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Self-inflicted wounds sink Bills at home vs. Giants

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Location:Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, NY

Overall records:Buffalo (2-1), NY Giants (1-2)

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In a Nutshell: **The Bills offense got off to a slow start and that combined with a season-high 17 penalties kept Buffalo from ever really threatening as the Giants calmly built a 13-point lead going into the fourth quarter en route to a 24-10 victory at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Tyrod Taylor and the offense were able to cut the deficit to six with just over nine minutes left, but the Giants got a big play on a 51-yard catch and run by Rashad Jennings with a two-point conversion to push New York's lead back to 14.

Buffalo had their share of self-inflicted wounds with a missed field goal, a penalty on fourth down that led to a Giants touchdown, a pair of turnovers and two Bills touchdowns called back on penalty. It all contributed to a missed opportunity to stack wins after a resounding win over Miami a week earlier.  

How it went down:--For the first time this season the Bills opponent got on the board first. The Giants got a 47-yard field goal on their opening drive from Josh Brown for a 3-0 lead just five minutes into the game.

--Buffalo put together a field goal drive of their own with Dan Carpenter hitting from 51 yards away at the 4:33 mark of the opening quarter.

--After a Devon Kennard interception on a Tyrod Taylor pass intended for Charles Clay, the Giants offense capitalized quickly. Eli Manning found Dwayne Harris for a 21-yard touchdown on a crossing pattern, but Josh Brown missed the extra point (9-3) with less than a minute to play in the first quarter.

--The Giants were about to tack on another field goal, but an illegal formation penalty by the Bills gave New York a free first down. Four plays later Manning found Rueben Randle on an 11-yard slant for a touchdown (16-3) for what proved to be the final points of the half.

--Buffalo finally found the end zone with 9:41 left when Tyrod Taylor hit Karlos Williams on a wheel route down the right sideline for a 23-yard scoring play to make it a one score game (16-10).

--New York had an immediate answer however, as Rashad Jennings took a swing pass 51 yards to the end zone, thanks in part to a few missed tackles by Buffalo. The Giants also made good on a two-point conversion to make it a 14-point game with 7:42 left (24-10).

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Subplots: **Karlos Williams in his first NFL start found it tough to find yards on the ground as the Giants crowded the line of scrimmage. He had just 40 yards on 18 carries (2.2 avg.), but did have a receiving touchdown in the game.

Tyrod Taylor and the offense had trouble stringing positive plays together. Buffalo's quarterback finished the game 28-42 passing for 274 with a touchdown and interception. He had a passer rating of 82.8.

With a first-and-goal opportunity on the nine-yard line Buffalo failed to reach the end zone, ultimately getting stopped on a 4th-and-1 at the two-yard line down 13 early in the fourth quarter.

Despite hitting a 51-yard field goal with no problem in the first half, Dan Carpenter hooked a 30-yard field goal wide left in the third quarter.

Buffalo's penalty count hit a season high of 17 in the game. It was the third time this season that the Bills have over 100 penalty yards assessed against them with 135 total penalty yards.

The Bills struggled mightily on third down on offense managing just one conversion on their first nine attempts. They finished the game 3-for-16 for a conversion rate of just 19 percent.

Stephon Gilmore got his first interception of the season near the goal line on an Eli Manning throw intended for Rueben Randle.

Inactives:WR Sammy Watkins, RB LeSean McCoy, S Aaron Williams, LB Tony Steward, G John Miller, WR Marquise Goodwin, DL Alex Carrington.

Up next:The Bills travel to Nashville to take on the Titans in Week 5 for a 1 pm kickoff at Nissan Stadium.

Photos of the action from Week 4: Bills vs. Giants.

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