Three takeaways from Bills' sloppy win over Giants on 'SNF'
The Buffalo Bills somehow escaped with a 14-9 win over the New York Giants in a sloppy "Sunday Night Football" contest. Here are three takeaways:
Bills' defense bails them out: On a night where quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills offense wasn't very sharp, Buffalo's defense picked up the slack. Trailing 6-0 with the first half winding down, the Bills made a critical defensive stop, preventing the Giants from running a play as time expired, even if some confusion from former QB Tyrod Taylor helped them out.
The unit closed the door in the second half, allowing only three points before clinching the victor after denying the Giants on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line with zeros on the clock.
Josh Allen made plays when it mattered: Despite being shutout through the first three quarters, Allen rallied the troops and made the plays when they mattered down the stretch. After going 8-of-18 for 87 yards and an interception in the first half, Allen was 8-of-12 for 82 yards and two touchdowns after halftime.
Allen led not one but two go-ahead scoring drives in the final stanza, putting the Bills up for good with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter, connecting with tight end Quintin Morris on a 15-yard touchdown pass, capping off a 12-play, 75-yard game-winning drive.
Saquon Barkley looked strong in return from injury: If there's a sliver of a silver lining in Sunday's loss for the Giants, it's how Barkley looked in his return from an ankle injury that kept him out of the lineup the last three games.
Barkley got off to a slow start, averaging only 1.4 yards per carry for 23 yards over 16 attempts in the first half. However, he kicked it up a notch in the second half, nearly willing the Giants to a victory himself. After halftime, Barkley looked much more like himself, rushing for 70 yards on eight carries.
There are no moral victories, but if there's any hope for the 1-5 Giants to turn things around, they'll need a healthy Barkley to do it.
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