The Week 6 Sunday slate closes out with a battle of the Empire State between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants. The Bills will be searching for a bounce-back performance after a sloppy loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London and a long flight home over the Atlantic Ocean, while the Giants will be simply hoping for a competitive game after three straight losses by double digits.
That will be a tough task with quarterback Daniel Jones being ruled out on Friday. Tyrod Taylor will start in his place, which is setting up the largest spread of the 2023 season.
It's not often we see a mismatch this severe on primetime. The Bills are still one of the best teams in the AFC despite puzzling losses to the New York Jets and the Jaguars, and the Giants are arguably the worst team in the NFC with the most disastrous injury report going.
Jones is out, while defensive end Azeez Ojulari, tackle Andrew Thomas and center John Michael Schmitz all didn't practice on Thursday. Running back Saquon Barkley, wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, linebacker Micah McFadden, tight end Darren Waller, cornerback Deonte Banks and tackle Evan Neal were all limited. That's how we've arrived at a 15.5-point spread on "Sunday Night Football."
The Giants have allowed a league-high 30 sacks through five games, and now they have to go up against a Bills defense that leads the NFL with 21 sacks and just welcomed back Von Miller. It's hard to imagine New York generating any offense in this matchup with a backup QB under center.
How are the Giants scoring in this game?
New York could realistically be without their starting quarterback, starting running back, starting slot receiver and five total offensive linemen. This is a team that ranks 31st in the NFL in scoring with 12.4 points per game through five weeks, and the injuries somehow haven't been worse than they are right now.
Buffalo has been the best team in the NFL at rushing the passer, and the defense ranks sixth in scoring with 16.0 points allowed per game. This could get ugly.
Cook has been abysmal over the last two weeks with just 25 rushing yards on 17 carries (1.4 yards per carry), but this is a good bounce-back spot for the talented running back. The Giants rank 29th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game, and they just allowed De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert to rack up 216 rushing yards on 10.3 yards per carry in Week 5.
Buffalo will look to get Cook going early after two poor rushing performances, and with how bad New York's rush defense has been, this ticket could cash on the first drive of the game.
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