ORCHARD PARK — To pull off a gargantuan upset, the Giants needed to reverse almost all the bad trends they established in their first five games of the season.
They had lost four of them and been blown out in every one of them.
The Giants were not blown out Sunday night.
They also failed to win, coming 1 yard short, despite battling with the heavily favored Bills on near-even terms.
A completely botched offensive sequence at the end of the first half cost the Giants valuable points, an egregious error that proved costly in a 14-9 loss at Highmark Stadium.
This one went to the wire.
From the Buffalo 1-yard line, with one untimed play after time expired as the Bills were called for pass interference in the end zone, Tyrod Taylor faked a handoff to Saquon Barkley and threw a jump ball to 6-foot-6 tight end Darren Waller.
Waller could not disengage from Taron Johnson, the ball sailed over his reach and that was that.
With Taylor starting at quarterback in place of injured Daniel Jones, points were at a premium and the Giants — for the fourth time in six games — failed to produce an offensive touchdown.
That was not going to cut it against the Bills, as the Giants dropped to 1-5 with their first competitive loss, but a loss nonetheless.
The Giants were outscored 94-15 in their first three prime-time games this season and their minus-91 scoring margin was the worst in the league.
This was an improved product on defense and special teams but not on offense, even with Barkley returning after missing three games with a high ankle sprain.
This was not a sack-fest on Taylor but a team needs to get into the end zone to win and the Giants could not do it.
Taylor finished 24 of 36 for 200 yards and he was sacked three times.
The Giants, inexcusably, blew a huge chance to take control of the game in the waning seconds of the first half.
Leading 6-0, they had the ball at their own 41-yard line with 2:23 remaining after a Micah McFadden interception (off a deflection by Bobby Okereke) and a 30-yard lob from Taylor to Darius Slayton created a real scoring threat.
A pass interference penalty on cornerback Kaiir Elam put the ball on the Buffalo 1-yard line with 14 seconds left in the half but the Giants were out of timeouts.
There was not enough time for a failed rushing attempt but there was time for one or two passes before settling for a field goal.
Incredibly, Taylor handed the ball off to Barkley, who ran to the right and was dropped for no gain.
The Giants rushed to the line to run another play but time expired.
As the Bills gleefully ran off the field, coach Brian Daboll, animated and incensed, lit into Taylor.
The Giants were not going to pitch a shutout and held onto their six-point lead for as long as they could.
The Bills put together a mammoth 17-play, 89-yard drive that took 9:58 off the clock, finally cashing in when Josh Allen hit Deonte Harty on a 3-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to go ahead 7-6.
Barkley was able to carry the ball 24 times and he gained 93 yards.
He broke free on runs of 19 and 34 yards that led to Graham Gano’s third field goal and the Giants were ahead 9-7 with 10:35 left.
That did not last long.
Allen, heating up, ended a 75-yard drive by throwing across his body and finding tight end Quintin Morris, who eluded safety Dane Belton, for a 15-yard scoring toss to put the Bills up 14-9 with 3:48 remaining.
Taylor’s desperation fourth-down pass to Slayton was broken up with 1:45 to go.
Tyler Bass missed a 53-yard field goal with 1:25 left to give the Giants life.
They fell just short.
Jones hurting and missing games is nothing new for the Giants.
He was out for two games in 2019 and two more in 2020 with sprained ankles and missed the final six games in 2021 with a neck issue.
With this loss, the Giants are now 2-9 in games played with Jones on the sideline with an injury.
Justin Pugh, signed 11 days earlier, started at left guard but he did not remain there very long.
Josh Ezeudu went down with a toe injury midway through the first quarter, creating an emergency situation for a line already without injured starters Andrew Thomas at left tackle and rookie John Michael Schmitz at center.
Pugh had to move to left tackle, a position he has not played on a regular basis since his 2013 rookie year.
After not forcing a turnover in the first four games, the Giants suddenly have become thieves.
They forced their fourth in a five-quarter span when Okereke punched the ball away from Gabe Davis and McFadden recovered the fumble on the Giants’ 44-yard line.
Thanks to a 30-yard Taylor lob to Slayton, the Giants were able to get to the Buffalo 8-yard line but their line was dominated in the red zone and Graham Gano’s 29-yard field goal gave the Giants their first first-half lead of the season.
The Giants’ defense did not allow Allen to get comfortable and he was either bothered or not sharp, or a combination of both.
Third-down pressure by Okereke led to a three-and-out and pursuit by Kayvon Thibodeaux forced another Allen misfire.
Tyler Bass missed a 52-yard field goal, giving the Giants good field position on their 42-yard line.
A 20-yard reception for Darren Waller and an 11-yard toss from Taylor to Wan’Dale Robinson on third-and-9 pumped life into a drive that then fizzled and Gano’s 43-yard field goal put the Giants’ lead at 6-0.
It did not last.
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