The New York Giants are an underdog at home against the Buffalo Bills, but the odds may just be favorable to the visiting team for a good reason – the Giants won’t go into the game with all of their key players, with star receiver Sterling Shepard out with a concussion. Shepard had missed some time in practice with the concussion, which was picked up against the Cowboys in week one, but we now know for sure that Shepard won’t be able to make it back in time after failing to get through the league’s concussion protocol quickly enough.
This is the second setback for Shepard this season, who missed the entire preseason with a fractured thumb but was able to come back for week one of the regular season, something that didn’t last long as Shepard ended up with a concussion in his very first game this year.
The team will be without either of their top options at receiver, due to the four game suspension of Golden Tate during the offseason. The team did bring T.J. Jones, who featured in the preseason, back to the roster thanks to Shepard’s concussion, but it remains to be seen how much help the signing will be with the Giants missing the main names in their lineup.
Rookie wide receiver Darius Slayton is also out with a hamstring injury picked up at the beginning of training camp – Slayton missed week one with the same injury and the player will largely remain an unknown for now due to missing time in both camp and the regular season thanks to injury.
Can the Giants beat the Bills on Sunday without Shepard and Tate at wide receiver? We’ll see. But despite the injuries and poor odds, the game is still crucial for the team – if they lose, their record will be 0-2, and Giants fans are all too familiar lately with how an early record can spiral.