D-SPICABLE!
Giants can’t slow Bills — and ‘O’ just as bad
Giants safety Jabrill Peppers P flies by the play after a Josh Allen waltzed into the end zone as the Bills scored 21 unanswered points in the first half on their way to a 28-14 win at MetLife Stadium, dumping Big Blue into an 0-2 hole for the third straight season and sixth time in seven years.
The f irst real audible boos arrived late in the first quarter, after Bennie Fowler dropped a pass that was short of the f irst down anyway. It was tied then and the Giants were still in it.
The boos grew louder early in the second quarter, when a thirddown pass by Eli Manning was batted down at the line of scrimmage by linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. The Giants trailed by a touchdown then and were still in it, but losing ground.
There were boos a bit later in the second quarter when Cole Beasley was comically wide open for a 51-yard gain, with rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker nowhere in the vicinity. With 49 seconds remaining in the first half, after Manning’s pass was actually spiked with impudence by Ed Oliver and scooped up before the ball hit the turf by Trent Murphy for an interception, the jeers cascaded heartily down from the paying customers and continued to serenade the home team at it escaped to the quiet of the locker room for halftime.
By the end of the 28-14 loss to the Bills on a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon, MetLife Stadium was a ghost town, vast acreage of empty gray seats — a sign anger and resentment had given way to the far more insidious emotions of resignation and apathy.
A few players mentioned how early it is in the season, but their one true star, Saquon Barkley, is having none of it.
“I’m not a big believer in ‘It’s still early,’ ’’ said Barkley, who rushed for 107 yards. “I don’t like believing in that because I don’t want to get caught into that, but it’s true. It’s a long season and it’s early. If we figure it out right, we can laugh back at these games when we’re competing for the playoffs.’’
Right now, the only laughing is coming from the outside, directed at the Giants as they start a season 0-2 for the third straight season and sixth time in the past seven.
It is too early to make the move to rookie Daniel Jones, but after two desultory losses, the clock has started, as the Giants have given no indication whatsoever they can be a competitive team — on either side of the ball.
“I don’t think [ mak i n g a change at quarterback] is a conversation for right now,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said. “I think everybody has to play better.’’
Manning struggled early and often, saddled with a bunch of backup receivers thrust into starting roles.
“I think his play is indicative of how our team played,’’ Shurmur said. “There were some really good plays in there and then there were some things that we need to improve on.’’
Just as they did last week, the Giants looked like world-beaters on their opening series, this time running it all five plays (Barkley got it four times for 55 yards) on a 75-yard drive cashed in with Barkley 27-yard burst for a touchdown. After that, it was a dismal and pathetic display.
The Bills built a 21-7 lead, scoring touchdowns on their next three possessions on drives of 75, 70 and 98 yards. Baker, the firstround pick, looked lost, following up a rough NFL debut last week with an even worse showing. By halftime, Josh Allen had 210 passing yards and had run and passed for touchdowns.
Cornerback Janoris Jenkins, tasked with covering speedy John Brown, was not able to shut down Brown (seven receptions for 72 yards) and afterward grew emotional describing the burden of defending in the back end when the opposing quarterback has the time he needs to scan the field.
“Who can cover somebody for 10 seconds?’’ Jenkins said. “Go look at it within the first five seconds of the route. He’s not open. If he’s scrambled and we ain’t got no pressure, what you want me to do? I can’t cover this side and that side. C’mon, bro. We got to play football around here.’’
The Giants have allowed nine touchdowns in two games and were torched last week by Dak Prescott. Allen was not nearly that dominant, but he did pretty much what he wanted, especially in the first half.
“He’s just sitting there patting the ball,’’ Jenkins said. “If you give any quarterback eight seconds in the pocket, he’s gonna find open receivers.’’
Asked if he was calling out his teammates up-front, Jenkins said, “I ain’t calling nobody out. I’m saying we got to get pressure.’’
When this sentiment was relayed to linebacker Lorenzo Carter — credited with half a sack, he said, “It’s true. It takes all 11. We got to get to the quarterback, they got to stop receivers. That’s all it takes.’’
The defense did not allow a point in the third quarter and there was a flicker of light after Manning fired to a leaping TJ Jones for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 11:56 remaining. The Giants were within 21-14 with plenty of time to make the Bills sweat. Instead, they made the Bills smirk. It was 28-14 after a 1-yard run by Frank Gore, and it was, drive carefully on the way out.