The New York Giants will go on the road to battle the Buffalo Bills in Week 6. It’s the latest in a long line of tough games to start the season for Big Blue.
The Giants will try to avoid falling to 1-5 on the year but with them being near two-touchdown road underdogs, that seems unlikely even for the largest optimist.
Here are three causes for concern headed into Sunday.
Prime time
The NFL schedule makers did the Giants no favors to begin the year. Not only were the first six weeks of the schedule very tough but the Giants had back-to-back West Coast games in the course of five days.
Clearly, the league expected the Giants to be a far better team this year, putting them in prime time four out of the first six games of the season.
Prime time has not served the Giants well, as they were outscored 94-15 in those games. For those doing the math, that’s an average of five points per game for Big Blue.
The Bills are already no easy task, but the game being on prime time amplifies the Giants’ struggles.
Bills coming off a loss
The Buffalo Bills are a Super Bowl-caliber team, even if their record is just 3-2 five games into the season.
The Bills dropped to 3-2 with a loss in London last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This one needs little explanation: Super Bowl-caliber teams rarely lose two games in a row. You can bet the Bills will come out firing on all cylinders in order to try and put the Giants away early.
Bills defense
The Bills defense poses a huge threat to the Giants’ offense.
The Giants may be without Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and Andrew Thomas. Even if the three of them play, they will not be 100% healthy.
The offense has looked inept most of the season and the offensive line is a huge reason why.
Insert the Bills’ defense, who are tied for the league lead in interceptions and lead the league in sacks with 21 on the year. This doesn’t bode well for a Giants team that has given up 30 sacks on the year through five weeks.