NFL Week 6 Overreactions: Giants Still Falling, Jets Soaring
Sports Seriously’s Mackenzie Salmon breaks down some of the craziest plays of NFL Week 6.
It wasn’t pretty for most of the game, and it came down to the last play in the end, but the Buffalo Bills came back to life late in the game and the defense held on for a win against the injury-ravaged New York Giants, 14- 9.
The Giants led through the first three quarters at Highmark Stadium – even shutting out the Bills – but Buffalo’s offensive power finally awoke in the fourth quarter with back-to-back touchdown scores while the defense kept New York out of the Giants’ end zone for the entire game .
The Giants drove down the field in the final minutes of the game and were within a yard of winning on the final play, but were unable to convert on the goal line play.
After a subpar first half, quarterback Josh Allen returned to his superstar self in the second half, with nearly half (82) of his 169 passing yards coming on the two touchdown drives. Tyrod Taylor also had a solid game while playing in place of injured starter Daniel Jones, as the veteran signal caller was 24 of 36 for 200 passing yards and 23 rushing yards on five carries.
The defensive stop moved Buffalo to 4-2 on the season, while the Giants lost their fourth straight game of the season and are now 1-5. —Jordan Mendoza
What was expected to be a blowout for the Bills turned into a hard-hitting, yard-by-yard, spirited and occasionally sloppy thriller that was decided on the last play of the game and with no time limit.
WINNER
Bills defense against Giants in the end zone: Buffalo took advantage of the Giants’ outnumbered numbers on offense. The Bills kept the Giants out of the end zone, including on New York’s final possession. The Giants went 0-for-5 in the red zone.
The Bills’ defense allowed just nine points, the second fewest in a game this season. The good performance was necessary because Buffalo’s offense was out of sync for most of the contest.
Bills WR Stefon Diggs: Diggs had a game-high 10 catches for 100 yards. He was targeted 16 times. Bills QB Josh Allen had 30 total pass attempts.
Bills CB Taron Johnson: Johnson might have prevented the final play, but he was the best player in Buffalo’s secondary.
Johnson recorded 15 tackles and a controversial but big pass breakup.
Giants LB Bobby Okereke: It seemed like Okereke was always at the football on Sunday nights. Okereke had a season-high 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass deflections.
Saquon Barkley: Barkley was active Sunday night after missing the last three games.
Barkley showed why he is the Giants’ best offensive player. Barkley had a few explosive runs, including a 34-yard dash that was the team’s longest run of the season.
The Giants running back finished the game with 24 carries and 93 rushing yards. Given the circumstances, a struggling offensive line and inactive time, Barkley turned in a top-notch performance.
LOSER
Giants attack in the end zone: The Giants’ offense hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3. They had a chance to win the game on their final possession, but again failed to reach the end zone. The Giants finished a terrible 0-5 in the red zone.
Giants offensive line: The Giants entered Week 6 with a patchwork offensive line, and it was obvious.
The Giants were without offensive linemen Andrew Thomas, John Michael Schmitz and Matt Peart. Then tackle Joshua Ezeudu injured his toe and had to miss early.
The unit struggled to pass the block. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor often had to use his legs to extend plays, but his efforts rarely resulted in positive plays.
Taylor was fired three times.
In Week 4, the Giants offense gave up 11 sacks. Many of those sacks were on the O-line. New York’s offensive line was better in Week 6, but there are still issues up front.
Bills kicker Tyler Bass: Bass missed two field goals, including a 53-yard attempt with just over a minute left that would have given the Bills a 17-9 lead. —Tyler Dragon
Trailing 14-9 with no time on the clock, a pass interference penalty gave the Giants an untimed down at Buffalo’s one-yard line.
On the game-winning play, Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor grabbed the snap under center and threw a pass to tight end Darren Waller in the back of the end zone, but it was fended off by Bills cornerback Taron Johnson.
Johnson appeared to tug on Waller’s jersey a little, but the referees didn’t throw a flag as the Bills celebrated the victory. —Tyler Dragon
New York has a chance to win it.
The Giants had to force a three-and-out to have a chance, and not only did they get it, but Bills kicker Tyler Bass also missed a 53-yard field goal to bring the game to eight points. With a timeout, New York gets the ball. — Jordan Mendoza
The Bills defense didn’t crack all game, and they came up with a big stop as they sense another win coming soon.
