Giants Country

Giants Fall to Buffalo 14-9 as Offense Sputters

New York comes up empty in the red zone.

Joe Najarian

Giants Fall to Buffalo 14-9 as Offense Sputters
Giants Fall to Buffalo 14-9 as Offense Sputters /
In this story:

It was a true heartbreaker for the 1-5 New York Giants, who lost a hard-fought, 14-9 defensive struggle to the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park.

The Giants, who were playing without starting quarterback Daniel Jones and star offensive lineman Andrew Thomas, managed to outgain the Bills in total yards, 317-297, but could only manage three field goals from Graham Gano as they went zero for five in the red zone.

This was the third consecutive game where the Giants failed to score an offensive touchdown in 13 straight quarters. New York ran two plays at the Buffalo 1-yard line, both of which were the final plays of each half, and came away with nothing both times.

Daniel Jones Reveals More Information About His Neck Injury

Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed 24 of 36 passes for 200 yards. His top targets were Darius Slayton, who caught four passes for 69 yards, and Wan’Dale Robinson, who caught eight passes for 62 yards.

Running back Saquon Barkley, who was playing for the first time since Week 2, rushed 24 times for 93 yards. He also caught four passes but had just five receiving yards.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed 19 of 30 passes for 169 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. His top target was Stefon Diggs, who logged ten receptions for 100 yards. Running back James Cook had 71 rushing yards on 14 carries.

The defense controlled the first half, with the Giants managing to hold the Bills scoreless. After the first two drives of the game ended in punts, Buffalo would advance to their 46-yard line; Allen then completed a 9-yard pass to Gabe Davis, but he fumbled while being hit by linebacker Bobby Okereke, and fellow linebacker Micah McFadden recovered the ball for New York.

Bills Running Back Damien Harris Exits Game After Scary-looking Hit

With great field position from the turnover, the Giants drove 45 yards in 12 plays and advanced as far as the Buffalo 8-yard line. The key play was a 27-yard strike from Taylor to Darius Slayton. Although the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line, Graham Gano kicked a 29-yard field goal to give New York a 3-0 lead.

The next four drives (two by each team) ended in punts before the next scoring opportunity would arise. Starting at their own 35, the Bills would advance into Giants territory thanks to consecutive 14-yard runs by running back James Cook. However, Allen threw two incompletions intended for Stefon Diggs to stall the drive, and it would end in no points when Tyler Bass missed a 52-yard field goal attempt wide right.

Once again, the Giants had good field position, this time at their own 42, due to the missed field goal. Despite having gone three-and-out on their previous two drives, New York would begin another drive into the Buffalo red zone as Taylor completed passes to Darren Waller and Robinson for 20 and 10 yards, respectively. The drive would stall and eventually end outside the red zone, but Gano made a 43-yard field goal to extend the Giants’ lead to 6-0.

Buffalo’s next drive featured a scary stoppage of play; on 3rd-and-1 from the Buffalo 34, Bills running back Damien Harris suffered a neck injury after absorbing a hit from Okereke and had to be taken off the field via ambulance. 

On the next two plays, the Bills entered Giants territory when Allen completed a 19-yard pass to Diggs but gave the ball away when McFadden recorded his second takeaway, intercepting a pass (tipped by Okereke) intended for Dawson Knox.

With 2:23 remaining in the first half, the Giants had an excellent opportunity to increase their lead before halftime. They would advance 58 yards in eight plays; the biggest play was a 31-yard bomb to Slayton, while a pass interference penalty later in the drive moved the ball to the 1-yard line with 14 seconds left. Unfortunately, Barkley was stuffed for no gain on the next play, and with no timeouts, the Giants could not stop the clock, and the score remained 6-0 entering halftime.

The third quarter would consist of just two possessions. The first was from the Giants, which saw them move 39 yards in nine plays and just over five minutes before punting the ball away.

The second, from the Bills, was a massive, 17-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that was just two seconds shy of 10 minutes. Buffalo had just two plays that were for 10 yards or more, but they converted four times on third down; the last, which came on the first play of the fourth quarter, was a 3-yard touchdown pass to Deonte Hardy that gave the Bills a 7-6 lead.

The Giants responded by retaking the lead with a 9-play, 79-yard drive. Barkley ripped off consecutive runs of 19 and 34 yards, respectively, as New York reached the Buffalo 11 before facing 4th and Inches. After the end-of-half fiasco, coach Brian Daboll chose to take the points, and Gano kicked his third field goal of the night to give the Giants a 9-7 lead.

Buffalo struck right back, however, with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that put them ahead for good. The Bills picked up four first downs, again with just two plays that gained 10 yards or more; the second was Allen’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Quintin Morris that put the Bills back ahead, 14-9. It was the first time Morris was targeted all season.

New York could only get to their 38-yard line before turning the ball over on downs, but the Bills could only get the Giants to use their first two timeouts before giving the ball back; Knox dropped a first-down pass from Allen on third down, and Bass missed a 53-yard field goal attempt to give the Giants one last chance, trailing by five.

The Giants would make it back to the 1-yard line, driving 56 yards in 13 plays. This included a huge 12-yard completion to Jalin Hyatt on 4th and 5, followed by a spike to stop the clock with nine seconds left.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. After a 5-yard scramble by Taylor that left two seconds left on the clock, his pass to Waller in the end zone fell incomplete. The Giants did receive one final play at the 1-yard line due to the Bills being flagged for defensive pass interference, but a second pass to Waller was broken up in the end zone, and the Bills escaped with a heart-stopping victory.

Published
Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian, a Rutgers University graduate, covered Rutgers Football and Rutgers Baseball during an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN).

Home/Game Day