New York Giants: Three takeaways from 28-14 loss vs. Buffalo
By Ed Stein
Sunday, the New York Giants got another beating this time at home against Buffalo by a score of 28-14. Here are our three takeaways from the game.
The New York Giants got off to another good start on Sunday. It only took five plays for Big Blue to drive the field after receiving the opening kickoff. Buffalo got their fill of Saquon Barkley. The second-year back carried the ball on three of the five snaps for 55 yards and the opening touchdown of the game.
After holding Buffalo on their first possession, the G-Men went three-and-out and that was the beginning of the end. The Bills realized they were playing against a phantom defense and went to work. They scored TDs the next three times they had the ball on 241 yards of total offense. It looked like the Giants had 11 players at the snap but some of them must have disappeared because Buffalo ran wild up and down the field. Here are our three takeaways from the game.
Make a stop
As Vin Scully used to say “we have met the enemy and he is us.” That’s a perfect description of the New York Giants 2019 defense. They can’t help themselves by stopping their opponents, forcing a three-and-out, so the unit can get off the field. The defense by its own ineptitude wears itself down midway through a game.
Big Blue’s pass coverage is atrocious, some of the worst in the entire league. Rookie corner DeAndre Baker is completely lost playing corner opposite of Janoris Jenkins. Replay after replay showed the huge cushion he gave his man on Sunday.
The safeties were no better. Antoine Bethea and Jabrill Peppers can’t cover in either man or zone defense. Receivers were wide open all day. It got to the point where the situation was embarrassing. Buffalo QB Josh Allen wasn’t exactly Tom Brady on Sunday but his receivers went unchecked in the secondary.
Getting down to the basics, their tackling needs work. Buffalo blew threw too many arm tackles. Again, with no room for error, missing tackles doesn’t cut it. Going forward, making good tackles has to be a priority.