New York Giants vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gameday Blog
The Giants' season is teetering on pure ugly, yet thanks to a bad division, the Giants have somehow managed to stay within a game and half of first-place.
But if they want to cling on to that hope of maybe making some noise in their division, they can't keep losing games bu blowing opportunities as they have done most of this season.
The Giants have missed plenty of opportunities so far in the season and it has cost them a chance to be in a much better position than they are now in terms of record.
They won't have any room to miss opportunities against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who might prove to be the toughest opponent the Giants have faced all year.
"This team is an explosive team really in all three phases of the ball that you have to account for," said head coach Joe Judge.
"I think Coach (Bruce) Arians has done a phenomenal job of really bringing in a staff with a lot of continuity, guys that have played for him, guys that have worked for him in the past. It was easy for him to get a quick jump in this program."
If the Giants can do everything right and pick up a stunning upset win, it could put them right back in the conversation for the division lead.
Join in on the discussion below with your fellow Giants fans as led by Giants Country writer Jackson Thompson (@Jacksonbht), who will update you throughout the game.
What To Watch For:
- Giants are aiming for their eighth consecutive game with at least two sacks. The Giants have 18.0 sacks through Week 7, which ties them for eighth in the NFL.
- Giants are aiming for their fourth consecutive game with an interception.
- Giants are seeking to improve to 211-183-16 all-time in November.
- Daniel Jones aims for his third consecutive game with at least 70 yards rushing. Since Week 3, Jones is second in the NFL in rushing yards among quarterbacks. Jones needs 11 rushing yards (296) to surpass Fran Tarkenton (306) for most yards rushing by a Giants quarterback in a season in the Super Bowl Era.
- Tight end Evan Engram needs 11 yards receiving (1,989) to reach 2,000 for his career.
- Kicker Graham Gano needs one 50+ yd field goal to surpass Aldrick Rosas ( four in 2018) and Josh Brown (four in 2014) for the most 50+yd field goals in a season in franchise history.
Pregame
The Giants have promoted three players to be part of their gameday roster ahead of their Monday Night meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The three include running back Alfred Morris, defensive back Montre Hartage, and offensive lineman Chad Slade, who serves as a COVID-19 replacement for offensive lineman Will Hernandez.
Morris, a former Pro-Bowler and All-Pro in Washington, is the most intriguing promotion of the bunch, as he has the potential to make the biggest impact tonight.
With starting running back Devonta Freeman out due to an ankle injury from last week's game against the Eagles, Wayne Gallman is expected to get the starting nod tonight.
However, Morris is bound to get some carries himself and could make an argument to become a regular part of the offense if he makes the most of his carries.
The Giants have been looking for solutions in the run game all season and a couple strong runs by Morris could be all it takes for continued opportunities in a struggling rushing offense.
Morris is certainly the most accomplished running back on the roster and might even be the most proven player on the entire offense for that matter, but at 31 years of age, one has to wonder if he can still run the way he used to.
Meanwhile on defense, another veteran could be looking to make an impact of his first impact as a Giant with defensive end Jabaal Sheard also bound to make his first start as a Giant.
Sheard, a Super Bowl LI champion with 51.5 career sacks, was picked up off the Jacksonville Jaguar's practice squad back on October 20, but hasn't played any meaningful snaps for the Giants yet.
With the Giants' recent trade of edge rusher Markus Golden to the Arizona Cardinals, tonight could be Sheard's opportunity to fill in as a core defensive starter for the Giants.
First Quarter
Tom Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champion, has forged a career through pure motivation.
Whether it was getting drafted in the sixth round in the 2000 NFL draft or the public shame and four-game suspension he was bestowed in the aftermath of the infamous Deflate Gate scandal, Brady has always answered with championship charges.
Of the many teams that Brady would have particular motivation against, it's the Giants.
Brady's first two Super Bowl losses in 2008 and 2012 came at the hands of the underdog Giants.
Now Brady returns t MetLife Stadium in 2020 against a squandering Giants team that bares no resemblance to those he lost to in the past Super Bowls.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
How motivated is Brady against this group?
His motivation isn't enough to yield an opening-drive touchdown, as the Giants' defense holds up inside the red zone, forcing a 37-yard Ryan Succop field goal.
Buccaneers lead 3-0.
Speaking of motivated quarterbacks, Giants' second-year man Daniel Jones should be plenty motivated to answer Brady and the Bucs in a week where he's become the subject of off-the-field controversy, an anomaly for Giants' quarterbacks.
