The New York Giants (1-4) shuffle off to Western New York to face the Buffalo Bills (3-2) at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park for yet another nationally televised game this Sunday night.
This will be the Giants’ fourth prime-time game in the first six weeks of the 2023 regular season. They have been outscored, 94-15, in prime time so far.
Buy Giants TicketsHere are five more things to know before Sunday night’s game.
The series
The Giants come into the contest seeking to tie the regular-season series with the Bills, who hold a 6-7 record in the 13 contests played dating back to 1970.
The Bills defeated the Giants in the most recent meeting, 28-14, on September 15, 2019 at MetLife Stadium.
The Giants are on a three-game winning streak in Buffalo with wins in 1999, 2007 and 2015. They last played in Buffalo in 2015, when QB Eli Manning tossed three touchdown passes in a 24-10 Giants victory.
The teams have only met once in the postseason, when the Giants defeated Buffalo, 20-19, in Super Bowl XXV in January 1991.
Sunday night blues
The Giants are 15-23 (including postseason) on Sunday nights since the NFL began featuring SNF as a weekly staple in 2006. The Bills are 7-1.
Under head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills have a 4-0 record on Sunday Night Football dating back to 2019.
Since Stefon Diggs joined the Bills in 2020, he and quarterback Josh Allen have connected for 13 touchdowns in primetime games — the most of any quarterback/wide receiver duo over that span.
A classic mismatch in the works
According to the website Team Rankings, the 3-2 Bills are still projected to win 12 games this season and have a 91.4 percent chance of qualifying for the postseason.
The Giants are projected to win 4.8 games this year and have a paltry 2.4 percent shot at the playoffs.
Buffalo is averaging 31.8 points per game, third in the NFL through five games. The Giants are allowing a 29th-ranked 30.6 points per game.
The Giants are averaging 12.4 points per game, next to last in the NFL this season. The Bills are allowing 16.0 points per contest.
The Bills are fourth in total offense and 12th in total defense.
The Giants are last in total offense and 29th in total defense.
The Bills’ defense leads the NFL in sacks with 21 — which is a team record through five weeks. The Giants have allowed a league-high 30 sacks this season.
Both teams are banged up
The Bills’ star linebacker Matt Milano suffered a fractured leg and is also feared to have suffered a season-ending knee injury in Sunday’s 25-20 loss to the Jaguars in London. Starting cornerback Tre’Davious White (Achilles) is also on IR.
Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones is out this week with a pectoral injury. Two tight ends — Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox — are questionable, as are defensive ends Greg Rousseau and Shaq Lawson. Cornerback Christian Bedford is also questionable.
The Giants have incurred a slew of injuries as well. Quarterback Daniel Jones (neck), left tackle Andrew Thomas, guard Shane Lemieux, linebacker Micah McFadden, center John Michael Schmitz, running back Saquon Barkley, linebacker Azeez Ojulari and cornerback Deonte Banks are uncertain for Sunday night.
More to come…
Josh Allen is on a roll
Josh Allen is cooking with gas this season, leading the NFL with a 73.1 completion percentage and combined touchdowns with 14.
Allen’s 191 total touchdowns through six seasons is the third-most in NFL history behind only Patrick Mahomes (204) and Dan Marino (199).
In last week’s 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, Allen completed 27 of 40 attempts (67.5 percent) for a season-high 359 yards and two touchdowns versus one interception for a 102 rating. He also rushed for his 41st-career touchdown, surpassing Jack Kemp for the third-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history.
Allen is shooting for his third straight game with 300+ passing yards with 2+ touchdown passes and a 100+ rating — and his fourth in a row with a rushing score.
Allen passed for 253 yards with two touchdowns (1 pass, 1 rush) against no interceptions in the last meeting against the Giants.
Allen is 4-0 in four career starts on SNF, with toe or more touchdowns in each game.
