The Buffalo Bills are looking to pick up a second straight victory this Sunday, with the visiting New York Giants coming to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY.
The Bills (2-1) are looking for their first 3-1 start in over four years, while the Giants (1-2) are also looking for their second straight win while trying to shake off some tough early-season loses to get back in the NFC East race.
Here are my five things to watch for in this weekend’s match up.
Injuries
The injury bug has hit both of these teams hard, and in a big way.
To start with Buffalo, both offensive playmakers LeSean McCoy (hamstring) and Sammy Watkins (calf) are unlikely to play this Sunday.
UPDATE: Both players have officially been ruled out on Friday afternoon.
“We don’t wanna say out. But yeah, I mean you guys can figure it out,” Head Coach Rex Ryan told the media yesterday after practice. “They haven’t practiced the whole week and all that stuff. But there is that chance. “
Safety Aaron Williams is also still working his way back from the scary neck injury he suffered in the Bills’ loss against New England two weeks ago. While he has been a limited participant in practice, it has been mostly with the scout team and he could need more time before making his return.
The Bills need their depth to continue producing.
Rookie running back Karlos Williams (186 rushing yards, three touchdowns) has been a force when running the football, and can shoulder the load if McCoy is indeed out.
At wide receiver, the Bills also appear to be in ok shape.
The three wide receiver sets will now feature Robert Woods, Percy Harvin and Chris Hogan if Watkins is out, three players capable of creating separation (in their own unique ways) and coming down with the football in coverage.
Tight end Charles Clay has shown he is more than capable of receiving a heavier workload too.
The Giants are in a little worse shape; especially with wide receiver Victor Cruz suffering a setback with his injured left calf.
He has been ruled out for this weekend.
“Victor tried it [Wednesday], and it did not feel right to him,” Head Coach Tom Coughlin said, per NJ.com. “So he did not practice, just a little bit in the very beginning. Obviously, we’re all disappointed in that.
“But we choose to take the road that we really don’t have a lot of choice in. Which means that, get him back in rehab, get him back to work and see when we can get him back on the field. … It is what it is. He tried it, and he didn’t make it. So he will not be able to play this week.”
Both defensive end Robert Ayers Jr. and left tackle Ereck Flowers have been limited participates as well, and both are still questionable to suit up this weekend.
Ayers would be a huge loss to a pass rush that is struggling this season. The Giants have just three quarterback sacks through their first three games.
Tyrod Taylor
It has been nothing but good news coming from Taylor and the Bills offense.
Subtract a rough stretch from that New England game, and Taylor has shown great poise in leading the 3rd-highest scoring offense in the league.
Taylor is the only quarterback in the NFL to rank in the top five of completion percentage (74.4%), yards per attempt (9.15) and touchdowns (7). More importantly, he has just three interceptions, and has shown great growth in his learning curve already.
The young quarterback has shown he can throw from the pocket, while also having the ability to tuck it and run for big gains.
It helps that the Giants are bringing the last ranked passing defense in the league with them to town. So far they have allowed an average of 335.7 yards per game against through the air.
No matter the match up so far, Taylor has exceeded expectations.
“He’s what we were hoping that we got,” Ryan said on Wednesday. “I mean this is a guy that he’s smart. So he can manage the game. But he’s way more than that. Does he have run ability? He absolutely has that. He’s the fastest quarterback in the National Football League so we knew that was a plus. He also has a feel of when to run. You know he tried to protect himself, hurt his ankle a little bit. But he is trying. He’s aware he needs to protect himself, run out of bounds, slide, do those type of things and he’s a very talented guy. He can make throws and we have a talented core of receivers around him. So that’s what we built. That’s what we had in here.”
The ankle injury will not be a factor as Taylor has been a full participant in practice this week.
“No I mean just one of those things, his foot kinda got caught,” Ryan said. “But he is trying to take care of himself and we have to do those type of things. But no, he’s fine.”