Jones and others on the offense were publicly revealed to have partied at a local bar without face coverings, a blatant disregard for the NFL's COVID-19 policy.
A primetime game coming off of an off-field controversy could prove to be the most important game of Jones' young career to this point. His performance tonight could heavily influence the narrative surrounding the feasibility of his future as the Giants' franchise quarterback.
Jones leaned heavily on the run game so far to this point to get the Giants' on the opposite side of the 50-yard line, but can't deliver an accurate pass to wide receiver Darius Slayton on a critical 3rd-and-long.
Slayton had his defender beaten on the route and was in prime position for a long touchdown. It's an early missed opportunity for Jones.
Now Brady is coming right back out.
And the Giants defense follows up their red-zone stop with a huge turnover. Linebacker Blake Martinez punches the ball out of running back Ronald Jones' hands as the Giants recover it inside the Buccaneers' red zone.
It's a signature play for the Giants' defense, who has had success with forcing turnovers this season and continue that trend.
And Jones is able to capitalize on this opportunity.
Jones delivers a clutch-third down pass to the front left corner of the end zone for running back Dion Lewis and a seven-yard touchdown to capitalize on the turnover and give the Giants an early lead.
Giants lead 7-3.
The Giants defense continues to deal, forcing a three-and-out on Brady's ensuing drive.
Second Quarter
Rookie offensive tackle Matt Peart is getting snaps at right tackle and is one of three rookie starters on the offensive line at the moment.
Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Shane Lemieux at left guard and Peart at right tackle is the vision for the future of the team's offensive line. The first look at that lineup is tonight, and to promising results thus far as the unit has kept Jones upright and opened holes in the running game against a powerful Tampa Bay defensive front.
One thing the offense has not been able to rely on is the Jones-to-Slayton connection, which appears to be off as Jones has already missed on a number of deep passes to an open Slayton tonight.
The Giants' offensive line gives up its first sack at an inopportune moment, as Buccaneers linebacker Devin White bursts through the middle untouched to take down Jones and knock the Giants out of field-goal range.
Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Giants cornerback James Bradberry, who spent four years in Carolina lining up against Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, has renewed that familiar matchup tonight, holding Evans to one catch for 14 yards. Bradberry played perfect coverage against Evans, breaking up a deep corner route at the last second.
The defensive line is able to capitalize on the long down-and-distance by Bradberry's good play, as defensive tackle Leonard Williams brings down Brady for the first Giants sack of the game.
For Williams, its his fifth sack of the season as he continues his campaign for a lucrative long-term contract.
Jones leads the Giants down the field and Gallman punches it in for a two-yard touchdown, his second of the year.
Giants lead 14-3
The Giants have dominated on both sides of the ball to this point, and its yielded an unexpected two-possession lead over the might Brady.
However, the Giants have had a two-possesion lead at some point in each of their last three games, but have allowed their opponent to either tie or take the lead each time.
Brady is one of the best there is at executing two-minute drives, and that is exactly what he'll look to do in the final minutes of the first half.
But the Giants' defense once again holds up when it counts, stopping the Buccaneers outside of the red zone. Tampa Bay has to settle for another field goal before the half, as Succop connects from 40-yards out to cut the Giants' lead to eight points.
Giants lead 14-6.
Halftime
It was a signature half for the Giants, but as always, it's only half the story.
Yes, a 14-6 lead against the 5-2 Buccaneers is impressive, but the Giants have held and blown leads all season, and they are still 30 minutes away from closing this one out.
Still, if the Giants play with the same first-half effort and poise that they've shown so far in the second half, it will be more than enough to pull off a signature victory for head coach Joe Judge.
The Giants appear to have bolstered their strengths and limited their weaknesses in their extended week of preparation for this game.
With 64 rushing yards and a turnover-free performance by Jones, the offense has done just what it needs to do and exactly what they haven't done so far this season, and it's carried the team to a shocking lead over Tampa Bay.
The one misstep by the offense was the lone Jones sack near midfield in the second quarter, which ultimately cost the Giants at a 17-6 lead, and Jones has been off target with some deep passes to Slayton.
Other than that, the Giants have been the best possible version of their offense in this game, especially for Jones and Thomas.
The best part is, the offense will get the chance to pick up right where they left of as they're set to receive the ball to start the second half.
Defensively, the Giants just seem to be in Brady's head tonight, as the future Hall-of-Famer has been off target himself on a number of passes and just appears to be somewhat buzzed in the pocket.
