NY – ORCHARD PARK – Any football team would find it agonizing to be stopped one yard from victory. However, having it occur twice on separate possessions in the same game at the same end of the field is a unique type of anguish.
Ask the Giants, please.
In Highmark Stadium on Sunday night, the Giants took the snap from the one-yard line of the Buffalo Bills to end each half. Before the Giants could run another play in the first half, Saquon Barkley was stopped for no gain and the clock ran out.
Had the Giants been able to take advantage of their second chance to get in close, that tragic sequence would have been forgotten and excused. With no time left in regulation, the Giants once more possessed the ball at the one thanks to a defensive pass interference call. The Giants had a 6-0 lead going into the fourth quarter of the game, but were defeated 14-9 when tight end Darren Waller failed to intercept Tyrod Taylor’s ball to the back of the end zone on the untimed down.
Brian Daboll, the coach, remarked, “I thought we competed hard.” You always want a couple plays back, of course. But it’s a difficult one. They’re all difficult and require a lot of effort. This is a truly formidable football club that we faced off against, and the game lasted 60 minutes with no time expiring. It’s challenging.
When we lose, it always hits us in the gut, according to safety Xavier McDaniel. “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for. We must start over from scratch.
The Giants dropped to 1-5 after suffering their fourth straight defeat. For the third game in a row, they failed to score an offensive touchdown, continuing a season-long streak in which they had not done so in the first half of any game.
The Giants score
The Giants scored all of their points on three field goals by Graham Gano, the largest coming from 43 yards. The Giants entered the red zone five times, but only managed three field goals and two missed chances.
Josh Allen completed touchdown passes to Deonte Harty for three yards on the opening play of the fourth quarter and to Quintin Morris for 15 yards with 3:48 left to score for Buffalo.
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But the decisive moments in both half came in the frenetic final seconds.
When Bobby Okereke tipped a Dalton Knox throw intended for Allen, which was intercepted by teammate linebacker Micah McFadden as the Giants defense took a 6-0 lead, the Giants’ offense committed their second turnover of the game. With 2:23 left in the first half, the Giants now had the ball at their own 41.
Taylor, who started the game in place of the injured Daniel Jones and played the entire game, threw two passes that went uncatchable with 24 seconds left on the clock. However, on the second play, cornerback Kaiir Elam was called for a penalty for tripping Darius Slayton, giving the Giants a first down with 14 seconds left at the one. Terrel Bernard and Christian Benford successfully stopped a Barkley run up the center without gaining any ground. Time ran expired before the Giants could reach the line in time to spike the ball and stop the clock.
“They did a good job of holding me down, standing on top,” Barkley stated. “They knew the situation.”
The Giants, who had first called a pass, also did this.
“Had a play called, it was a run action pass play and ended up alerting it to a run,” Daboll explained. ‘I couldn’t get it off.’ Taylor noticed a look based on the play we had, and as a result, he informed it of a run.
“It was a decision, looking back on it, definitely shouldn’t have made,” Taylor stated. “I noticed a look that I believed would be helpful for us when I was alerted to a run, but it wasn’t the right call. such is my responsibility as the quarterback, the team’s leader, and the person who communicates with everyone. I need to perform better in such circumstance.
In the manner of Barkley, he claimed responsibility.
“We had something wrong where we could run it, and we changed it to a run, and they made a play,” Barkley explained. “I have to work harder to enter the end zone there. We are aware that we must find a way to get points there, but I take responsibility for that. On that play, I was given the ball and had to find a method to score.
