Giants Country

New York Giants Take 6-0 Lead Over Buffalo at Half

The Giants have taken advantage of Bills' first-half miscues.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants Take 6-0 Lead Over Buffalo at Half
New York Giants Take 6-0 Lead Over Buffalo at Half /
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The New York Giants, who came into their Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills as a 15.5 underdog, hold a 6-0 halftime lead at the half.

The Giants, who coming into the game had held the lead in a game for all of 19 seconds, struck first on a 29-yard Graham Gano field goal with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

The scoring drive was set up thanks to the Giants fourth takeaway in their last five quarters of football, this one on a strip by linebacker Bobby Okereke, who knocked the ball out of the grasp of Bills receiver GAbe Davis' hand before linebacker Micah McFadden recovered it.

The Bills tried to tie it up with 9:34 left in the first half, but kicker Tyler Bass, who had made his first 27 field goals this season, missed from 52 yards, the kick going wide right.

The Giants, starting the drive on their 42-yard line following the Bills missed field goal, then drove nine plays and 39 yards before capping the drive with Gano's 43-yard field goal to make it 6-0 with 5:08 left in the half.

The Giants defense played perhaps its best first half of football this season, forcing two three-and-out drives and coming up with the turnover to set up the Giants' first score of the game.

Okereke, who has been playing lights-out football the last two weeks, came up with yet another huge play for the Giants defense with 2:30 left in the half on a 1st-and-10. 

Okereke tipped Allen's pass intended for tight end Dawson Knox, and McFadden came up with the interception to set the Giants up with 1st-and-10 on their 41-yard line. Unfortunately, the Giants couldn't capitalize on the turnover as, with 12 seconds left after a defensive pass interference set the Giants up for pay day, New York unsuccessfully ran the ball with Saquon Barkley instead of passing it. 

Blue Notes

Left tackle Joshua Ezeudu was carted off with a right toe injury suffered in the first quarter and was declared out.

His departure necessitated another reshuffling of the offensive line in which Justin Pugh moved from left guard to left tackle, Mark Glowinski from right guard to left guard, and Marcus McKethan off the bench.

Cornerback Adoree' Jackson appeared to jam his head/neck against teammate Xavier McKinney's hip late in the first quarter but was able to walk off the field under his own power. He later returned to the game.

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over 30 seasons for multiple media outlets, including Inside Football, Fan Sided, SB Nation, The Athletic, Forbes, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated).  In addition to being a credentialed member of the New York Giants press corps, Patricia has covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Patricia’s late father was a long-time New York Giants season ticket holder who helped instill her love and appreciation of the game and the franchise at a very early age.  She was able to parlay that knowledge of Giants franchise history into her first published work, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants (Triumph Books, September 2020). She has enhanced her knowledge of the game by completing two semesters with the Scouting Academy and taking a course in NFL salary cap management. In addition to her work with Giants Country, Patricia is the host of the very successful LockedOn Giants podcast (also available on YouTube), featuring analysis, interviews, and Giants fan interaction. Patricia is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America and has participated in the mentoring of aspiring journalists. Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (with a minor in creative writing) and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communication. She is a certified resume development specialist (corporate, military transition, and federal) and interview coach who enjoys music and creating fan art featuring her favorite bands. 

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