A couple strong plays in the secondary, especially Bradberry and rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes, has kept Tampa Bay out of the end zone. It's the first time the Buccaneers haven't scored a first-half touchdown all season.
Third Quarter
Jones' mistake-free performance comes to an end, as he starts the second half with an interception. The worst part is, Slayton was streaking up the field all by himself for what could have been an easy touchdown had Jones looked his way, but instead he started down Sterling Shepard and lobbed up a panic pass for a catastrophic turnover.
The Giants defense does its part to limit the damage from Jones' interception, once again halting the Buccaneers outside the red zone, forcing a 40-yard Succop field goal as Jones will come back out with a lead.
Giants lead 14-9.
Giants receivers have managed to get behind Tampa Bay defensive backs multiple times tonight and Jones just hasn't been able to deliver on-target.
Outside of Jones, the Giants' have played well enough for a much larger lead than what they have now, but momentum is swinging back in the direction of Tampa Bay quickly as Brady will get to come on the field with a chance to take the lead.
The rest of this game has to be a better showing by Jones, otherwise the bad press from the incident this week will be much heavier than it has to.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The Buccaneers offense is suddenly moving with authority.
Brady connects with tight end Rob Gronkowski for the go-ahead touchdown in coverage against cornerback Isaac Yiadom as the Buccaneers take their first lead since their opening-drive field goal, but a missed two point conversion limits the lead to just one point.
Buccaneers lead 15-14.
Jones and the offense are able to stop the bleeding, putting together a long 10-play 76-yard drive that took 5:45 off the clock, but it's only good for a 33-yard Graham Gano field goal.
Giants lead 17-15.
With just 15 seconds left in the third quarter, the Giants are bound to enter the fourth quarter with a lead, and it will undoubtedly be the most important quarter of Judges' tenure.
The Giants have faltered in the fourth quarter all season and they will be up against a quarterback who has been seemingly invincible in the fourth quarter. Do the Giants have what it takes to turn the corner tonight?
Fourth Quarter
A big pass breakup by Yiadom sets up an exciting moment for the Giants 2020 rookie class. Late-round rookie edge rushers Cam Brown and Carter Coughlin crash on Brady for their first career shared sack, forcing a three-and-out to start the fourth quarter.
Jones once again doesn't connect with an open Slayton on a wide open deep route.
One has to wonder what the issue is with the connection between Jones and Slayton, which has been the Giants' featured offensive play dating back to their rookie seasons last year.
On top of that Jones continues to make the crippling mistakes, with another interception. That's his ninth this season which is third in the NFL. On a night where the rest of the team is playing their best game of the season, Jones has continued to repeat the same mistakes and is playing the Giants out of a very winnable game.
If the defense alone is able to lock down this win for the Giants, they will have done far more than their fair share against Brady, and Jones will owe them a couple steak dinners.
The Giants defense doesn't hold up off the turnover, as Evans beats Bradberry in the corner of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown pass.
Buccaneers lead 22-17.
For Tampa Bay, 10 of their 22 points have come off Jones' turnovers, as the Giants' offense has left a lot of meat on the bone thanks to those mistakes.
The Giants defensive front comes up with a huge third-down stop at the brink of their red zone, as nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson spearheads a clutch stuff at the line of scrimmage to hault Tampa Bay's drive and force a 38-yard Succop field goal.
Buccaneers lead 25-17.
The stop keeps the deficit at just one possession for the Giants, but it costs them all three of their timeouts.
The Giants' last hope is for Jones to lead an eight-point drive without any timeouts to tie the game, and Jones simply hasn't done that yet this season.
Jones led a game-winning drive against Tampa Bay in his first career start last year, and he'll have to do it again right now to save the Giants' season and prevent an ensuing week-long PR nightmare.
On 4th-and-5, Jones just keeps the game alive with a pass to Slayton. Slayton is able to improvise with the game on the line despite catching the ball behind the line to gain, and spins his way to a first down.
Then on a 4th-and-17 play, Jones improvises himself and rolls out to buy some time for veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard to get open and convert on another huge conversion.
Jones then unloads a bomb to the end zone for veteran Golden Tate in the very back of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass, capping off a must-have 75-yard drive to the end zone, but the two-point conversion try is no good and the Giants fail to tie the game.
Buccaneers lead 25-23.
The onside kick attempt is unsuccessful and the Buccaneers will be able to kneel the game out.
Buccaneers win 25-23.
