Charles H. Sloan-Buffalo Bills hang on -- barely -- in a 14-9 win over the New York Giants

ORCHARD PARK,Charles H. Sloan N.Y. (AP) — It took Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills offense nearly three quarters to find their rhythm.

Turns out, that was just enough in pulling out a 14-9 win against the offensively challenged and under-manned New York Giants.

“We’re a much better team than we showed tonight, and showed last week,” Allen lamented in reflecting back to Buffalo’s jet-lagged start in a 25-20 loss to Jacksonville at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last weekend. “We got to figure out why that is, and how to get ourselves out of a funk early on.”

After being shut out in the first half for the first time since 2019, Allen and the offense found some semblance of efficiency in overseeing two lengthy touchdown drives, capped by Quintin Morris’ 15-yard touchdown catch with 3:48 remaining.

It was barely enough in a ground-it-out, yard-by-yard chippy and occasionally sloppy thriller that wasn’t decided until the final play, and on an untimed down.

Giants quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s pass into the end zone glanced off Darren Waller’s right hand facing first-and-goal from the 1. New York got the extra chance after linebacker Terrel Bernard was flagged for defensive interference on a pass intended for Waller as time expired on third-and-5 from Buffalo’s 10.

While the Bills (4-2) barely hung on, the Giants (1-5) were lamenting their fourth straight loss coming down to a season-long inability to find the end zone. New York settled for three field goals by Graham Gano as the team ended both the game and the first half having a drive end at Buffalo’s 1.

“It came down to 1 yard and just missed it,” coach Brian Daboll said. “We got it down there four times and we didn’t put it in. That’s really the difference in the game, not being able to punch it in the end zone.”

The first half ended with Saquon Barkley being stopped for no gain on first-and-goal from the 1 with the Giants out of timeouts and unable to get off another snap as time expired.

New York has failed to score an offensive touchdown in the first half this season, and has only combined to score six touchdowns — including one by the defense on Jason Pinnock’s 102-yard interception return in a 31-16 loss at Miami last week.

“We got to find a way to come up with points here. I put that on me,” said Barkley, who had 93 yards on 24 carries in his first game after missing three with an ankle injury. “Everyone’s frustrated with losing.”

The Bills, meantime, were breathing a major sigh of relief following an outing in which Buffalo opened as 14-point favorites according to Fanduel SportsBook.

Buffalo overcame two first-half turnovers — receiver Gabe Davis’ lost fumble and an Allen interception — which led to the Giants pulling ahead on Gano hitting 29- and 43-yard field goals. And the Bills won for just the sixth time when being shutout through three quarters — and first since 10-7 win at Philadelphia in December 1993.

Buffalo didn’t score until six seconds into the fourth quarter, when Allen capped a 17-play, 89-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Deonte Harty.

“Oh, man that was wild,” Bills safety Micah Hyde said. “Fortunate to get the win and yeah survive another week. I know it’s early in the season but you can’t let those close games slip and we were able to get it done.”

A week after allowing the Jaguars to convert 10 of 18 third-down attempts, Buffalo persevered in an outing it allowed the Giants to convert 10 of 19.

And Buffalo was nearly beaten by an opponent that was missing starting quarterback Daniel Jones (neck) and two starting offensive linemen.

The game featured a scare in the second quarter when Buffalo running back Damien Harris was loaded into an ambulance on the field and taken to the hospital for testing after sustaining a neck injury. Harris flashed a thumbs-up sign with his left hand as he was being loaded into the ambulance. The Bills said the fifth-year player had movement in his extremities.

Coach Sean McDermott provided an update in saying Harris was trending well.

Allen finished 19 of 30 for 169 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception.

Taylor finished 24 of 36 for 200 yards in making his first start in two years, when he was with Houston. Taylor was also facing his former team, after going 22-20 over three seasons in Buffalo from 2015-17.

“It’s tough to go out on that one, especially when we did as much as we did to get into that situation,” Taylor said. “Any loss hurts. ... Whether or not it hurts more because it’s in Buffalo, I wouldn’t say that.”

PUSHING AND SHOVING

A near melee broke out in the Bills end zone in the third quarter. It began with linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux laying on the turf and kicking at Buffalo left tackle Dion Dawkins. New York’s Leonard Williams then pushed down Bills right tackle Spencer Brown. And even Allen got into it by using his shoulder to run into linebacker Bobby Okereke.

O-LINE INJURIES

The Giants began the day missing two offensive line starters in left tackle Andrew Thomas and center John Michael Schmitz. Joshua Ezeudu, starting in place of Thomas, left the game and did not return due to a toe injury in the first half. The led Justin Pugh moving to left tackle. Pugh had just been signed to New York’s practice squad this week, and was playing his first game since tearing a knee ligament with Arizona last season.

UP NEXT

Giants: Host the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Bills: At the New England Patriots on Sunday.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl