Bills vs. Giants 2019 Prediction: Eli Manning, New York Upset Josh Allen, Buffalo In NFL Week 2

The Buffalo Bills are hoping to start the 2019 NFL season with two consecutive wins in New Jersey. A week after beating the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Buffalo heads back on the road to take on the New York Giants.

After upsetting their AFC East rivals as three-point underdogs, the Bills are 1.5-point road favorites in Week 2, according to the latest betting line at OddsShark. Sunday’s game total is 43.5.

If you watched the Giants in Week 1, it’s easy to see why they are underdogs at home, even against a team that isn’t considered to be among the top playoff contenders. After jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, New York was outscored 35-3 before getting a garbage-time touchdown in the final three minutes of regulation.

The Cowboys embarrassed the Giants’ defense. Dak Prescott was pressured once the entire game, taking advantage of a secondary that looked lost. The quarterback posted a perfect passer rating, completing 25 of 32 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bills scored the same amount of points as the Giants in Week 1, though they did so in a comeback victory. Trailing the Jets 16-3 in the fourth quarter, Buffalo scored two touchdowns to pull out a 17-16 win.

For three quarters, the Bills’ offense performed as badly as the Giants’ defense. Buffalo came alive in the fourth quarter when Jets’ linebacker C.J. Mosely left the contest with a groin injury and New York’s defense fell apart. The Jets allowed the Bills to survive four turnovers and a safety.

There’s no question that Josh Allen and Co. will have their moments against the Giants in Week 2. But will the unit have the same kind of success that the Cowboys did? Don’t expect that kind of game from a Buffalo offense that is mediocre, at best.

Allen looked like the same inaccurate quarterback that he was as a rookie. He was picked off twice—one interception came on a dropped pass—and finished the game with a 71.2 passer rating, despite a strong final quarter.

The Giants’ lackluster pass rush won’t put much pressure on Allen, though the signal caller won’t have as much time in the pocket as Prescott did behind maybe the NFL’s best offensive line. Allen was bad against the Jets when there was no pressure, posting a 51.1 passer rating in a clean pocket, according to Pro Football Focus.

Allen’s legs allowed him to win some games in spite of poor passing performances last season. His four 95-yard rushing games were likely an aberration. He only rushed for 38 yards on 10 attempts in Week 1.

It’s impossible for the Giants’ defense to play worse. Allen’s Week 1 was what we’ve come to expect from the quarterback. He will inevitably make some bad throws that give New York the opportunity to come away with their first takeaways of the season.

Allen has thrown two interceptions in four of his last six games. He lost two fumbles in Week 1.

New York’s offense wasn’t terrible against Dallas. The team was actually able to move the ball fairly well. Eli Manning threw for 306 yards and was sacked once behind a much improved offensive line. Saquon Barkley had 11 rushes for 120 yards.

There have been calls since the loss for Barkley to be utilized more by head coach Pat Shurmur. It’ll be surprising if the star running back isn’t a much bigger part of the offense in Week 2.

The Bills wouldn’t be road favorites if the Jets didn’t blow what should’ve been an easy win. The Giants and Bills had the same projected win total to start the season.

This point spread is an overreaction to one week. Take advantage of it and pick New York.

Prediction Against The Spread: New York over Buffalo, 27-23