Saints 35, Bills 17: post-game awards for Buffalo Rumblings Podcast

It's that time of the week again: Brendan Harrington, Matt Warren and I are planning out tonight's Buffalo Rumblings Podcast, in which we'll be breaking down yet another Buffalo Bills game, and we're looking for your feedback from yesterday's 35-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

Offensive Player of the Game

Well, let's see here... both Stevie Johnson and Scott Chandler caught seven passes for 72 yards, with Johnson adding a touchdown despite playing through an injury that left him obviously hobbled throughout the contest... Fred Jackson matched a career high with his sixth rushing touchdown of the season...

Yeah, that might be about it as far as nominees go (though you're free to write in anyone else you believe was deserving). It was a rough day at the office for the Bills' injury-depleted offense.

Defensive Player of the Game

Kyle Williams was dominant throughout the contest, racking up a whopping nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in what was easily his best effort of the season... Mario Williams added another sack, bringing him up to 11 at the midway point of the season, and giving him his highest single-season total since he recorded 12 sacks way back in 2008...

Yeah, that might be about it as far as nominees go. There wasn't much to like on that side of the football aside from a strong early performance and the pass rush; Drew Brees did throw for five touchdowns, after all.

Turning Point of the Game

Given that the Bills led this game 10-7 in the second quarter, it's pretty sensible to try to pinpoint the turning point of the game after Buffalo had taken its only lead. The 69-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Kenny Stills on either a blown coverage, a horrible play call or both, which concluded a drive that lasted all of 52 seconds, gave the Saints the lead for good and kicked off a 21-0 run by the home team, might be a good place to start. Maybe you want to talk about that 21-0 run as the turning point; maybe you have something else in mind.

Goat of the Game

There are, frankly, too many names to choose from here. We imagine that Jerry Hughes, who was caught on camera chasing wide open receivers all day, will see a lot of nominations here despite a strong day rushing the passer (he picked up his third sack of the season). The coaching staff looked a bit overmatched against the Saints, particularly in the second half, and Doug Marrone lost two iffy challenges. We'd take up the rest of your day listing every possible nominee for this week's goat, so if you have someone in mind, by all means, throw his name out there.