Buccaneers Implode, Lose To Giants

In a game that looked as though it was going to be an absolute blowout, the Buccaneers and Giants came down to the wire.

The Buccaneers managed to blow a 28-10 halftime lead, allowing the Giants to score two quick touchdowns in the third quarter to close the gap to 28-25. After a first half where Jameis Winston had over 200 yards and three touchdowns - all going to Mike Evans - the offense couldn’t get things going in the second half.

The defense was too reminiscent of the 2018 team at times, allowing huge plays by rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, leaving receivers wide open, and missing tackles.

The Giants took a 32-31 lead with 1:17 on a seven yard run by Daniel Jones. Jones finished with 336 yards and two touchdowns in the air while running for a team high 28 yards and another two scores. Saquon Barkely left the game in the first half with an ankle injury, putting the game squarely on the shoulders of the rookie signal caller.

Winston and the offense had to get in field goal range with a minute left. Winston found Chris Godwin for a 20 yard gain, followed by a 45 yard pass to Mike Evans to get to the ten yard line with thirteen seconds left. He took a knee to run the clock down to three seconds for Matt Gay who missed the kick wide right. He missed two extra points in the first quarter which proved costly in the end.

Shaq Barrett was an absolute monster again, finishing with four sacks and a forced fumble. In the end, it was the secondary and conservative second half offense that cost the Bucs a sure win.