New York Giants
at
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
N.Y. Giants 32, Tampa Bay 31 – Okay, so this win by the Giants was, in certain respects, almost a blast in the past for me. How so? Well, the Giants played this game on the road in Tampa, and won by a single point after their opponents missed a field goal attempt that sailed just wide to the right. At one point, the Giants were down 12-3 (in fact, they were down by 18 points at one point), but they managed to come back and win in the end. And they did it with a new, mobile quarterback who had replaced the largely immobile, longtime starting quarterback, who had enjoyed Super Bowl success in the past. If you are a Giants fan beyond a certain age, all of that should remind you of another very huge game in Giants history, when they beat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV, which was played in Tampa, by a single point after Scott Norwood’s field goal sailed wide right. They did it with Jeff Hostetler having replaced Phil Simms at the helm earlier in the season, and they had to overcome a 12-3 deficit.
Now, to be sure, there were differences. And yes, I am aware that this was far from a Super Bowl game. In fact, both teams are 1-2, and hardly looking like playoff caliber teams, let alone Super Bowl championship teams. But Maybe, just maybe, that is a positive sign, the beginning of a turnaround. Hey, I’m a Giants fan, so I can hope, right?
It was also just nice seeing the G-Men actually win a game again, as their 0-2 start was a bit rough. They looked awful in Dallas during the season opener, and never got anything going against this year’s addition of the Buffalo Bills last weekend, which was a far cry from that Super Bowl back in January of 1991, when Big Blue just edged the Bills to win their second title in five seasons.
This, however, was just the first victory of the season for the Giants. But it was the first win for Daniel Jones in his first career start. The Giants offense actually showed some real life, scoring 32 points. Jones himself completed 23 of 36 pass attempts for 336 yards and two touchdowns, and running for two more touchdowns. All of which is very good, given that this was his first ever start. But he capably led the Giants offense, keeping them cool and focused when down 18 points on the road, using both his arm and his legs to help get New York back in the game and, ultimately, lifting them to a win. Wide receiver Evan Engram was instrumental, reeling in six passes for 113 yards and one touchdown.
It was not all pretty for the offense, however. While they did gain 384 total yards, the vast majority of it came from the arm of Jones. They turned the ball over twice, produced significantly less first downs than Tampa Bay, and lost the time of possession battle. They also appeared sluggish through most of the first half. But the biggest blow to the Giants came in the first half, when Saquon Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain in the first half. He had an MRI, and it is as yet unknown the severity of the injury, or when he might return for the Giants. Clearly, that was the worst news of the day for Big Blue, on a day that was kind of a mixed bag of fortunes for them.
Also, their defense looked suspect at times. They played well enough in the end to allow the offensive production to stand up enough to secure the win, although some of that was luck, given the missed field goal that otherwise would have provided Tampa with the win. Jameis Winston had a fine day, even in a losing effort, as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns, with one INT. But Winston was really on fire in the first half before the Giants defense cooled him off in the second. Tampa Bay also nearly produced 500 yards of offense, falling just one yard shy of that mark. Winston had one of the best games of his NFL career, even though it was one that ultimately fell just short of success. Tampa Bay also produced 144 rushing yards, which helped them win the time of possession battle. Ronald Jones gained 80 yards on 14 carries, leading all runners. The good news is that New York’s defense finally tightened when they had to. Down 28-10 at halftime. They yielded only one field goal in the entire second half, which obviously helped the G-Men to finally win their first game of this season.
Ultimately, it was a win for the G-Men. Since they had a total of eight wins in the prior two seasons, and none prior to this narrow victory so far this season, these have been few and far between. But it was a solid win for the Giants, one that fans like me can be happy about. This was the second biggest comeback win by a rooking quarterback in NFL history, and it was also the biggest comeback for the Giants since they came back from 18 points down against the then Baltimore Colts back in September of 1963. To put that into perspective, John F. Kennedy was still in the White House, and the war in Vietnam had not yet captured the attention of the entire nation, as it soon would. So, this was a big deal for the Giants, a huge win. It also gets the monkey off their back to produce their first win, and it also means that they produced at least 30 points in a game much earlier than they have done it in a long time, as 30 + point games have also been few and far between for the Giants offense in recent seasons.
A huge win for Big Blue!
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