NEW YORK GIANTS (1-4) at BUFFALO (3-2)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC
OPENING LINE: Bills by 15 1/2 according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: New York Giants 0-5; Buffalo 3-2.
SERIES RECORD: Tied 7-7.
LAST MEETING: Bills beat Giants 28-14 at the Meadowlands on Sept. 15, 2019.
LAST WEEK: Giants lost to Dolphins 31-16; Bills lost to Jaguars 25-20 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
GIANTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (23), PASS (31), SCORING (31).
GIANTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (30), PASS (19), SCORING (29).
BILLS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (16), PASS (4), SCORING (3).
BILLS DEFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (25), PASS (8), SCORING (5t).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Giants minus-5; Bills plus-6.
GIANTS PLAYER TO WATCH: Bobby Okereke. The inside linebacker has stepped up his game in recent weeks. He had 10 tackles, including two for losses against Seattle. Against Miami, he again had 10 tackles. He also intercepted a pass and tipped another pass that safety Jason Pinnock returned for a franchise record-tying 102 yards and a touchdown.
BILLS PLAYER TO WATCH: Whomever fills Matt Milano’s spot at linebacker. The Bills are playing their first full game since losing the backbone of their defense after Milano hurt his lower right leg and will be sidelined indefinitely. Rookie Dorian Williams and fourth-year player Tyrel Dodson split time filling in for Milano against Jacksonville. Veteran A.J. Klein entered the mix after being signed off Buffalo’s practice squad.
KEY MATCHUP: Giants O-Line vs. Bills D-Line. The Giants have allowed an NFL-high 30 sacks and feature an offensive front that could be missing LT Andrew Thomas. The Bills lead the NFL with 21 sacks, and Von Miller is just getting up to speed. The NFL's active leader in sacks was limited to 20 snaps in his season debut after missing 10 months recovering from a right knee injury.
KEY INJURIES: Giants QB Daniel Jones (neck) is out after being hurt last weekend, and he will be replaced by Tyrod Taylor. … RB Saquon Barkley is getting close to returning from a right ankle sprain that sidelined him the past three games. ... LT Thomas (hamstring) will miss his fifth straight game and rookie C John Michael Schmitz (shoulder) is out for the second straight week. ILB Micah McFadden (ankle) practiced Thursday after missing the Miami game. ... Bills starting CB Christian Benford appears ready to return after missing a game with a shoulder injury. ... Buffalo’s tight end group bears monitoring with Dalton Kincaid (concussion protocol) and Dawson Knox (wrist) limited in practice. ... DE Greg Rousseau is working his way back after missing a game with a foot injury. ... Milano and DT DaQuan Jones (pectoral muscle) landed on IR this week.
SERIES NOTES: The Bills snapped a three-game skid by beating the Giants at the Meadowlands in 2019. ... The Giants have won three straight at Orchard Park since a 17-14 loss in 1993. ... The Bills are 0-1 in the playoffs against New York following a 20-19 loss in Super Bowl 25 decided on Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood missing a 47-yard field-goal attempt wide right in the final seconds.
STATS AND STUFF: Giants second-year coach Brian Daboll makes a homecoming after spending the 2018-21 seasons as the Bills offensive coordinator. Though born across the Niagara River in Welland, Ontario, he was raised by his grandparents outside of Buffalo. ...The Giants have lost three straight and are playing their fourth road game in the past five. … Their 62 points scored are the second fewest in the league. The offense has not scored a first-half touchdown all season. … The OL has given up 18 sacks and 28 quarterback hits in the past two games. … Taylor was 9 of 12 for 86 yards in finishing up. He started 43 games in three seasons (2015-17) with Buffalo and had 8,857 yards passing and 51 TDs, while rushing for 1,575 yards and 14 TDs. … TE Darren Waller had eight catches for 86 yards against the Dolphins. … LB Kayvon Thibodeaux leads the team with four sacks, the highest total by a Giant through five games since Markus Golden had 4 1/2 in 2019. … . The Dolphins averaged 9.7 yards a play, the highest figure by a Giants opponent since Dec. 4, 1966, when Cleveland averaged 9.7 yards in a 49-40 victory. … P Jamie Gillan is seventh in the NFL with a net average of 44.5 yards. … PK Graham Gano has kicked field goals of 57, 55 and 51 yards in the past three games. … The Bills are seeking to avoid being 3-3 or worse through their first six games for the first time since a 2-4 start in 2018. It was QB Josh Allen’s rookie season, and the only season in which Buffalo missed the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, who was hired in 2017. ... Allen’s record dropped to 17-5 with 300 or more yards passing after going 27 of 40 for 359 yards with two TDs and an interception against Jacksonville. ... Allen has run for a touchdown in three straight games to up his total to 41 and move one ahead of Jack Kemp on the NFL list. Cam Newton tops the list with 75 followed by Steve Young (43). ... WR Stefon Diggs has 377 catches with Buffalo, tying him for fourth on the team list with Lee Evans. Thurman Thomas ranks third with 456. ... The Bills were limited to 29 yards rushing against Jacksonville to match Buffalo’s eighth-lowest total in team history, and fewest since gaining 13 yards in a 26-24 loss to the Raiders on Dec. 21, 2014. ... Edge rusher A.J. Epenesa had two sacks, batted down three passes and recovered the fumble he forced against Jacksonville. ... Edge rusher Leonard Floyd had two sacks last week, and leads Buffalo with 5 1/2.
FANTASY TIP: The Bills quarterback is facing his mentor for the first time since Daboll left Buffalo. Allen spent his first four NFL seasons developing into a star under Daboll, and might have have a special night in store for him, especially against the Giants defense.
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