OC Mike Kafka says Giants have confidence in experienced Tyrod Taylor
New York Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) aims a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Rebecca Blackwell
The Giants have a considerable task ahead of them on Sunday night.
Playing the Bills at Orchard Park isn’t easy under any circumstances.
Buffalo is 22-5 at home since the 2020 season, a winning percentage of .815.
The Giants will be without Daniel Jones, who is sidelined with a neck injury.
Tyrod Taylor, a 13-year veteran who counts Buffalo among his career stops, will get the start at quarterback.
So what changes?
“Our process this week has been the same,” offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “Always prepping, trying to make sure we put together the right schemes, put together the right formations and do the things that we need to do to put ourselves and give ourselves a chance this week.”
Taylor, by his nature, inspires confidence. Kafka said this week has been no different.
“Tyrod has done a great job since he’s been here,” Kafka said. “He’s a veteran guy. I have a lot of confidence in him and all the guys on our offense to go out there and execute.”
The offensive line remains in a state of flux, though, and still is without its best player, left tackle Andrew Thomas, who suffered a hamstring injury against Dallas in the season opener. On Friday, Thomas gave no indication that a return is near.
Justin Pugh, 33, who was the Giants’ first-round draft pick in 2013 and spent his first five seasons as a Giant, is back in the locker room and might play meaningful snaps in Buffalo.
In 2018, Pugh left as a free agent to join the Arizona Cardinals, for whom he also played five seasons.
Pugh started five games in 2022 before tearing an ACL on Oct. 16 at Seattle. He hasn’t played since.
Kafka said of the line: “We’ve all got to operate and execute better.”
The Bills lead the NFL with 21 sacks. For Taylor, it would seem that part of his goal in the game would be to simply stay healthy. Behind him on the depth chart is Tommy DeVito, who was elevated from the practice squad.
But Taylor said that idea — just to stay out of harm’s way — cannot be his mindset.
“I think you play free,” said Taylor, 34, drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round in 2011 out of Virginia Tech. “Obviously, it’s a contact sport that we play and a collision sport that we play. Playing scared is never a good thing. Obviously, as a quarterback, you want to limit the hits that you take on your body, but at the same time, you’ve got to do what’s best for the team in certain situations as far as fighting for extra yardage or making plays. Never playing timid, going out there and competing at a high level and dealing with what comes with that.”
Taylor said it’s up to the coaches to put players in position to make plays.
From there, Taylor hopes the protection holds up against a Bills defense that has fortified its defensive front but lost linebacker Matt Milano and defensive lineman DaQuon Jones to injuries last week in London.
One of Taylor’s goals is to create explosive plays that will not only move the sticks but also show up as points on the scoreboard.
“Explosive plays can be created in different ways,” Taylor said. “We’ve had our opportunities throughout this year to be able to create explosive [plays], we just haven’t done a great job of executing. Obviously, as a team, we know what we can do better. We’ve been working on trying to do better in those areas.”
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.