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New York Giants must stop Buffalo Bills’ rushing attack in Week 4

By Nick Ziegler

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The New York Giants will have arguably their toughest test of the season thus far in Week 4 on the road against the Buffalo Bills.

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With a few changes this offseason that included bringing in Rex Ryan as the new head coach, the Bills look like they are a playoff contender in the AFC this season. Coming into 2015, the Bills had a few huge question marks on the offensive side of the ball. Their starting quarterback Kyle Orton decided to retire at the end of the season, which left Buffalo without a real plan at the position.

With Orton gone, many assumed that it would be EJ Manuel who would step back into the starting role after being drafted in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. The Bills added quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor in the offseason to give Manuel some competition, and it wasn’t Manuel who came out as the starter.

The addition of Taylor is looking like one of the best of any team this offseason, as he won the job this summer. Ryan liked Taylor’s ability to both run and pass, and that is going to be a headache for the Giants on Sunday afternoon.

Ryan’s teams are historically known for running the ball as much as possible and so far that has been true in Buffalo. While Taylor has totaled 714 passing yards in three games, which is more than people probably expected, it is still the running game that gets the Bills’ offense moving.

One of the other moves made to improve the Bills’ offense in 2015 was the deal to acquire LeSean McCoy from the Philadelphia Eagles for Kiko Alonso. The Giants are very familiar with McCoy from their rivalry with the Eagles, but he has yet to really get rolling with the Bills.

Sep 27, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) is tackled by Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Earl Mitchell (90) during the first half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

A bad hamstring has hampered McCoy this season, as he has totaled 146 rushing yards on 43 carries without a touchdown so far. Even with McCoy struggling due to being injured, the Bills have been able to run the ball very well thanks to Karlos Williams.

Williams is a much larger back than McCoy and the bruising runner from Florida State is having a great start to his rookie season. So far this season, Williams has totaled 186 rushing yards on 24 carries with three rushing touchdowns.

There is a strong possibility that McCoy will be inactive in Week 4 to try and finally get his hamstring at 100%. The Bills may also be without wide receiver Sammy Watkins, which means the Giants should be preparing themselves for a lot of running from both Taylor and Williams.

The Bills have been the best team in the league at running the ball and stopping the run, which isn’t a surprise for a team coached by Ryan. One huge surprise is that the Giants have the second-best running defense in total rushing yards allowed so far this season. With games against run-heavy teams like the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, that is a very impressive stat for the Giants.

In Week 4, the Giants’ run defense will be put to a huge test against the Bills, and if they can’t stop the run they almost certainly will be leaving Buffalo with a 1-3 record.

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