Bills vs Giants: The Good and The Bad

The Buffalo Bills snuck away with a win against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, beating the Giants 14-9 in a game that came down to the wire. Buffalo advanced to 4-2 on the season after Sunday’s win and are now in second place in the AFC East. 

The Good 

Run Game 

The Bills ran the ball a total of 29 times Sunday night and performed very well on the ground, although they didn’t score a rushing touchdown. The Bills had a shared backfield with James Cook and Latavius Murray, splitting snaps 30 each. Josh Allen took the ball himself twice on Sunday for 11 total yards. 

Cook led the Bills backfield with 14 carries for 71 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Murray had 12 carries for 45 yards and averaged 3.8 yards per carry. 

Defense 

The Bills defense kept them in it all night long forcing the Giants to kick three field goals. Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson led the Bills with 15 tackles, 9 of which being solo tackles and having a pass defended. Linebacker Terrel Bernard was flying around all night with 12 tackles, 9 solo tackles and 3 tackles for loss. 

Rookie linebacker Dorian Williams was mainly a special teams player before Matt Milano’s injury but filled in very nicely for Milano as he finished the game with 10 tackles, 6 solo tackles and 1 QB hit. 

The Bills defense finished the night with 80 tackles, 3 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, 2 passes defended and 5 QB hits. It’s safe to say that the Bills defense was a big help in the team’s win Sunday night. 

The Bad 

Passing Game

The Bills passing game was not in rhythm Sunday night against the Giants. Josh Allen and the offense started the game with a punt, then had a fumble lost on the next drive and punted the ball twice more on their first four drives. 

Josh Allen finished the game 19/30 throwing for 169 yards and 2 passing touchdowns, Allen also threw a pick. Allen had a favorite receiver to throw Sunday, that being Stefon Diggs who hauled in 10 of his 16 total targets for 100 yards. Tight end Dawson Knox was the closest in terms of targets with 6, catching 3 of them for 17 yards. Gabe Davis had the second most yards behind Diggs with 21 on 3 receptions. 

Allen’s two touchdown throws were caught by tight end Quinton Morris and wide receiver Deonte Harty who both had one target, one reception and one touchdown. 

Turnovers 

The Bills turned the ball over twice to the Giants in their win on Sunday night. The Bills have 9 total turnovers on the season so far, 6 from interceptions and 3 from fumbles. The turnovers could have cost Buffalo the game if the defense didn’t come to their aid and hold them to only 9 points. 

Special Teams 

The Bills special team was lackluster on Sunday but didn’t get much help from the offense. Kicker Tyler Bass attempted two field goals from 50+ yards out and missed both of them. 

The Bills won but have a lot that needs to be cleaned up, Buffalo will look to do that this week in practice and on Sunday against their division rival, the New England Patriots.