The Saints, playing like a team with Super Bowl potential, used defense and a running game to defeat the Bills 27-7 on Sunday in Buffalo in a game that will draw a lot of national attention.

The Bills held Drew Brees without a touchdown toss and held him to his lowest output in three seasons.

Coach Sean Payton challenged the Saints' defensive line on Monday when he told the defenders that they were the unit that could make a difference in this game.

"Our defense played tremendously," said Brees in his postgame discussion. "This was a game that in the past, would not have gone our way."

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who formerly was a head coach at Buffalo, was given a game ball after the Bills were held without an offensive touchdown. Doubtless, Williams had his defenders armed and ready for his return to Buffalo. He had the backing of Payton who challenged his defense to play to its capability after allowing 27 and 22 points in victories over Detroit and Philadelphia.

The Bills had 243 yards of total offense, went 2-for-14 on third down, and surrendered four sacks of quarterback Trent Edwards as the Saints pressured him all afternoon. The Bills' longest play of the game came on a 25-yard touchdown connection between punter Brian Moorman and defensive end Ryan Denney off a fake field goal. Only one second-half possession lasted longer than five plays.

Running back Pierre Thomas sealed the victory with two touchdowns in the final 10 minutes and finished with a career-high 126 yards rushing -- all in the second half. On a 19-yard TD run, Thomas burst up the sideline, where he jumped over a safety and then dragged a cornerback five yards into the end zone.

Lynell Hamilton scored the Saints' opening drive touchdown on a one-yard power run.

The Saints went ahead for good late in the second quarter after No. 1 draft choice Malcolm Jenkins stripped the ball on a punt return. The play led to John Carney;s 27-yard field goal that put the Saints ahead 10-7. He also added a 35-yard field goal.

Terrell Owens failed to make a catch for the Bills despite having five passes thrown his way. That ended a 185-game streak that was the longest of any active player.

It got worse for T.O. after the game, when on his way to the tunnel, he was struck in the face and chest by a large bucket of popcorn thrown from the stands.

After the game, Owens did his best not to give any headline-worthy quotes at his news conference, saying, "I'm just going with the plays that were called." He repeated the phrase four times. Edwards didn't do a good job of throwing to the sidelines, so it wasn't all T.O.'s fault.

Saints backup safety Pierson Prioleau, a former Bill, said he thought both corners (Jabari Green and Tracy Porter) played well. "It's not just taking Owens out of the game because they have other receivers, too." he said.

"The way the defensive line pressured the quarterback, the way the linebackers took away the underneath, it all works hand in hand," said Greer, another former Bill. "To say us as a secondary shut him out would be a little selfish. I know that in this game one good play often shadows the real work. And, if you say we shut him down that overlooks the way our defensive line allowed that to happen."

Officially, the Saints were credited with only four sacks, but they pressured Edwards for four quarters. He avoided one sack with an intentional grounding penalty and he was hurried on 14 other occasions.

Defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant combined for two-and-a-half sacks, four tackles for losses and five quarterback hurries. Smith also had a big interception to halt the Bills; only scoring drive in the second half.

The Saints rushed 38 times for 22 yards. They gained more yards on the ground than they have since 2006.

Brees hit 16-of-29 passes for 172 yards. Jeremy Shockey was his leading receiver with 6 catches for 48 yards. Reggie Bush rushed 13 times for 64 yards and caught 3 passes for 17 yards.

"You go all week long hearing people talking about he offense and that’'s enough to get a defense fired up," said Brees. "Our defense played tremendously."

The  Saints return to the Superdome on Sunday to play the unbeaten Jets in a 3:05 p.m. game. The Jets defeated the Titans 24-17 on Sunday.

Tigers Escape fall with 30-26 squeaker over Maroons

Chad Jones returned a punt 93 yards for a touchdown and made two big plays on a goal line stand with a minute to play to allow LSU to escape Starkville on Saturday with a 30-26 victory over Mississippi State.

The Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) scored in every aspect of the game -- offense, defense and special teams -- for the first time since 2002 to pick up its 10th-straight win over The Bulldogs. The Bullies (2-2, 1-2 SEC) put forth their best effort, but came up short of the end zone on four-straight plays including the final three inside the 1 yard line.

Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson had a career-best 233 passing yards on 15-of-28 attempts with touchdowns of 4 and 58 yards to wide receiver Brandon LaFell. LaFell finished with 6 catches for 101 yards.