Bills Secondary vs. Eli Manning
The Bills defense is playing up to the high standards that have been set in recent years.
With Buffalo tops against the run, holding teams to just 74 yards on the ground per game, it will put a lot of pressure on Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
Manning, while not putting up huge numbers, has been solid for the most part this season, throwing for 764 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions through three games.
“I think that’s just being more comfortable with the offense, knowing where I want to go with the ball,’’ Manning said yesterday, per the New York Post. “Just a product of guys doing the right thing, offensive line protecting, being in good down and distance, a combination of a lot of things. Getting the ball out quickly and guys getting open.’’
Whatever the case, Manning will get a tough test against a young Buffalo secondary.
New England Patriot Tom Brady humbled Buffalo two weeks ago, but they played very well in their two wins against Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill.
The unit leads the league is passes defended (24) and has held opposing quarterbacks to a rating of 78.1, fifth-best in the league.
The Bills are going to blitz a lot, meaning Manning is going to have a lot of one-on-one match ups. If the pressure gets there though, expect a long day for the Giants.
The Buffalo defense already has eight takeaways this season.
Expect them to add a few to that total.
Karlos Williams vs. Giants rushing defense
We touched on it earlier; LeSean McCoy is likely out, meaning its rookie Karlos Williams’s show.
Williams has shown a combination of power and speed (7.8 yards per carry) that few in the league posses, turning 12 carries last week into 110 yards and a touchdown, his third in three straight games.
The 6’1”, 230 lb. back is going to bring a hard-nosed, physical style this weekend, so what exactly does that mean for the Giants?
One positive from the defensive side of the ball has been their ability to stop the run, averaging just 74.7 yards per game allowed on the ground, a mark only behind Buffalo.
They have no intention of changing what they are doing just because they might be seeing a different back than McCoy on the field.
“Won’t change,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Wednesday, per NJ.com. “You know the different styles of the two runners. They’re a little bit different. We know LeSean very well and he’s an excellent runner, always had significant days against us.
“But Williams is a powerful guy, a bigger guy, a slam it up in there north and south guy. He has some speed to get outside. He’s 4.48 [in the 40-yard dash].”
Giants vs. Buffalo’s defensive line
The Buffalo Bills defensive line is one that gives QB’s and offensive coordinators nightmares.
Mario Williams, Kyle Williams, Jerry Hughes, and Marcell Darues are one of the best groups in the league and the Giants revamped offensive line will have their work cut out for them.
“They have a real good front, that’s a good defense. We’re definitely up for the challenge this week, it’s going to be a good game,” said Giants offensive lineman Justin Pugh, per SB Nation. “Big, strong, they work well together, they’ve played together a while. The two guys on the right side have been in the league for 10 years, they know a thing or two. I think two guys on the D-Line are 100 million dollar guys, so they’re expected to play well, and they have played well.”
The group helps lead a Buffalo defensive unit that is best against the run in the entire league.
“They’re good. They’re talented on defense, they’ve got good players, they’ve got a good scheme, they’ve done a good job. I guess the Patriots had a good game plan against them, made some plays, did some good things, but they still got pressure on Tom (Brady),” Giants quarterback Eli Manning added. “But versus Indianapolis and versus Miami, they got after them pretty good. We’ve got to be sharp up front and on all their different looks and their players. We’ve got to do a good job on third down and take care of the football, can’t turn the ball over against them.”
So how are the Giants going to go about neutralize that pass rush?
“We’re going to try to do that. Spread them out a little bit. Try to get the ball out of there quick so they can’t get as much pressure on Eli as they’re going to,” said Giants wide receiver Rueben Randle. “It’s going to be upon us to make some plays, especially outside the catch.”
Prediction
The good times keep rolling in Buffalo. With another strong effort from their defense confusing Manning for much of the afternoon, to go with another effective day on offense (including a nice day from RB Williams), the Bills get another victory in front of the home-crowd; 24-10 Bills.
