Bills shred Giants 28-14

The Giants record their third-straight 0-2 start to a season in another classic debacle littered by breakdowns on all sides of the ball.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

East Rutherford, NJ -- The Buffalo Bills strung together four scoring drives of 70 or more yards as they steamrolled over a hapless Giants team 28-14 at MetLife Stadium.

Whereas the blame for last week's loss was mostly on the Giants defense, this week there was plenty of blame to go around to all three units.

After taking a 7-0 lead on their opening drive on a 27-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley, the Giants defense picked up where it left off last week in Dallas.

The Giants allowed the Bills four scoring drives this week of 70 or more yards. That’s nine total touchdown drives allowed by the Giants defense in two games.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who last year finished second among quarterbacks in rushing yards (631), and who last year had 20 rushing attempts in the red zone last season (tied for 2nd most among NFL quarterbacks), tied the score with a six-yard touchdown run off-tackle to cap a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive.

The Giants defense had no answers for the Bills. On their go-ahead 14-yard touchdown by rookie Devin Singletary, the Bills converted three third-and-longs on the drive.

Rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker, who got the start this week, was victimized early and often by the Bills passing game. 

The first-round pick out of Georgia, who played with much too much cushion all game long, gave up a 51-yard pass to Cole Beasley, who had nothing but daylight when Baker ran to the inside and Beasley to the outside.

That big play set up a 14-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah McKenzie to make it a 21-7 game.

The Giants offense finally started to show some life on their second-to-last drive of the half, the highlight of which was a huge 19-yard gain on a dump-off to Barkley, who benefitted from some good blocking.

However, a potential big play, a screen pass to tight end Evan Engram, was blown up after right tackle Mike Remmers missed a block, and Aldrick Rosas’ streak of 20 straight field goals came to an end when his 48-yard attempt sailed wide left.

Not even a 60-yard punt return by TJ Jones, re-signed to the team this week, could ignite a spark for the Giants. 

Eli Manning, who had two previous passes tipped at the line of scrimmage in this game, had a pass intended for Bennie Fowler tipped and intercepted by defensive end Trent Murphy to end the drive.

In the second half, the Giants defense appeared to get its act together, stopping the Bills on three straight drives.

The Giants offense?

Well, after that third straight stop by the defense, the offense also appeared to wake up. Manning drove the offense 12 plays and 76 yards, connecting with Jones on a 4-yard touchdown pass.

Manning, who has now thrown 15 touchdown passes in the 4th quarter since the 2017 season (tied for 8th most of 68 Qualified QBs in NFL), converted on a 4th-and-2 by hitting receiver Cody Latimer for 9 yards to keep the drive alive.

Latimer, who entered the game with a calf strain, suffered a concussion on his big fourth-down reception and was ruled out of the game.

But for anyone who thought the Giants and Manning might engineer one of the quarterback’s patented Manning fourth-quarter comebacks, it was not meant to be thanks to a team effort.

Defensively, the Giants were unable to stop the Bills for a fourth time, as cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who committed a defensive holding penalty on the drive deep down the field, was also beaten on a 3rd-and-6 to John Brown.

Singletary's 20-yard rush off the left end gave the Bills 1st-and-goal from the 3-yard line, but the Bills couldn't punch it in. However, on the ensuing field goal attempt, a personal foul for unnecessary roughness was called against rookie Dexter Lawrence gave the Bills a fresh set of downs.

The result? On 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, running back Frank Gore steamrolled over Giants inside linebacker Ryan Connelly for the core, making it 28-14.

The Giants defense committed three penalties on defense in the second half which resulted in first downs, equaling their most in any half since the 2017 season.


Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.