The Buffalo Bills moved to 2-0 this season with a 28-14 win over the New York Giants. Josh Allen had a nearly flawless game, the defense kept Saquon Barkley (mostly) contained, and Buffalo had a complete win over their (other) cross-state rivals.
The Giants started the game with an explosive five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Each play (all on the ground) seemed to blow through a new hole in the Bills’ defense, and Saquon Barkley coasted 27 yards into the end zone. On the next possession, the Bills went three-and-out (featuring a Markus Golden sack).
From that point forward, the Bills asserted their will over the game. The Giants would punt three consecutive times, and the Bills scored three consecutive touchdowns. Buffalo ran 28 plays for 243 yards, rookie runner Devin Singletary scored his first rushing touchdown, Josh Allen ran in a score, and Allen shoveled a pass to Isaiah McKenzie for a glorified sweep to the left.
The Bills’ defense clamped down at the end of the half. The Giants had a 57-yard drive, but it ended with a long field goal that went wide left. Their next drive ended in two plays when a tipped Eli Manning pass fell into the hands of a diving Trent Murphy.
Buffalo went into halftime with a 21-7 lead, but the team started to play complacently in the third quarter. They ran ten plays for 17 yards on offense, punting three times, and by the start of the fourth quarter, the Giants began finding a rhythm. Eli Manning nickel-and-dime’d the Bills on a 12-play, 76-yard drive that narrowed Buffalo’s lead to seven.
Not a problem for this Bills squad. They responded with their own 13 play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The drive stalled at the four-yard line, but on Buffalo’s field-goal attempt, Giants rookie Dexter Lawrence committed a personal foul when he made contact with Buffalo’s long snapper Reid Ferguson. That gave the Bills a second set of downs, and Frank Gore punched it in: 28-14 Bills.
Buffalo’s defense clamped down from there, and Jordan Poyer intercepted Eli Manning to end the last gasp of a possible comeback. The Bills advance to 2-0 on the season, with both wins on the road. They’re the kings of New York this year.
Injury Notes
- Running back Devin Singletary came up limping after a run late in the fourth quarter. The trainers worked his lower leg, helped him up, and he walked off the field but did not return to the game. The team called it a hamstring injury, which is no bueno (hopefully not too serious).
- Offensive tackle Ty Neskhe was walked off the field in the first half, but returned in the second half and continued his rotation with Cody Ford.
- Defensive end Darryl Johnson stayed down after a play, but walked off the field on his own and returned to the game.
- For the Giants, wideout Cody Latimer left with a concussion.
Miscellaneous
- What an outstanding day for Josh Allen. 19/30 (63.3%) passing for 253 yards (8.4 YPA) and a touchdown, plus seven carries for 21 yards and a touchdown. He made smart decisions with the ball all day.
- Frank Gore scored his first rushing touchdown in more than a calendar year—he had none last season with the Miami Dolphins.
- Harrison Phillips landed his first career (half) sack in the third quarter.
- This win became Buffalo’s first ever season that started at 2-0, with both wins coming on the road.
- Great job by the CBS broadcasting crew. They made few mistakes, consistently added details to the play-by-play, weren’t afraid to opine, and came prepared with a slew of background details related to the teams and their histories.
- Trent Murphy landed his first career interception, diving to snag a pass tipped by Ed Oliver.
- Another strong performance in limited action for the rookie Singletary. He had 57 rushing yards and a touchdown on six carries, after 70 yards on four carries last week.
- Saquon Barkley had 18 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, plus three catches for 28 yards. We’ll call that “good enough” on containing the star running back.
- The Bills held Eli Manning to 250 yards on 45 attempts, 5.5 yards per attempt. He threw one touchdown against two interceptions.
- Corey Bojorquez was booming punts all day. His average punt went 46.4 yards, but he did have one punt that outkicked its coverage, leading to a 60-yard return by T.J. Jones. Luckily, the Bills racked up an interception two plays later.
- The Bills open at home next weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals, who just lost to the San Francisco 49ers.