ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The cracks had been showing for weeks, and on Sunday at New Era Field, the foundation of the Buffalo Bills' defense crumbled.
The New Orleans Saints embarrassed the Bills by running 24 consecutive times in the second half of a 47-10 romp at New Era Field, including rushes on all 10 plays of a 94-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. Overall, the Bills' defense allowed 298 rushing yards and 482 total yards to the Saints as they got blown out of their own stadium.
"We've got a certain standard," coach Sean McDermott said after the game. "That wasn't up to our standard. Really, that standard is not changing. It's what we look every day to accomplish -- is to play at that standard, to do our work at that standard. Today was not indicative of the standard that we've set for ourselves around here."
At best, Sunday's pitiful performance was rock bottom for Buffalo's defense, which has been sliding after allowing a league-best 13.5 points per game through Week 4. Between Weeks 5 and 9, the Bills were tied for 18th in points per game allowed (23.75) and 24th in yards allowed per game (383.3).
At worst, it is the latest example of why the Bills, now 5-4 after their back-to-back lopsided losses, are heading the wrong direction as they try to end their 17-year playoff drought. The Bills have two road games -- at the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs -- before returning home in December to host the New England Patriots in a game that will likely mean more for the Bills' chances at a wild-card playoff berth than winning the division.
"We've got to regroup," McDermott said. "We've got to hit the reset button, regroup, and I look forward to doing that this week. We're 5-4. Nobody said, like I told you before, nobody said this is easy. This is how you get tested in the league. We've got to hang together and get things corrected."
The Bills were hoping their Week 9 loss to the New York Jets was an aberration. Buffalo trailed 34-7 late in the fourth quarter of that game as the Jets rushed for 194 yards. McDermott said last week it would be unrealistic to expect any team to be perfect through 16 games.
However, it was perfectly reasonable for fans to expect something better out of McDermott's defense as it returned home, where the Bills had a 4-0 record entering Sunday. The Saints, now 7-2, had won six games in a row but were only three-point favorites.
New Orleans won by 37, imposing its will on the ground from start to finish. Mark Ingram ran 21 times for 131 yards and three touchdowns, Alvin Kamara added 12 carries for 106 yards and one touchdown, Trey Edmunds ran nine times for 48 yards and a touchdown, and Drew Brees joined the action with a 7-yard rushing touchdown.
"When you're giving up rushing yards like that, it goes beyond the physical aspect of it," defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. "We're in wrong places, we're not where we're supposed to be. It was an all-around bad deal.
"It just snowballed into a nightmare."
The Saints' six rushing touchdowns were the most against the Bills all-time. The Saints' 298 rushing yards were the eighth-most against Buffalo in their franchise history and most since 2012, when the Seattle Seahawks ran for 311.
Aside from a kneel-down to end the first half, the Saints reached the red zone on all of their possessions through the first three quarters, scoring five touchdowns over that span. They did not punt in the game. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Saints became the first NFL team since 1941 to run for six touchdowns and not punt in a game.
So much for the progress made by McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier in trying to fix the shortcomings of the Rex Ryan era. Last season, the Bills allowed three teams to run for over 200 yards, but none for 300 -- or close to it. This was a clear step back.