After taking a 14-9 lead, Buffalo forced the Giants into a fourth down play in their own territory. Tyrod Taylor attempted a deep pass to Darius Slayton, but he couldn’t hold on to it while the Bills secondary played tight at receiver. The Bills now get the ball at the Giants’ 38-yard line with 1:45 left, but New York has all three timeouts. —Jordan Mendoza
Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Buffalo went back and forth.
It was a drive the Buffalo Bills are known for, capping off a 12-play, 75-yard drive a dart from Josh Allen to tight end Quintin Morris for a 15-yard touchdown pass took back the lead 14-9 with less than four minutes to go.
For Morris, it was not only his first touchdown catch of the season, but also his first catch of the season. —Jordan Mendoza
After Buffalo took its first lead of the game, New York marched into Buffalo territory looking for its first touchdown of the game.
It reached third and the Buffalo 11-yard line, but Tyrod Taylor couldn’t reach a receiver for the conversion. The Giants decided to play it safe and Graham Gano hit a 29-yard field goal to give New York a 9-7 lead with 10:35 to play. —Jordan Mendoza
After three quarters – and a wild scuffle near the goal line – the Buffalo Bills are finally on the field and in the lead.
On third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Deonte Harty moved into the backfield and ran a wheel route into wide open territory, and Josh Allen threw the ball to the five-year veteran Buffalo’s first goal of the game. Tyler Bass then hit the extra point to give the Bills a 7-6 lead.
The touchdown capped a 17-play, 89-yard drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes. —Jordan Mendoza
The Bills and Giants got into a big battle in the red zone.
It all started after Bills running back Latavius Murray was tackled after a short run. Giants pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux ran afoul of Bills tackle Dion Dawkins at the end of the pile. Their encounter led to several players engaging in a shoving match that lasted a few moments.
The referees eventually got things under control and gave unnecessary roughness penalties to Thibodeaux, Dawkins, Giants defensive end Leonard Williams and Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. All unnecessary losses in roughness have been compensated for. —Tyler Dragon
When you’re playing on the road with your backup quarterback, you need to score points at every opportunity.
The Giants failed just before halftime.
New York reached the 1-yard line with 14 seconds left following a pass interference call, but did not have a timeout. The Giants then questionably ran the ball with Saquon Barkley stuffed and the offense tried to get back into shape to make another play, but time ran out and both teams went to halftime. Despite the mistake, New York still has a surprising 6-0 lead over the Bills and will take the ball out of the locker room.
New York easily outgained the Bills with 143 yards, while Buffalo only has 142 yards of offense. Statistically, Tyrod Taylor has surpassed Josh Allen; Taylor is 10-for-14 with 117 yards while Allen is 8-for-18 with 87 yards and an interception.
Buffalo entered New York territory on three of its six drives, but ended with a punt, a missed field goal and an interception. —Jordan Mendoza
Another turnover added to the Bills’ disastrous first half.
As Bills quarterback Josh Allen pushed into Giants territory again, he tried to find Dawson Knox running down the field, but the ball was overturned ended up in the hands of New York linebacker Micah McFaddenthe second turnover forced by the Giants today.
Buffalo moved into New York territory after three drives and is still scoreless. —Jordan Mendoza
Bills running back Damien Harris was injured with just over three minutes left in the second quarter when he was tackled up the middle on a one-yard run.
Harris remained on the ground as worried players from both teams looked on. Harris was eventually placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. As Harris was placed on the stretcher, he gave the crowd a thumbs up. —Tyler Dragon
The Bills got a bit of a scare for their star quarterback.
After suffering a roughing the passer penalty with less than five minutes left in the second quarter, Allen left the field and headed to the blue medical tent for an unknown reason as Buffalo fans held their breath.
Relief came from substitute Kyle Allen, who passed the ball on two consecutive plays. After the second play, Josh Allen ran out of the tent and back onto the field, much to the delight of the Highmark Stadium crowd. —Jordan Mendoza
After Buffalo missed the field goal, the Giants went on a nine-play, 34-yard drive to get into scoring position.
The Giants again failed to reach the end zone, but kicker Graham Gano hit a 43-yard field goal to extend New York’s lead to 6-0.
The Giants have 94 total yards with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. —Tyler Dragon
The Buffalo offense is still not on the list.
The Bills tried again to advance into New York territory but failed at the 34-yard line. After punting the area for the first time, Buffalo decided to send Tyler Bass out to kick a field goal.
The ball ended up going right and missing its target, as it was Bass’ first miss of the season. He came into the game and scored all nine of his attempts so far this season. —Jordan Mendoza
NBC’s Sunday Night Football is famous for its player introductions. Traditionally, players state their name and the college they attended during pregame introductions.
Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh had a smart and honest idea.
“Justin Pugh, right off the couch,” Pugh said.
Pugh kept it realistic. The veteran offensive lineman was a free agent, but the Giants signed Pugh to their practice squad on October 4. The Giants signed Pugh to the active roster on Saturday.
The 11-year veteran starts for a Giants team that is dealing with multiple injuries on offense. —Tyler Dragon
After a quarter, Buffalo couldn’t seem to break through the Giants’ defense.
After a three-and-out and a fumble on their first two drives, the Bills provided some offense thanks to a big 28-yard pass from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs. Buffalo reached New York’s 37-yard line but had three straight plays for no gain, leading to a fourth down. Instead of attempting to kick what would be a field goal of about 54 yards, the Bills batted the ball away, which drew some boos from the home crowd. —Jordan Mendoza
The Giants are stretched thin along their offensive line.
Lineman Joshua Ezeudu suffered a toe injury in the first quarter Sunday night. The Giants initially indicated that Ezeudu was questionable to return, but he was later downgraded to out.
The Giants are already without tackle Andrew Thomas and center John Michael Schmitz Jr. due to injuries. —Tyler Dragon
The Giants scored first on Sunday night.
After a defensive takeaway, the Giants were able to travel 45 yards in 12 plays to get into the red zone. Their drive stalled at the Buffalo 11-yard line, but Giants kicker Graham Gano hit a 29-yard field goal to give the club a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
Giants QB Tyrod Taylor had a nice 27-yard pass to wide receiver Darius Slayton to set up the field goal. —Tyler Dragon
Two possessions in and the New York Giants defense is holding up against the Electric Bills offense.
After both teams opened the game with three-pointers, the Bills tried to generate some momentum on offense as they neared midfield five minutes into the second quarter. However, receiver Gabe Davis was unable to hold on to the ball after being knocked out, and New York picked up on it for the first turnover of the game. —Jordan Mendoza
The Bills and Giants kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET. The game will air on NBC and Peacock. The game can also be streamed for free on Fubo.
Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff picks for this game:
- Lorenzo Reyes: Bills
- Tyler Dragon: Bills
- Victoria Hernandez: Bills
- Jarrett Bell: Bills
- Safid Deen: Bills
- Nate Davis: Bills
- Chris Bumbaca: Bills
- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Calculations
Tyrod Taylor is expected to start for the Giants, with Daniel Jones out with a neck injury. Luckily for the Giants, running back Saquon Barkley, who sprained an ankle on September 17th, is active for Sunday night’s game. Barkley has only started two games so far this season.
The Bills had two of the team’s tight ends, Dawson Knox (wrist) and rookie first-round pick Dalton Kincaid (concussion), listed as questionable heading into the game. However, Knox will play and Kincaid is inactive. Quintin Morris is the team’s third tight end.
Inactive Giants players:
- QB Daniel Jones
- S Bobby McCain
- S Gervarrius Owens
- C John Michael Schmitz
- OT Matt Peart
- OT Andrew Thomas
- DL DJ Davidson
Bills Inactive Players:
- S Damar Hamlin
- CB Dane Jackson
- LB AJ Klein
- OG Germain Ifedi
- OT Alec Anderson
- TE Dalton Kincaid
According to BetMGM NFL odds, the Bills are the favorites to win over the Giants.
- Spread: Bills (-14.5)
- Moneyline: Bills (-1100); Giants (+675)
- Over/under: 44.5
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When NFL teams screw up an offseason move, it doesn’t always take long for them to admit the mistake and move on. Last week alone, two teams agreed to trades to part ways with key acquisitions from the 2022 offseason.
This got us thinking about which recent moves are already showing problematic signs. Did the Giants come out on top by going all-in on Daniel Jones?
Read the answers from our employees here.
Buffalo’s offense was lethargic early in its 25-20 loss to Jacksonville in Week 5. The Bills punted on their first four possessions and didn’t get a first down until there were 12 seconds left in the first quarter. They had 29 yards of offense in the first quarter and didn’t seem to wake up until the fourth quarter.
Bills players and head coach Sean McDermott were asked whether they should have left for their transatlantic flight earlier and whether fatigue contributed to the stagnant start.
McDermott said the Bills didn’t have enough energy to start the game and he had to reevaluate everything because their arrival and performance didn’t work.
Read Ryan Miller’s full post here.
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