New York Giants 24 – Buffalo Bills 10

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Oct 042015
 
Devon Kennard, New York Giants (October 4, 2015)

Devon Kennard – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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NEW YORK GIANTS 24 – BUFFALO BILLS 10…
The New York Giants won their second game in a row by defeating the Buffalo Bills 24-10 at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Giants have now evened their record at 2-2 after an 0-2 start.

The Bills received the ball to start the game but the Giants’ defense forced a three-and-out. On their first possession, the Giants moved the ball 35 yards in eight plays to set up place kicker Josh Brown’s successful 47-yard field goal. Giants 3 – Bills 0.

Both teams then exchanged three-and-out punts. On Buffalo’s third possession, they moved the ball just 15 yards but it was good enough to set up a successful 51-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. The Giants punted the ball away on their third possession but got it right back when linebacker Devon Kennard made a spectacular sideline interception at the Bills’ 32-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Eli Manning hit wide receiver Dwayne Harris for a 21-yard score. After a false start, Brown’s extra point effort was no good and the Giants led 9-3.

Rueben Randle, New York Giants (October 4, 2015)

Rueben Randle – © USA TODAY Sports Images

The Bills went three-and-out again. The Giants responded with an impressive 10-play, 76-yard effort that ended with an 11-yard touchdown throw from Manning to wide receiver Rueben Randle. The Giants now led 16-3.

The Bills had the ball three more times in the first half and the Giants twice, but neither team could generate any remaining offense before intermission.

The Giants punted twice and the Bills once to start the second half. Buffalo then put together a long 13-play drive that moved the ball from their own 10-yard line to the Giants’ 12-yard line. But Buffalo’s place kicker missed the easy 30-yard chip shot and the score remained 16-3 with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

The Giants went three-and-out and the Bills quickly threatened to tighten the game again, starting at their own 47-yard line, driving, and setting up a 1st-and-goal from the Giants’ 9-yard line. However, the Giants denied the Bills on four straight plays, including stopping Buffalo running back Karlos Williams on a quick pass just short of the goal line on 4th-and-goal. Linebacker J.T. Thomas and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie made the stop.

Despite these defensive heroics, the Giants were still facing a tough situation after their offense went three-and-out again. The Bills began the ensuing possession at the Giants’ 43-yard line. Three plays later, Bills’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor hit Williams for a 23-yard scoring play to cut the Giants’ advantage to 16-10 with less than 10 minutes to play.

Rashad Jennings, New York Giants (October 4, 2015)

Rashad Jennings – © USA TODAY Sports Images

The pivotal moment came on the Giants’ next possession. Up by only six points, and facing a 3rd-and-3 from their own 49-yard line, Manning threw a quick pass to running back Rashad Jennings, who caught the ball, broke a tackle, ran down the left sideline, stiff-armed a defender, and scored from 51 yards out. A successful 2-point run by running back Andre Williams gave the Giants a 24-10 advantage with 7:42 left to play.

Desperate to score, the Bills turned the ball over on 3rd-and-11 on the ensuing drive when cornerback Prince Amukamara stripped a Bills’ receiver of the football and recovered the fumble at the Buffalo 40-yard line. The Giants moved the ball to the Bills’ 8-yard line, but on third-and-goal, Manning’s pass intended for Randle was intercepted and returned 29 yards to the Bills’ 30-yard line with 3:41 left to play.

On their last possession, Buffalo did reach the Giants’ 13-yard line. But after a sack by fullback/defensive tackle Nikita Whitlock, the Bills turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete 4th-and-19 pass. The Giants then knelt on the ball to seal the victory.

Offensively, Manning finished the day 20-of-35 for 212 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. In terms of catches, the leading receivers were Harris (5 catches for 51 yards and 1 touchdown), tight end Larry Donnell (5 catches for 38 yards), and wide receiver Odell Beckham (5 catches for 38 yards). The Giants’ running backs rushed for 94 yards on 25 carries.

Defensively, the Bills were held to 14 first downs and 313 yards (55 yards rushing, 258 yards passing), were 3-of-16 (18 percent) on third down, and 1-of-3 (33 percent) on fourth down. The Giants forced two turnovers (Kennard and Amukamara) and had two sacks (defensive tackles Cullen Jenkins and Whitlock).

Video highlights/lowlights are available at Giants.com.

INJURY REPORT…
DE George Selvie (calf), CB Jayron Hosley (evaluated for concussion), and LB Devon Kennard (hamstring) were all injured. LT Ereck Flowers (ankle), CB Trumaine McBride (thigh contusion), WR Dwayne Harris (ribs) all suffered injuries but later returned to the game.

POST-GAME REACTIONS…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Tom Coughlin and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

POST-GAME NOTES…
Inactive for the Giants were WR Victor Cruz (calf), TE Daniel Fells (ankle), TE Jerome Cunningham (knee), DE Robert Ayers (hamstring), DT Markus Kuhn (knee), LB Jasper Brinkley, and S Cooper Taylor.

ARTICLES…

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Eric Kennedy

Eric Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of BigBlueInteractive.com, a publication of Big Blue Interactive, LLC. Follow @BigBlueInteract on Twitter.

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