After beating one of their fellow “New York” teams last week, the Buffalo Bills are heading back to New Jersey in Week 2 to take on the New York Giants. Game time is set for 1:00 EST on Sunday, September 15 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Fans throughout the Empire State and the Garden State can watch the game on CBS.
Following last week’s 1-point win, the Bills are now 2-point road favorites against the Giants in Week 2. The over/under for the game is listed at 44 points. Be sure to check out all of the Week 2 NFL betting odds.
As mentioned, the Bills knocked off the Jets in Week 1, doing so in unlikely fashion. Buffalo trailed 16-0 in the middle of the third quarter but rallied in the fourth quarter. Josh Allen ran for one touchdown and threw for another, putting a previously disastrous game behind him to lead the Bills to a 17-16 win.
The win continues the good vibes the Bills had going after a 4-0 record in the preseason. It also gave them a leg up over both the Dolphins and Jets with second place in the AFC East being up for grabs this season. If the Bills can snag a second straight road win, they’ll head into next week’s home opener 2-0 with a good chance to build on that start with five of their next six games coming at home.
Meanwhile, the Giants are hoping to put Week 1 behind them as quickly as possible. After taking an early 7-0 lead against the Cowboys, the Giants were utterly dominated the rest of the way, losing 35-17. It was always going to be asking a lot for New York to steal a road win against the Cowboys. But they’ll be disappointed at being doubled up on the scoreboard despite the game being statistically equal in most areas.
Now the Giants are under pressure to avoid starting 0-2 in hopes of seeing another season go down the drain. New York’s schedule throughout the rest of September and October is manageable if they can get back on track. But falling to 0-2 would put them in an early hole that will be tough to overcome.
Something feels inherently wrong about the Bills being road favorites. I know it’s just a 2-point spread, but it doesn’t feel right. Consider that Buffalo’s odds of winning last week after turning the ball over four times were minuscule. They somehow won the game, but it was a statistical anomaly. I’m not ready to buy on the Bills just yet, so I’ll take my chances with the Giants as home underdogs.
To Buffalo’s credit, quarterback Josh Allen played well at times in Week 1. The additions of veteran receivers like John Brown and Cole Beasley have already paid off for the Bills. However, the Bills did all of their scoring last week after the Jets lost C.J. Mosley to injury, and that’s not a coincidence. More importantly, the four turnovers the Bills committed are unforgivable. They may have gotten away with it last week, but that’s not a recipe for continued success.
Obviously, the Giants didn’t exactly give a good accounting of themselves on defense last week. But I think it’s fair to say that the Dallas offense is superior to the Buffalo offense in almost every way imaginable. Of course, New York has a lot of work to do on that side of the ball, but the Buffalo offense isn’t going to rip them to pieces the way the Cowboys did. In fact, this feels like a game in which both offenses will struggle.
The Buffalo defense should make sure that’s the case. The Bills were extraordinary on that side of the ball last week. With the Jets scoring one of their touchdowns off a pick-six, the Buffalo defense only gave up 10 points in the season opener, so the Giants will surely be challenged this weekend.
That being said, the Giants were far from helpless offensively against a solid Dallas defense last week. Eli Manning threw for over 300 yards without an interception. He was also sacked just once, which is a good sign for a New York O-line that has been the team’s biggest problem in recent years. Tight end Evan Ingram was the featured receiver, but Cody Latimer hauled in a few nice catches and Sterling Shepard is also a viable target. Most importantly, Saquon Barkley is always capable of creating big plays, even against quality defensive teams. He should help ease some of the pressure off Manning, allowing him to look downfield.
I’ll admit that there’s a strong argument for picking the Bills in this game. But we haven’t seen enough from Allen to know that he can avoid committing costly turnovers. The Bills survived one turnover-plagued game from their young quarterback, but they won’t survive two in a row. With the Giants a little desperate and playing at home, I think they’ll find a way to win.