Defense Leads Giants to 17-3 Victory Over Buccaneers: The Giants have got it going now. On an exceptionally windy day at the Meadowlands, the Giants got just enough offense to complement an excellent defensive performance en route to a 17-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants are now 5-2 and remain all-alone in first place in the NFC East.
The defense held the Buccaneers to a measly 40 net yards rushing, 134 net yards passing (on 50 passing attempts if you include the sacks), and 10 first downs despite missing three defensive starters (LB LaVar Arrington, CB Sam Madison, and DE Osi Umenyiora). On top of that, LB Brandon Short left the game in the second quarter with a quad injury.
Though the Giants’ offense struggled for much of the game, New York did not turn the football over against an opportunistic defense in weather best-suited for defensive football. Still, the Giants only managed 143 net passing yards, 108 net rushing yards, and 16 first downs. The Giants were also a woeful 3-of-14 on third down conversion attempts and 0-1 on fourth down.
The wind was definitely an issue for both teams.
“This is the first time I have played in a game where the wind affected your play calling,” said QB Eli Manning, who completed 16-of-31 passes for 154 yards and one touchdown. “Even though they were putting eight guys in the box, we were forced to run. It was one of those days where you had to just tough it out. We have had a few practice days where it has been windy, so we know how to work with it. You have to just throw it the same way and hope it gets there. By the start of the fourth quarter, we were in the huddle and I was trying to call plays and you see guys losing their footing. It got bad there late.”
“It was a windy day and they knew that we were going to run the ball,” said LT Luke Petitgout. “(The Buccaneers) are a fast defense that moves a lot. They played a good game defensively. We have to throw the ball, though, because you can’t just run the ball every play. We just had to hope we could take our shots and hope that the wind wouldn’t pick up too much when we were passing. The wind doesn’t affect me, but I definitely know it is going to affect our quarterback and receivers. It was definitely a factor in the outcome of this game today. But it was there for both teams. This is a tough place to play especially when the wind kicks up.”
“The wind played a significant factor in today’s game because we couldn’t get the ball downfield for two quarters because we were into the wind in second quarter,” said HB Tiki Barber, who carried by ball 26 times for just 68 yards. “(The Buccaneers) took the wind in the third quarter. And so we were limited to just running the ball and fortunately, as is the concept of a team game, our defense played great and held them and allowed us as an offense to just shovel along and ground up yardage and ground up the clock. We had a big win. They used their advantage by putting eight or nine guys in the box at all times trying to stop our run – which has been huge for us the last three weeks. You have to give them credit for that. We were fortunate enough to get the turnover and score on a big drive in the first quarter to get us down close and give us enough points to win.”
The Giants took a 7-0 lead on their second possession of the game as New York drove 53 yards in eight plays. The drive culminated with a great 7-yard touchdown reception by WR Plaxico Burress who made a one-handed reception with his left hand.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay offense went nowhere with five consecutive three-and-outs to start the game. The Giants could not pick up a single first down on the next two possessions after their touchdown. After a punt from the Tampa 3-yard line gave the Giants excellent field position at the Bucs’ 41-yard line in the second quarter, the Giants only managed one first down before turning the ball over on downs at the Tampa 28-yard line. However, on the very next snap, the Buccaneers fumbled away a pitch to the halfback and DT Fred Robbins recovered, giving the Giants the ball at the 28 again. Manning found Burress for 25 yards (had it not been for the wind, this probably would have been a touchdown). Two plays later, HB Brandon Jacobs scored from one yard out to give the Giants a 14-0 lead.
The only Tampa Bay points on the day came at the end of the first half, after a neutral zone infraction by David Tyree gave the Bucs a first down on what should have been another three-and-out. Instead after 13 plays and only 34 yards gained, the Buccaneers managed a 43-yard field goal. The Giants led 14-3 at halftime.
The second half was a non-descript affair with the only points by either team being a 31-yard field goal by PK Jay Feely in the fourth quarter. The Giants only managed one first down on each of their three possessions in the third quarter. Tampa picked up one first down on their first drive of the second half, then punted. After a mediocre 32-yard punt into the wind by the Giants and a 16-yard punt return, the Bucs started their second drive at the Giants’ 48-yard line. Tampa Bay decided to go for it on 4th-and-6 from 44-yard line. They completed an 8-yard pass for what looked to be a first down, but MLB Antonio Pierce forced a fumble. While the Bucs recovered, the ball was turned over on downs. Tampa tried to convert again on 4th down on their next offensive possession. After Pierce stopped a 3rd-and-1 running effort for no gain at the Giants’ 32-yard line, the ensuing 4th-and-1 pass by the Buccaneers fell incomplete.
Both teams then exchanged three-and-outs in the fourth quarter. Finally, the Giants managed to string together enough positive plays to move the football 54 yards in 12 plays to take a 17-3 lead with less than four minutes to play. Both teams then exchanged three-and-outs again. The Bucs attempted one last desperate drive, but it stalled at the Giants’ 21-yard line when a 4th-and-10 pass fell incomplete with less than 30 seconds in the game.
Post-Game Notes: WLB Brandon Short suffered a quad strain in the second quarter and did not return. Short was replaced by rookie Gerris Wilkinson.
Inactive for the Giants were DE Osi Umenyiora (hip flexor), DE Justin Tuck (foot), CB Sam Madison (hamstring), CB Frank Walker (hamstring), WR Sinorice Moss (quad), OT Guy Whimper, OT Na’Shan Goddard, and QB Tim Hasselbeck (third quarterback).
The Giants recognized the 50th anniversary of the 1956 NFL championship team at halftime. Twelve players from that team were on the field and introduced to the crowd: Ben Agajanian, Frank Gifford, Herb Rich, Alex Webster, Ray Beck, Sam Huff, Gerald Huth, Ken McAfee, Andy Robustelli, Harland Svare, Bob Schnelker, and Cliff Livinston.
BigBlueInteractive.com Referenced in New York Times Article: For those who have not seen it, BigBlueIntearctive.com was referenced in a Sunday New York Times article by John Branch. Click here to see the article entitled “The Giants’ Barber Is Ready to Move On. Some Fans Are Not.” Our thanks to Mr. Branch for the plug!!!