The Giants came into the “Sunday Night Football” clash against the Bills as 15-point underdogs, the largest spread of the season to date. Yet it wasn’t until the final second of the game that the outcome would be decided.
New York had the ball back trailing 14-9, and marched right down the field on the road at Buffalo, and a late pass interference play gave Tyrod Taylor and the Giants offense one last chance at pulling off a stunning upset. His pass was just high of tight end Darren Waller, however, and Buffalo survived to move to 4-2 against the now 1-5 Giants.
THE BILLS WIN #NYGvsBUF pic.twitter.com/uLwamFkT4N
— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2023
A quick look in the box score would appear to indicate a Giants victory. New York out-gained Buffalo in total yards (317-297), Taylor had more passing yards than Josh Allen, the Giants won the turnover battle 2-0 and had the ball 31:24 to win the time of possession.
So what exactly made the difference between a possible win and the eventual losing outcome? Here’s what you need to know.
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First-half clock management mistake
The Giants were set up in an enviable position: first-and-goal at the 1, 14 seconds left in the first half already with a 6-0 lead against the powerhouse Bills in Buffalo. And they squandered that opportunity to put Buffalo in a serious hole.
Taylor had tried to find Darius Slayton in the end zone but missed the completion, but a pass interference penalty by Kaiir Elam set the Giants up at the 1-yard line with 14 seconds. The only problem: there were no timeouts.
Rather than take several quick throws to the end zone, Taylor handed the ball off to Saquon Barkley. Barkley was quickly wrapped up by Bills defenders, and dropped for no gain. The Giants tried to scramble back to the line, but the ball could not be re-spotted as time expired.
“That’s a terrible, terrible clock management at the end of the half. That’s awful.”
“On the goal line, you can’t do that one.”
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth go off on the Giants, who completely butcher the end of the first half against the Bills. pic.twitter.com/liV7Yg0aHf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 16, 2023
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Daboll appeared frustrated with Taylor, who seemed to be pointing at his chest indicating he was to blame. NBC’s Melissa Stark said she asked New York coach Brian Daboll on his way to the locker room about the play, and he said he did not want to talk about it. She tried to ask him about any positives from the half, and he said: “I cannot focus on anything right now.”
Brian Daboll is LIVID at Tyrod Taylor, who clearly checked to a run play — just AWFUL decision-making.
Giants needed to come away with points, and they imploded, as usual. pic.twitter.com/4IngutkGDE
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) October 16, 2023
After the game, Daboll explained it was a run-action pass play, and that Taylor had alerted the play to a run before the play started. He said he had communicated to his quarterback that they could not hand the ball off, but that it happened anyway.
“He saw a look based on the play that we had and he ended up alerting it, alerting it to a run,” Daboll said.
Taylor confirmed Daboll’s account after the game that he had checked out of the play, and had checked to a run. He acknowledged it was the wrong call, saying that he “should’ve just let the play alone.”
“It was a decision looking back on it definitely shouldn’t have made,” Taylor said. “I alerted to a run because I’d seen a look that was beneficial for us and it wasn’t the right call and that falls on me as a quarterback, as a leader, as the one that’s communicating everything to everyone. Got to be better in that situation.”
The play wound up being pivotal down the stretch. Had the Giants taken the three points, all they would have needed to do was get into field-goal range for Graham Gano to kick a field goal that would have been enough to put the Giants over the Bills at the end of the game.
Second-half ending play call
History has a way of repeating itself, and it came back to rear around in the second half.
Waller drew the pass interference penalty as time expired on a pass into the end zone, meaning the ball would once again be spotted at the Bills’ 1-yard line with no time left. This time, with the play being an untimed down, the Giants had the option of a run on the table.
Rather than hand the ball off to Barkley, the Giants opted to try and throw the ball to Waller, and it sailed just over his head for an incompletion.
Daboll explained there had been discussion about running it, but the previous stops deterred them from trying it.
“We got stopped on two third-and-1s and we got stopped at the end of the half so I think that [offensive coordinator Mike Kafka] had was the right play call,” Daboll said.
He said the play call was a similar run-action pass play call to the one designed at the end of the first half, though it had different personnel players out on the field.
“It was a run-action pass so it was a similar run, different personnel groups. Double-team run where we’re hoping they would all suck up on Saquon and give a one-on-one to Darren Waller,” Daboll said.
Missed pass interference?
Is any close ending in the NFL really complete without some controversy? There certainly was some at the end of the game on the pass to Waller.
As Waller was going up for the ball, it appeared Bills corner Taron Johnson had made enough contact with Waller to be called either for holding before the ball was in the air or for interference with the ball in the air.
Great breakdown by @CollinsworthPFF breaking down if the #Bills should’ve been called for holding Darren Waller….pic.twitter.com/Tubne8I8LJ https://t.co/bvcuipAsd2
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 16, 2023
Daboll was asked if there was any thought that Waller might have been held on the final play, and responded: “Yeah. Yeah it wasn’t called.”
Waller said he did not think he should ask for the penalty, instead saying he should have been able to bring down the pass anyway.
“There was contact, but I’m not somebody who’s going to get into what a call should have been or tell officials how to do their job because there’s a way for me to make that play there and it wasn’t made so that’s what I focus on,” Waller said.
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