ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takes from the Buffalo Bills’ 14-9 victory against the New York Giants Sunday night at Highmark Stadium:
1. This hardly went as expected. The Bills looked anything but the heavy favorite they were supposed to have been against a woeful opponent missing its starting quarterback.
They had to hang for a final pass breakup in the end zone by Taron Johnson to win the game as time expired, coming close to a major upset led by former Bills QB Tyrod Taylor, starting in place of injured Daniel Jones.
For the second week in a row, the Bills’ offense did not show up ready to play. The unit looked out of sorts through the entire first half, during which it was held scoreless for the first time in 61 games. It was outgained by the Giants, 317 yards to 297.
Nothing seemed in rhythm for the Bills’ offense, with blunders and general sloppiness everywhere. A week ago, the blame was largely placed on the Bills’ decision to arrive in London only two days ahead of their game against Jacksonville. They seemed to be suffering from jet lag and showed considerably less energy than the Jaguars, who had been in London for 12 days because of their game against Atlanta there the previous Sunday.
There was no excuse for the Bills’ poor offensive showing against the Giants. It should be cause for concern.
2. Josh Allen started slow and finished strong.
He threw for only 169 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. He was off-target in multiple throws in the first half, but did find more of a groove in the fourth quarter, when he connected on both of his TDs – one to Deonte Harty for three yards on a beautifully designed play that allowed him to walk into the end zone untouched, the other for 15 yards to Quintin Morris.
Allen leaned as heavily as ever on Stefon Diggs, targeting him 16 times. Some of the first-half passes in Diggs’ direction were forced. Diggs caught 10 passes for 100 yards, with a long of 28.
Allen was forced to leave the field for two plays with head injury after a hard hit that resulted in a roughing-the-passer penalty on the Giants. He also sustained an injury to his right shoulder, after falling hard, and underwent scans after the game. But Allen’s issues did not appear to be physical.
Allen was having problems managing the Giants’ blitz-happy defense. He had similar issues dealing with the Jaguars’ blitzing a week earlier, but the additional challenge he faced Sunday night was the fact Giants coach Brian Daboll has a thorough understanding of Allen’s game from his time as the Bills’ offensive coordinator.
3. The best part of the Bills’ offense was their running game, which generated 128 yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry.
James Cook led the way with 71 yards on 14 carries, followed by Latavius Murray with 45 yards on 12 attempts.
Once the Bills got their running game going in the second half, it helped allow them to be more effective passing.
It was far from a sterling night for Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, but he deserves credit for staying committed to run.
4. The game was exceptionally chippy, which was a surprise given the teams aren’t rivals, but it’s fair to assume it was part of the Giants’ strategic plan because it started with the opening kickoff.
Late in the game, a skirmish broke out that resulted in three personal fouls on the Giants and one on the Bills’ Dion Dawkins. The penalties were off-setting, which was announced after a lengthy meeting of the officials. Expect more players from the Bills to be fined for their part in the scuffle. That could include Josh Allen, who foolishly ran in late to drive his right shoulder into a Giant.
Brian Daboll clearly knew the Giants’ best chance to make the game competitive was to throw the Bills off their game, which extra pushing and shoving and trash-talking helped achieve.
5. There was a big scare in the second quarter when running back Damien Harris suffered a neck injury.
He was transported by ambulance to ECMC for evaluation. Coach Sean McDermott later reported that Harris had full movement and was trending in the right direction.
Still, Highmark Stadium went silent while Harris was being tended to by medical staff. All of the Bills’ players and coaches were on the field, and the scene brought back eerie similarities to when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in Cincinnati last January.