Giants vs. Bills Q and A: What happened at the end of the first half?
New York Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor, center, hands off to running back Saquon Barkley during the first half against the Buffalo Bills. Credit: AP/Jeffrey T. Barnes
The Giants had the ball at the 1-yard line with 15 seconds left in the first half and did not score. Why not?
Because Tyrod Taylor saw what he thought was an advantageous look for a run and changed the play at the line of scrimmage, handing it off to Saquon Barkley for no gain. But the Giants did not have any timeouts left and could not scramble to spike the ball before time expired. They went into halftime up 6-0 instead of at least 9-0.
“It was a decision, looking back on it, I definitely shouldn’t have made,” Taylor said after the 14-9 loss to the Bills. “That falls on me as a quarterback, as a leader, as the person communicating everything to everyone. I have to be better in that situation.”
Shouldn’t the coaches have reminded Taylor before the snap that he didn’t have a timeout and should not run the ball?
Brian Daboll said they did.
“There was communication,” Daboll said. “He just saw a look . . . He ended up alerting it to a run.”
Daboll said the original play from the sideline was a “run-action pass play,” likely similar to the one the Giants ran at the end of the second half on the untimed down from the very same 1-yard line. That pass wound up incomplete on an attempt to Darren Waller.
What happened on the play when there were four personal fouls called, three against the Giants?
It began with Bills lineman Dion Dawkins roughing up Kayvon Thibodeaux while the linebacker was on his back. Thibodeaux began kicking at Dawkins. “He’s on top of me, I’ve got to protect myself at all costs,” Thibodeaux said.
Dexter Lawrence eventually took offense to the shenanigans and shoved tackle Spencer Brown. Then Leonard Williams rolled in and shouldered Brown to the turf. Thibodeaux, Dawkins, Lawrence and Williams were all flagged, but the penalties offset and no one was ejected. There wasn’t even any yardage marched off.
Still, Williams said the Giants need to be a little more chill. “It’s not smart to take it to that level,” he said. “We had some guys who could have possibly been in position to get thrown out of the game. But at the same time, I think we need to have that type of fight and support for each other.”
How was the offensive line configured this week?
The Giants' offensive line continues to plug along with different players in different places.
To start against the Bills, the line was formed, from left to right: left tackle Joshua Ezeudu, left guard Justin Pugh, center Ben Bredeson, right guard Mark Glowinski and right tackle Evan Neal.
Neal is the only one in his original position.
Pugh last played for the Giants in 2017. He then spent five years with the Cardinals.
And this is the sixth iteration for the offensive line in six games.
Which is not ideal.
During the game, Ezeudu was injured on a play in the first quarter and subsequently ruled out with a toe injury.
Pugh moved to left tackle.
Andrew Thomas, the Giants' best lineman, remains out since playing in the season opener. He was injured on the first drive of the game while trying to run down a blocked field goal. He played into the fourth quarter before leaving the game.
Did that set him back further? Nobody can say.
But this much is true: The Giants miss him.
With Kimberly Jones
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
