Buffalo Bills Football: Winners and Losers from Bills' Loss vs. Giants

In a see-saw battle at the MetLife Stadium, the Buffalo Bills squandered a chance to assert themselves as the top New York NFL squad, losing to the Giants 27-24.

Ineffective defense and a couple of untimely turnovers doomed the Bills, who narrowly missed an opportunity to grab a quality road win.

Both teams broke loose for some big plays, but during crunch time, the Giants were able to make the key plays to come out on top. Buffalo, on the other hand, couldn't execute down the stretch.

Let's take a look at the winners and losers from the Bills' defeat.

Winner: Eli Manning

Eli Manning had an all-around great performance against the Bills.

He led five efficient scoring drives and led the offense without Brandon Jacobs. Most importantly, he didn't throw any interceptions, something he has been prone to do recently.

Although he didn't throw any touchdown passes, he gave his team opportunities to score with several long drives. He spread the ball around, using seven different receivers to rack up 21 completions and 292 yards.

After a tough loss against Seattle last week, it was important for Manning to lead his team to victory and hold off the upstart Bills.

Loser: Bills Secondary

The Bills learned what happens when you don't win the turnover battle.

Buffalo forced no turnovers against the Giants and had two turnovers itself. If Nick Barnett, George Wilson and company had continued their interception binge, the game probably would have had a different complexion.

Not only did the secondary fail to force a few turnovers, it let Eli Manning march up and down the field. The Giants chewed up significant chunks of yardage in both the passing game and running attack, and the Bills were helpless to stop them.

Winner: Ahmad Bradshaw

Prior to Sunday's tilt against Buffalo, Ahmad Bradshaw had just two touchdowns this season. With Brandon Jacobs out, he was given a chance to shine.

He was a red-zone machine against Buffalo, finishing off drives by scoring three touchdowns. All of Bradshaw's trips to paydirt were from one-yard out, as he was Tom Coughlin's go-to man at the goal line.

Bradshaw was a key component to the Giant's balanced offense throughout the afternoon, as his runs were mixed in to complement Manning's aerial attack.

Loser: Bills Rushing Attack

Aside from Fred Jackson's 80-yard scamper, the Bills' rushing attack was largely unproductive.

If you take away his home-run dash, Jackson ran 15 times for 41 yards. That's 2.7 yards per carry. Production like that is not going to help your team achieve a road victory.

Part of this ineffectiveness is due to the Giants winning the battle at the line of scrimmage, but a good portion of the blame goes to the Bills for failing to give their playmakers a chance to succeed.

Buffalo scored 30 or more points in each of its four wins this season; the mediocre running game against the Giants hindered the team from reaching 30 points and its fifth win.

Winner: Giants Offensive Line

The Giants offensive line deserves a pat on the back for a job well done against Buffalo.

New York's O-line unit prevented the Bills from sacking Eli Manning at all and allowed him to have one of his best games all season.

Granted, the Bills pass rush is not the most fearsome force in the league, but the Giants still merit applause for protecting Manning and paving the way for Bradshaw's big day.

Loser: Bills Defensive Line Without Shawn Merriman

Shawne Merriman has been hampered by Achilles issues the last couple of years, and the issues were problematic enough to keep him out of the Giants game.

He's nowhere near the pass-rush threat he used to be, but the Bills could have used his energy and emotion out on the field. Without him, the Giants turned the lights out on the Bills.

Winner: Terrence McGee

Although the Bills' defense collectively performed poorly, Terrence McGee was able to make some plays to slow down the Giant attack.

It has to be encouraging for Chan Gailey to see McGee play well in his first action since the season opener. McGee led the team in tackles with 11 solo stops and had a couple of thunderous hits to break up passes.

Buffalo hopes McGee can continue to progress and contribute, because the defense has plenty of room for improvement.

Loser: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Altogether, Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't have a bad game, but he had a couple of poor throws that cost his team a chance to win.

Both of his interceptions were balls intended for Stevie Johnson; both were under-thrown and picked off by Corey Webster. The second interception was extremely costly, as the Bills were deep in Giant territory and threatening to take the lead late in the fourth quarter.

The Giants converted the turnover into the winning drive of the game, sealing Buffalo's demise.

Winner: Corey Webster

Corey Webster's picks were the key plays that turned the game in the Giants' favor.

Fitzpatrick practically gave him the first interception, but the second one was a nice heads-up play. It was a back-breaking play for Buffalo, as it was on the precipice of a road victory.

His solid play against Stevie Johnson was critical to harness the Bills offense.

Loser: Bills' Road Woes

Buffalo turned heads nationwide with its surprisingly good start to the season. However, for the Bills to prove they are truly contenders, they need to win on the road.

The Bills have lost their last two road games and have proved to be a much better team at home thus far. On the road at MetLife Stadium, they struggled to make big plays when it counted. 

Until Gailey's group can win close games on the road against quality opponents, they won't be able to hang with the big boys of the NFL.