The (1-4) New York Giants will look to keep their season alive as they will travel to take on the (3-2) Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.
The Bills come into this contest as 14-point favorites over the injury-ravaged Giants. Buffalo is looking to win to keep pace with the rest of the top teams in the conference. New York, on the other hand, is just looking to be competitive after being outscored 85-31 during their three-game losing streak and having the worst point differential in the NFL at minus 91.
With these two teams heading in opposite directions, here are five bold predictions for Sunday’s game.
Related: 2023 NFL Power Rankings: Evaluating all 32 teams after Week 5
The Bills defense will sack Tyrod Taylor eight times
With Daniel Jones out with a neck injury, Tyrod Taylor will get the start at quarterback. Unfortunately for Taylor, he’ll be making his first start as a Giant behind an offensive line that’s in shambles.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas will miss his fifth consecutive game due to a pulled hamstring, and center John Michael Schmitz will miss his second straight game due to a shoulder injury. To make matters worse, right tackle Evan Neal is questionable after missing practice on Friday due to an ankle injury, and reserve tackle Matt Peart will miss the game with a shoulder injury.
The Giants offensive line has already given up 30 sacks for the season and will now face a Bill defense that leads the NFL in sacks with 21. Look for Von Miller, Leonard Floyd, Ed Oliver, and the rest of the Bills defense to make life miserable for Taylor as he’ll be sacked eight times.
Related: NFL offense rankings 2023: Patriots and Giants continue free fall, Texans rise again after Week 5
Giants score a touchdown on their first possession of the game
New York’s first-half struggles have been well documented as they’re the only team that hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown in the first half and have been outscored 94-19 in the first half of games.
Knowing that it’s imperative for the team to get off to a fast start and end this putrid cycle, expect the Giants offense to come out bold and daring. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will draw up a trick play in the opening series or try to connect on a deep pass to rookie Jalin Hyatt. As a result, they’ll catch the Bills defense by surprise as Tyrod Taylor leads the team to a touchdown in their opening possession.
Related: 2023 NFL defense rankings: Week 6 preview, fantasy D/ST rankings
Josh Allen will throw three touchdowns to three different receivers
This week, Giants head coach Brain Daboll gave high praise to Josh Allen. Daboll helped groom Allen into becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league during his time in Buffalo as offensive coordinator from 2018-2021.
Despite the team’s loss 25-20 to the Jaguars last week in London, Allen is playing at a high level this season. He’s already thrown for 1,407 yards and 11 touchdowns and has one of the best pass-catching corps in the league in Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and the tight end duo of Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid.
The Giants have a young secondary with rookie cornerbacks Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins III. Allen will have a field day against New York’s secondary as the 27-year-old quarterback will throw three touchdowns split between three different receivers.
Related: See where Daniel Jones and Josh Allen land in Sportsnaut’s NFL QB rankings
New York’s special teams will score a touchdown
When you come into a game as massive underdogs, it’s important to win the third phase of the game, which is special teams.
Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey has come under scrutiny this season for how poorly his unit has played. With the team’s back against the wall, McGaughey will have his unit play their best game of the season. Either Eric Gray will score on a punt return for a touchdown, or the team will block a kick for a touchdown on Sunday night.
Related: NFL picks against the spread Week 6, including another Chicago Bears win
James Cook will rush for 125 yards
James Cook leads the Bills in rushing with 292 yards, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. But last week against the Jaguars he had a frustrating day, carrying the ball just five times for minus four yards.
He’s poised to have a bounce-back game this week as he faces New York’s 30th-ranked run defense which is allowing 151.4 yards per game. New York has already allowed two running backs to rush for over 100 yards this season. Cook will be the third back to accomplish this feat, as he’ll have his best game of the season by rushing for at least 125 yards.
- Prediction: It’s hard to envision a scenario where the Giants can keep this game close.
- Bills 38, Giants 17