NFL Prediction: Why the New York Giants Will Upset the Buffalo Bills
The New York Giants and Buffalo Bills come in to this very important matchup with high hopes of being New York’s best team, but also needing to win to stay a top their divisions.
The Bills are among this year’s Cinderella stories; a team that has risen from the ashes to the top of their division after five weeks.
While they have certainly exceeded expectations, they have yet to have a true road test thus far. Sure, they dominated the Chiefs at Aarowhead, but the Chiefs have one win on the season thus far.
They lost on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals, who despite a 3-2 record, are not among the NFL’s better teams. Playing this one at home certainly gives the Giants an edge.
The Giants are presented with a terrific opportunity to get their first big win on the season. The way they do that is to exploit the Bills’ many weaknesses.
While they are a terrific offensive team, the Bills struggle to top people on defense. They rank 26th against the pass and 29th against the run.
Eli Manning and the offense had done a great job protecting the ball for the first four games of the season before having a complete letdown against the Seattle Seahawks.
They turned the ball over five times (they had four total in first four games) and still had a chance to win the game in the final minutes. The key for the Giants has always been limiting their turnovers; when they do their winning percentage goes through the roof.
Though the Bills lead the NFL in takeaways, the Giants will put last week’s game behind them and get back to protecting the rock.
Not only that, but the Bills already porous run defense might be without starting nose tackle Kyle Williams. The Giants are set for a breakout game running the football despite possibly missing Chris Snee, who has sat out this week with a concussion.
Starting center David Baas coming back will help the Giants tremendously. He went out early in the Cardinals game and his absence against both them and the Seahawks was crucial.
Ahmad Bradshaw has not had many holes to run through the past two weeks—expect that to change with Baas coming back.
The Giants will get out to a double digit lead and protect it and the football with a steady running attack. With that big lead the Giants will be able to turn Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora lose. Whether or not that pass rush will include Justin Tuck is doubtful and remains to be seen.
Regardless, the Bills are in for a big wake up call.
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6 Rants to “NFL Prediction: Why the New York Giants Will Upset...”
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1. There is only ONE NFL team that plays it’s home games in the state of New York and it ain’t the Giants. It’s the Bills.
2. How can you upset the other team when the official odds-makers have your team as the 3-point favorite going in?
3. While it’s true the Bills’ defense has given up too many yards and points so far this year, they do lead the league in turnover differential and that’s not just from one “lucky” game – that’s over the season to this point.
4. The Bills record is 4-1 and that includes wins over the Raiders, the Pats, and the Iggles. Even in the Cincinnati game they lost, they could easily have won that game if not for a horrendously bad miscall by the refs that would have, if called correctly, been a first down for the Bills late in the game and could have conceivably denied the Bengals the opportunity to kick the game-winning FG literally at the last second.
5. We Bills fans, with our experience, don’t take any opponent lightly and neither does the team. We respect the Giants but we’re not intimidated and I doubt very much the team is, either. As for that wake up call…you might just want to be prepared to accept that yourselves. Every team the Bills have played, the opponent fan base has taken the Bills as a joke. Go right ahead and continue that trend. I’ll personally enjoy watching the Bills roll to 5-1 this Sunday.
1. Who cares?
2. You and I both know the Bills have looked like the better team thus far, so the odds makers are idiots IMO.
3. I mentioned the Bills leading the league in takeaways, but other than the one bad game last week, the Giants had 4 TOs in their first 4 games…they will get back to protecting the ball.
4. The Eagles are not a good win…the Giants beat them on the ROAD and I still don’t consider it a good win, they are a bad team. The Bills had plenty of chances other than their final drive to put the Bengals away but didn’t. This is their first true road test.
5. With your experience? The Giants have been around since the 20s. The Giants already had their wake up call last week, so it wouldn’t be another one if the Bills won the game. Also, I don’t think it counts as a wake up call when you lose to a better team, which the Bills have been so far. Not once in my article did I refer to the Bills as a joke, stop trying to play the victim.
The experience I was referring to was the experience of Bills fans over the years, where our team is best known for losing 4 consecutive Super Bowls and, more recently, for not having made the playoffs for 11 straight seasons. That’s why neither the fans nor the team takes any opponent lightly but I’m getting a little tired of the same not being true.
No, you didn’t refer to the Bills as a joke, for which I commend you – you have no idea how rare that is. I’m not “trying to play the victim”; being laughed at really is the norm for Bills fans and if you don’t believe me, try being one. Even at 4-1 derision and ridicule is the only thing we hear from the vast majority of other NFL fans. I respect the Giants and I know this will be a tough game to win on the road, but I still believe the Bills can do it.
Respectfully,
Clark
Tom Coughlin will not take the Bills lightly, especially with Perry Fewell in his ear.
When you have a franchise who has been at the doormat for several years, that tends to happen. But real fans like yourself can take pride in knowing you stuck around through the bad times. I did the same with the Giants in the 90s and early 2000s.
The Bills can certainly win this game, the Giants have struggled on defense as well the past couple of weeks, mainly at stopping the run. I get the feeling it’s either going to be a shootout close win for the Giants or a blowout win for the Bills.
I mostly agree although I don’t foresee a blowout even if the Bills do win. This game is basically too close to call but the Bills badly need a road victory over a good team to quiet their critics, who have become quite numerous and LOUD since they lost to the Bengals a few weeks ago. I understand why most other NFL fans still think of the franchise as being a joke but that doesn’t mean I like it. Again, you never called the Bills a joke so I apologize if I came off as if I was insulted by what you wrote. You’re entitled to your opinion even if I don’t agree with it.
Cheers,
Clark
There is just something sad about having to go to Jersey to see a football game in lower New York.
At any rate as long as its not a rout I’m content with the Bills losing.