A two-time national champion in both football (2007) and baseball (2000), Jones fielded a bouncing punt at the Tigers 7 yard line and started toward the left sideline and shook a tackle. He then changed directions, broke another tackle, and crossed the 15-yard line with two great blocks by BrandonTaylor and Stevan Ridley. Jones crossed midfield before breaking another tackle at the MSU 40. He regained his balance and got one more block from Patrick Peterson before falling exhausted into the right side of the end zone.

Jones turned back the clock to Halloween Night 1959 and brought back memories of Billy Cannon's famous punt return against Ole Miss.

:If he didn't run out of gas, I ran out for him," said Tigers coach Les Miles. "It seems like he made more and lefts than he should have, but I can tell you one thing, the wasn't going down. And that team that was running alongside him, they were going to support him."

Crossing the goal line, Jones was absorbed by celebrating teammates.

Had the Tigers not held on to beat Ole Miss 50 years ago, Cannon's run would be a footnote in Tigers history. Same for Jones on Saturday, with the Bulldogs looking to spoil the memories.

Trailing by six, the Bulldogs advanced to the Tigers 2-yard line and looked to take the lead for good. However, runs on first and second down resulted in only one yard. The Bulldogs attempted a jump pass to a tight end on third down, but Jones knocked the ball out of the sky.

On fourth down, MSU quarterback Tyson Lee failed on an option pitch to running back Anthony Dixon and attempted to slide into the end zone. He came up short and LSU took over at the 1. After three Tigers runs and three MSU timeouts, Derek Helton elected to run out of the end zone for a safety rather than punt from the end zone and the game was all but over.

"We were right there six inches from the goal line," said Bulldogs center J.C. Brignone. "That just comes down to who wants it more."

Patrick Peterson, who'll play in the NFL in a couple of years, took the first of three Lee Interceptions for a 37-yard touchdown on MSU's first offensive play.

After the goal line stand, "Our defense has heart, character and courage," said Miles.

The Tigers' defensive line showed why they are considered one of the best in the nation.

MSU power back Dixon rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns to become MSU's career leading scorer and No. 2 rushing leader.

In a scenario similar to the Washington game, the Tigers converted only 2 of 13 third-down plays, which helped MSU to an 86-59 advantage in snaps.

MSU wanted to stop the LSU running game and it did. LSU was outrushed 151 to 30 yards.

"If they are going to pound them all in there and make it very difficult to run, we'll throw it," said Miles in his postgame discussion.

Miles told his team, "We're 4-0 and that's nice, but if any of you don't think you can player better than you did today, don't bother showing up for work on Monday."

LSU returns to SEC action on Saturday against Georgia at Athens with a 2:30 p. m. kickoff. Georgia defeated Arizona State 20-17 on Saturday night.

TIGERS NOTES: LSU won its 13th straight September game...Patrick Peterson's 37-yard interception return for a TD was his second pick six for the Tigers this season. LB Jacob Cutrera recorded one at Washington. The two interceptions for TDs by the Tigers are the most in a season for LSU since recording two in 2006 (both by Jonathan Zenon)...The Tigers were more than four hours in the Baton Rouge airport with mechanical problems and missed their walkthrough. The Tigers had nearly as penalties in the first half (6) in the first half as rushing yards (7)...

LaFell has now caught a pass in 32 straight games. His streak the fifth-longest in the nation. LaFell hauled in a 4-yard TD catch and a career long 58-yard TD catch. They were his fourth and fifth TD passes of the season and 18th and 19th of his career. He is now tied for foruth in LSU career receiving TDs with Devery Henderson and Wendell Davis...TE Richard Dickson extended his streak to 15 straight games with a reception as he finished with 2 cathes for 14 yards...PK Josh Jasper connected on a 22-yard field goal.He missed on a 19-yard attempt. He now stands at 6-of-7 for the season and 8-of-9 for his career.

 The Tigers moved up to fourth from seventh in both the AP and USA Today Coaches' polls after the victory. Three teams ahead of The Tigers lost.

No. 4 Ole Miss lost to South Carolina 16-10, No. 5 Penn State fell to Iowa 21-10 and No. 6 Cal tumbled in a lopsided game with Oregon 42-3.

Chad Jones was named the national defensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Foundation. Jones had two key plays on the Tigers' goal line stand against the Bulldogs late in he first quarter and the punt return. He also had seven tackles, including four solo. Those two plays helped preserve the Tigers' win.

Oregon tight end Ed Dickson was the national offensive player of the week after catching 11 passes for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns.