The New York Giants find themselves in a familiar quagmire.
After Sunday’s 28-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Giants begin their 2019 campaign by dropping their first two games. If recent history is an indicator, Big Blue is in danger of looking miniscule in the win column.
The Giants are 0-2 for the sixth time in the past seven seasons. They missed the playoffs in each of the previous five seasons where they began with two losses, finishing above .500 just once. The 0-2 start comes off the heels of a preseason where the Giants went undefeated.
Naturally, the Giants got off to a hot start. They began with a five-play, 75-yard drive capped off with a 27-yard touchdown run from Saquon Barkley. Buffalo responded with 21 unanswered points on runs from Josh Allen and Devin Singletary as well as a 14-yard Isaiah McKenzie reception.
Eli Manning connected with T.J. Jones on a 4-yard score early in the fourth quarter to pull within a touchdown. Manning finished the day with 26 completions on 45 attempts for 250 yards.
Manning also threw two interceptions. Late in the first half. Jones returned a punt 60 yards to give the Giants solid field position at the Bills 33. Manning hit Bennie Fowler for a 12-yard gain. On the next play, Manning targeted Fowler again but the pass was tipped by Bills first-round draft pick Ed Oliver and recovered by Trent Murphy.
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Jordan Poyer picked off Manning late in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. He was soundly booed by Giants fans who didn’t leave MetLife Stadium at the half.
The Giants offense has four turnovers in two games but the defense’s struggles continued as well.
After surrendering 494 total yards and 35 points to the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season opener, they allowed 388 total yards and 28 points against Buffalo. Allen led the Bills on a seven-play. 98-yard drive in the second quarter. It was the Bills’ longest touchdown drive since a 98-yard drive against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009.
The Giants defense has no takeaways through two games. Although Allen was sacked three times, there were no signs of a consistent pass rush. Even when the defense was able to get a stop early in the final quarter, rookie Dexter Lawrence committed an unnecessary roughness penalty on a field goal attempt which put the Bills at the Giants 2. Frank Gore ran for another Bills touchdown two plays later.
The Giants head to Raymond James Stadium in Week 3 for a matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 PM EDT. The game will be televised on FOX.
– Curtis Rawls is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the New York Giants. Please like and follow on Facebook and Twitter. Curtis can be followed on Twitter @CuRawls203.