Bush to get the bulk of the carries in Bell’s absence.

The Buffalo Bills offense has looked pretty good themselves, and the Saints defense will not have an easy day.  Trent Edwards has gotten off to a good start this year as he has 442 passing yards and four touchdowns with only one interception.  Edwards has the always dangerous Terrel Owens to go to, but one of his favorite targets TE Derek Schouman is out for a while with a knee injury.  With Marshawn Lynch serving a three game personal conduct suspension, running back Fred Jackson has stepped up big and the running game has looked strong for the Bills.

This will be an entertaining game, as both offenses have looked good early in the season.  This looks like the perfect ingredients for a shoot-out, but I don’t know if the Bills have enough to keep up with the highly powered Saints offense.  Even though Bell is out, the Saints will be okay at running back and Brees is playing the best football of his career so I think the Saints are going to take this one.  The Bills will put up a fight but the Saints have too many weapons and will win pretty convincingly.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Saints 42, Bills 31

The Saints were only ahead 17-13 at the half in this game before exploding for 31 points in the 2nd half to run away with this game.  Drew Brees was outstanding again completing 25 of 34 passes for 311 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 interception in this game.  The running game was in good hands again as Mike Bell carried the ball 17 times for 87 yards (5.1 ypc) with a TD run.  Reggie Bush pitched in with 33 yards rushing on 10 carries (3.3 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 42 yards (14.0 avg).  Marques Colston caught 8 passes for 98 yards (12.3 avg) with 2 TDs to lead the way in the passing game for the Saints.  Devery Henderson also had a good game catching 3 passes for 71 yards (23.7 avg) against the Eagles.  The Saints finished up with 421 total yards on offense (133 rushing, 288 passing) in this game.

Linebacker Scott Shanle led the way for the Saints with 11 tackles and a interception.  Safety Darren Sharper had another solid game with 3 tackles and a interception that he returned 97 yards for a TD in the 4th quarter.  The Eagles finished up with 463 total yards of offense in this game (85 rushing, 378 passing).  This was a huge win on the road for the Saints improving them to 2-0 on the season.

The New Orleans Saints looked great in their week one victory over the Detroit Lions.  Yet most teams look great against the Lions so don’t expect the Saints to put up nearly 50 points every game.  The Eagles defense brings a much bigger challenge to the talented Saints offense.

Drew Brees threw six touchdowns last game and the running game busted for well over 100 yards, and although it was the Lions it was a great sign for the Saints to have the offense clicking so well this early in the season.  The Saints defense will most likely not have to face star quarterback Donovan McNabb, as he has a broken rib.

The Eagles did sign Jeff Garcia after McNabb’s injury but he isn’t prepared enough for this weeks game.  Michael Vick is still serving his two game suspension, so that means Kevin Kolb will be starting at quarterback for the Eagles.  The Saints defense will be able to contain the medicore quarterback and the Eagles defense will not be able to do enough to contain the Saints offense.  I see the Saints winning this one by at least a touchdown.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Saints 28, Eagles 20