The New York Giants fell to 1-5 on the season after losing, 14-9, to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sunday Night Football.
Here are a few things we learned from the Week 6 game.
The fight is still there
The Giants entered the game as prohibitive underdogs with the point spread as high as 16 points on some wagering platforms. With quarterback Daniel Jones (neck) out and several starters along the offensive line also not playing, the Giants could have packed it in and made it an early night for everyone.
But they didn’t. The offense, led by the returning Saquon Barkley and veteran backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor, brought some life to the fight and the defense played their best game of the season.
Kudos to the coaching staff for keeping the listing ship from capsizing although at 1-5, there’s little hope of a playoff run in the Giants’ future.
Hello, Bobby O
The Giants have been in dire need of some leadership on the defensive side of the ball. Someone who leads not only vocally but leads by example as well.
It took six games, but that player has emerged. Inside linebacker Bobby Okereke had a balls-out, Pro Bowl-level game on Sunday night, playing on all 61 of the team’s defensive snaps.
Okereke led the Giants with 11 total tackles — two for a loss — with two passes defensed, a forced fumble, and several quarterback pressures.
Okereke’s performance raised the level of play all around him, most specifically that of linebacking partner Micah McFadden, who had seven tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a hit on the quarterback.
The loss brings more questions than answers
The Giants came into the game allowing the most sacks per game (6.0) and were facing a Bills’ pass rush that was atop of the NFL in sacks.
The result was not the slaughter many predicted. Taylor was sacked just three times behind an offensive line that began with several new pieces and lost left tackle Joshua Ezeudu to a toe injury in the first quarter.
Justin Pugh, playing his first game for the Giants since 2017, was shifted from left guard to left tackle, a position he cannot remember the last time he played.
This leads to questions about how much of the Giants’ protection problems can be fixed with a solid veteran presence and Evan Neal showing improvement.
Don't blame the officials
The officiating was not optimal for either side. Sure, you can on about how Giants tight end Darren Waller was held in the end zone at the end of the game, but the Giants should never have been in that position.
The poor clock management at the end of the first half in which the Giants walked into the tunnel with no points instead of at least a field goal, changed the game completely.
A field goal would have given the Giants a 9-0 halftime lead and would have put them down, 14-12, in the final seconds of the game.
Instead of needing a touchdown to win at the end, they would have just needed a field goal and would have walked away with a 15-14 win.
No one would be talking about the officials this morning had they not screwed that up.
