Grading the Giants’ 14-9 loss to the Bills on Sunday night at Highmark Stadium.
Offense
The entire operation looked better but — wait for it — not a single touchdown, which makes it virtually impossible to win. Tyrod Taylor (24 of 36, 200 yards passing, 5-24 rushing) is a tough customer and he made some throws under duress. But he messed up changing the play at the end of the first half and it cost his team points. There were predictable early struggles for Saquon Barkley (24-93) in his return after he missed three games with a high ankle sprain. He admitted he was rusty but he did get better as the game wore on. It was a rough return for Justin Pugh, who started at left guard and had to move to left tackle when Josh Ezeudu went out midway through the first quarter. Pugh was called for two false start penalties and gave up a sack to A.J. Epenesa. Pugh was much better in the second half. Darren Waller (5-43) might have been interfered with on the final play. He could have gone up for the ball a bit more aggressively. Three sacks allowed, which is an improvement.
Grade: D
Defense
Holding Josh Allen (19 of 30, 169 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) to 14 points is excellent work. Bobby Okereke (11 tackles) was a force. He alertly poked at the ball as WR Gabe Davis was falling to the turf, forcing a first-quarter fumble that was recovered by Micah McFadden. Okereke later tipped an Allen pass that McFadden intercepted. Stefon Diggs (10-100) is a beast, but at least he did not break anything too deep. Giving up 128 rushing yards was a bit too many. Cor’Dale Flott tackled Diggs for no gain on an early series. Allen was hurried but not sacked — the Giants needed to create more negative plays. Dexter Lawrence lined up more often across from the center and was able to push the pocket. The big stop eluded this unit, though.
Grade: B-plus
Special Teams
Jamie Gillan, who is steadily improving, hit his first punt 54 yards with no return to put the Bills on their 15-yard line. Gillan’s second punt was even better with a net of 61 yards. Early in the third quarter, Gillan pinned the Bills back on their 11-yard line. Darnay Holmes was hit with a holding penalty on a punt return. Cam Brown was called for a hold on a kickoff return early in the fourth quarter. Reliable Graham Gano hit field goals of 29, 43 and 29 yards for the only points for his team. Parris Campbell was given a chance on kickoff return.
Grade: B-plus
Coaching
At least this time Brian Daboll led a team that competed and made the opponent sweat. What happened at the end of the first half simply cannot happen. A team cannot run the ball at the goal line with no timeouts. Incredibly poor play and clock management, communication or whatever the heck went haywire. That was on Taylor and not Daboll, but it is a bad look. The decision to start Pugh and play him every snap seemed a bit desperate. Credit Wink Martindale for creating a plan that harassed Allen and did not compromise the coverage on the back end.
Grade: B
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