When last the Thanksgiving football audience saw Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, they were pushing around the Dallas Cowboys en route to a 26-15 victory on Nov. 28, 2019, a win that helped propel the Bills into the playoffs.
It was a huge win against “America’s Team,” and it featured a signature play: Allen recovering his own fumble and surging forward to convert a critical fourth-down play deep in Dallas territory. On the ensuing play, John Brown took a pitch on a double reverse and found a wide-open Devin Singletary for a touchdown and a 13-7 Buffalo lead.
The Bills never looked back, improving to 9-3 on the year while making a statement before a national television audience that Buffalo was a team to be reckoned with.
Fast forward two years, and the Bills (6-4) once again find themselves in the Thanksgiving primetime slot, traveling to face the New Orleans Saints (5-5) at 8:20 p.m. EST. But this time, instead of seeking a signature win, these Bills are just looking for a victory, any victory, to keep their playoff hopes alive in a jam-packed AFC after suffering two deflating defeats over the last three weeks.
The latest loss was demoralizing, a 41-15 setback at home against the Indianapolis Colts. Buffalo, which entered Week 11 with the league’s stingiest run defense and most opportunistic defense in terms of creating turnovers, allowed Jonathan Taylor to find the end zone five times (four rushing and one receiving) en route to amassing 204 yards of offense.
Allen tossed a pair of interceptions (along with two touchdown passes to Stefon Diggs), returner Isaiah McKenzie muffed a kickoff, and the Bills coughed the ball up four times while failing to record a takeaway against the Colts. With the loss, Buffalo fell out of first place in the AFC East for the first time since September, plummeting from second to seventh in the AFC playoff picture.
The only good news for the Bills? Their Week 12 opponent is also in a freefall, as the Saints have dropped their last three games. New Orleans quickly fell into a 33-7 hole against the Philadelphia Eagles before scoring 22 fourth-quarter points to make the final score more respectable. Trevor Siemian finished with three touchdown passes to go with a pair of interceptions, including a pick-six from Darius Slay, and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts found pay dirt three times in the rout.
This is the 12th meeting all-time between these teams. New Orleans leads the all-time series 7-4, including winning each of the last five matchups.
Despite losing two of its last three, Buffalo is listed as a 6.5-point favorite vs. New Orleans. The Bills will be wearing their blue jerseys with blue pants and white helmet. Here are all the ways to catch Thursday night’s game from home.
TV/Streaming/Radio Schedule
Date: Thursday, November 25, 2021
Time: 8:20 p.m. EST
Channel: The game will be carried nationally on NBC.
Announcers: Mike Tirico (play-by-play) and Drew Brees (analyst).
Streaming: FuboTV and the Buffalo Bills app (especially helpful for those with DIRECTV)
Location: Caesars Stadium | New Orleans, LA.
Radio: WGR 550 AM (Buffalo), WCMF 96.5 FM and WROC 950 AM (Rochester), Fan 590 AM (Toronto), WKRL 100.9 FM and 106.5 FM (Syracuse), and the rest of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.
Radio Play-by-Play: John Murphy and Eric Wood with sideline reporter Sal Capaccio.
Online: NFL Game Pass, NFL.com Game Center
Betting Odds
Line: Bills by 6.5
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
Social Media
Twitter: Follow @BuffRumblings for complete Bills coverage on Twitter before, during, and after every game.
Instagram: @buffalorumblings
Facebook: Like Buffalo Rumblings on Facebook!
Buffalo Rumblings Podcast Links
Subscribe to the Buffalo Rumblings podcast channel featuring Billieve, Buffalo Rumblings Q&A, Breaking Buffalo Rumblings, Code of Conduct with J. Spence, The Bruce Exclusive, The Buff Hub, Jamie D. & Big Newt, The Overreaction Podcast, Food For Thought, The Chop Up, Hump Day Hotline, Off Tackle with John Fina, Bills Mafia Time 2 Shine, Not Another Buffalo Podcast, and Circling the Wagons:
Ask Alexa or Google Home to play the Buffalo Rumblings podcast!
Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications for the Buffalo Rumblings YouTube channel to get great shows like The Overreaction Podcast, Code of Conduct, Hump Day Hotline, Off Tackle with John Fina, Food for Thought, Time 2 Shine, and The Chop Up!
Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Play | Spotify | Podbean | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | Megaphone | YouTube
Editor’s note: If you’re viewing this in Apple News, you’ll need to head to your podcast app or phone’s web browser to hear the embedded audio file.
Tuesday Injury Report
Buffalo Bills
- Full practice participant: LB LB Tremaine Edmunds (hamstring).
- Limited participant: WR Cole Beasley (ribs).
New Orleans Saints
- Full participant: WR Ty Montgomery (hand), QB Trevor Siemian (right hand).
- Limited participant: T Terron Armstead (knee/shoulder).
- Did not practice: DE Marcus Davenport (shoulder), RB Mark Ingram II (knee), RB Alvin Kamara (knee), DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (ankle), T Ryan Ramczyk (knee).
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