Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills did just enough against the New York Giants on Sunday night, earning a 14-9 victory at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
The game did not end easy for Buffalo, as the final play was an untimed down at the Buffalo one-yard line. However, the Bills held on to secure the win to improve to 4-2 on the season.
Let’s break down the win that was for Buffalo:
Passing offense: C-
Can the Bills' wide receiver room please stand up?
We know Stefon Diggs produces week-to-week, but that is it. The problem seemed magnified against the Giants, as Diggs had 11 targets in the first half alone, with a total of 16 targets, where he brought in 10 of those passes for 100 yards.
The rest of the Bills pass catchers saw 13 targets total.
Now, it’s normal for Diggs to outperform the rest of the team, it’s even expected. However, to have more targets himself than the entire team spells a problem.
Please, spare me with the “needing to keep him happy” narrative, but there is something else going on. Whether it is about scheming and spacing, players not getting open, Allen not seeing the field well enough, a lack of trust in the other players or a combination of elements, the rest of the Bills offense was invisible outside of Diggs.
If Gabe Davis does not make plays, the offense sputters. This game was another piece of evidence that Davis has not done enough to earn the trust of the team to be the No. 2 wideout long-term.
To make matters worse, the likes of Deonte Harty (16% of snaps), Trent Sherfield (36%) and Khalil Shakir (39%) have barely been used in the passing game, along with tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid (out against the Giants).
While it was nice to see a designed play to Harty finally work out, the lack of production outside of Diggs at wide receiver is troubling.
Something’s up with this offense, and it’s getting uglier since that electrifying win win over the Miami Dolphins.
Rushing offense: B
After a week of only 29 rushing yards, the Bills' running game found itself the focal point in some critical moments against the Giants.
In the fourth quarter, while still trailing, Buffalo moved the ball with some well-executed runs from both James Cook and Latavius Murray. Both players looked good overall, but in the fourth quarter, they were a big reason the Bills came away with the win.
Buffalo is doing well overall this season in the run game, as the reliance on 12 personnel and the new additions at both guard positions have created a boon for the ground attack.
However, the Bills' backfield took a hit when Damien Harris had to be driven off the field in an ambulance due to a neck injury. He did give a thumbs up to the crowd, and has feeling in all extremities.
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Passing defense: B+
The Bills entered Week 6 with the most sacks in the NFL. Thanks to a trio of sacks against the Giants, it stayed that way.
Leonard Floyd is now up to 6.5 sacks on the season, while A.J. Epenesa has four sacks on the year.
The pass rush remains a major player for a banged-up defense that will be tested a lot further than an offense that has not scored a touchdown in three games. The defense cannot control who they play, but, once again, were the reason for a Bills victory.
Second-year cornerback Kaiir Elam looked rough again, at times, against the Giants, but nothing as tough as the challenge of facing Calvin Ridley 1-on-1 after being a scratch for four games.
That said, if Elam continues to struggle, Dane Jackson’s injury status will be closely monitored, and Elam will continue to be under the microscope.
The game added some drama in the way of a pass interference call that led to an untimed down for the final play, but the defense held (quite literally, depending on who you ask). The Bills dared the refs to get involved on two plays in-a-row, and they didn’t.
Rushing defense: B-
There was only one drive where the Giants were able to unleash Saquon Barkley. While it was a drive where New York was able to reclaim the lead, Buffalo held the talented Giants backfield in check for most of the game.
Barkley had next to nowhere to run, outside of one drive in the fourth quarter where 66 of his 93 yards were gained.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard was solid once more with three tackles for loss and 12 tackles overall.
Greg Rousseau’s run stopping ability was missed a week ago, but his return was a major help in establishing the edge. He also added two tackles for loss in the win.
As for rookie linebacker Dorian Williams, he finished with 10 tackles in his first start, and looked rather comfortable against the run.
Special teams: D
Even Tyler Bass couldn't escape the sense of doom that was this game against the Giants.
Heading into Sunday night's matchup perfect through five weeks in field goals and extra points, Bass proceeded to miss his first two field goals of the year.
As the Bills struggled in the win, every point in this game mattered. Bass uncharacteristically left six points off the board, and there could have been no drama at the end of the game if Bass drills those field goals.
Sam Martin had three punts, nothing special or terrible from there.
The return game also had no opportunities to change the game.
Coaching: C-
The Bills truly played down to their competition for the first time this season (we won't count the Jets game, their defense is good enough to take over games). This is not a good look for the Bills, one week after facing scrutiny over how their London game plan worked out for them.
While there were some hiccups and a surprise lack of discipline, the Bills and head coach Sean McDermott were also bailed out, at times, by the other sideline.
Defensively, the Bills were solid. However, how much of that has to do with the defensive game plan versus just how terrible the Giants offense is?
McDermott didn't have to drift very far from the standard defensive schemes, being familiar with Giants quarterback and former Bills starter Tyrod Taylor. The veteran even made a serious gaffe to end the first half, checking to a run play with no timeouts left.
The Bills head coach also felt the need to use his last timeouts at end the game, and the Giants seemed to benefit from those stoppages more than if they had to rush their next plays into action.
As for the offense, their first half struggles continued and their inconsistency reared its ugly head once more.
Diggs seems like the only player Allen trusts, at this point, and with good reason.
While offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey needs to utilize more of Allen under center, just as many of the Bills' struggles have been putting themselves into a lot of 3rd-and-long situations in the past two weeks.
While Buffalo remains among the best teams on third down, the Bills need to get themselves into a better position if that is to remain the case. The second down runs are still only getting mixed results as well.
Dorsey will be tied to the team's first half struggles, and is the one tasked with finding the right game plan to fix them.
What's next:
The 4-2 Bills head back on the road to take on their AFC East rival in the 1-5 New England Patriots. Kickoff from Gillette Stadium on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. ET with pregame coverage starting at 7 a.m. ET on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.
