New York Giants vs Buffalo Bills
Time: September 20th , 1:00 ET
Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Line: Buffalo Bills (-5.5)
The New York Giants, coming off of their first victory of the 2015 season, will look to keep their momentum going against the red hot Buffalo Bills, who are coming off of an absolute beat down of the Miami Dolphins, 41-14.
Keep the Momentum Going:
After blowing leads in the first two games of 2015, the Giants were not going to let this one slip away. The Giants beat their division rival's, the Washington Redskins, 32-21 on Thursday Night football. The Giants had all three phases of their team working as the teams first score was a safety coming off of a blocked punt by Giants running back Rashad Jennings. The defense put up another good game as they forced one fumble and intercepted Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins twice. And of course, the offense came up clutch as they got two fourth quarter touchdown passes from Eli Manning. Odell Beckham Jr. scored on a deep ball to put the Giants up 25-6, and late in the fourth Reuben Randle executed the tip drill to perfection as his catch helped seal the game.
Injury Report:
TE Jerome Cunningham- The young tight end will be forced to miss this weeks game due to a knee injury.
DE Robert Ayers- The Giants best defensive pass rusher will miss his second consecutive game due to a hamstring problem.
DT Markus Kuhn- The Giants defensive tackle will miss another game due to a knee injury.
WR Victor Cruz- The star receiver was set to make his comeback this week but it will have to wait. After declaring himself ready earlier this week, his lingering calf injury flared up. Cruz has not played since week 6 of the 2014 season.
TE Daniel Fells- The second-string tight end is listed as questionable for this Sunday's game. If he does not play, Larry Donnell will be the only tight end for the Giants.
OT Ereck Flowers- The Giants first round pick missed his first game last week as he suffered an ankle injury in week two. He is listed as questionable and is believed to be 50-50 to play this week.
RB Orleans Darkwa- The Giants special teams ace is listed as probable this week.
DE Owa Odighizuwa- The Giants rookie appears recovered from a foot injury and is listed as probable for this week. This will be his first career game in the NFL.
Matchups to Watch:
Giants offense - Bills defense:
This will be one of the biggest tests for the Giants offense this year. Facing a Buffalo defense coached by Rex Ryan, this will likely be as tough as it gets.
After Beckham and Randle both went off against the Redskins, they will both need to have big games again in order to beat the Bills.
Another unit to watch is the offensive line against the Bills' stout defensive line. The Bills have a fearsome front four that features Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, Jerry Hughes and one of the best pass rushers in the game, Mario Williams. If the Giants offensive line can stand their ground it will be a huge factor in the result of the game.
Giants defense - Bills Quarterback Tyrod Taylor:
In the past the Giants have struggled mightily against mobile quarterbacks. That was in the past when the Giants failed to solidify their run defense.
This year the Giants have the leagues second best run defense allowing just 70 yards a game. If the run defense can step up again in this big moment they should be able to contain the very mobile Tyrod Taylor.
Other Notes:
Josh Brown still perfect: Giants kicker Josh Brown is still perfect this year on field goal attempts at 9/9, with a long of 50 yards.
Bills playmakers out: The Bills will be without key offensive playmakers in wide receiver Sammy Watkins and running back LeSean McCoy. This has the potential to really hurt the Bills offense.
Prediction:
This should be a good game as we have one explosive offense against a lock down defense. This writer thinks it will be an incredibly good game, but in the end the Giants defense will contain Tyrod Taylor and finally get pressure on the quarterback.
Giants 22, Bills 16, OT