Bill Kostroun/Associated Press
It won’t make up for two Super Bowl losses, but Tom Brady at least earned 2020 bragging rights over the New York Giants.
Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Giants 25-23 in Monday’s NFC showdown at MetLife Stadium to improve to 6-2. Brady, Mike Evans and the defense led the way in Tampa Bay’s third consecutive win as it moved ahead of the 5-2 New Orleans Saints in the NFC South.
A solid start was not enough to prevent the Giants from falling to 1-7 and further behind the 3-4-1 Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. They had an opportunity to force overtime with a two-point conversion in the final minute, but Daniel Jones’ pass to Dion Lewis was knocked down by Antoine Winfield Jr.
Notable Player Stats
- Tom Brady, QB, TB: 28-of-40 for 279 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
- Mike Evans, WR, TB: 5 catches for 55 yards, 1 TD
- Rob Gronkowski, TE, TB: 4 catches for 41 yards, 1 TD
- Daniel Jones, QB, NYG: 25-of-41 for 256 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
- Wayne Gallman, RB, NYG: 12 carries for 44 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch for 18 yards
- Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG: 8 catches for 74 yards
Tom Brady, Bucs Overcome Slow Start With Late Push
The Buccaneers appeared to be rounding into form as Super Bowl contenders coming into Monday’s contest.
After all, they defeated the Green Bay Packers and Las Vegas Raiders by a combined 53 points in their last two games and added seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown to an already formidable collection of offensive playmakers. While Brown was not eligible for the game against the Giants, Tampa Bay could feature the former Pittsburgh Steeler, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski down the stretch.
But fireworks were missing out of the gate.
Tampa Bay managed just two Ryan Succop field goals in a first half in which Ronald Jones II lost a fumble and Brady missed multiple open receivers. The quarterback also slammed his helmet on the sideline after he was sacked and was visibly frustrated.
It was just a matter of time before the all-time great broke through against the overmatched Giants, and he found his form in the second half with a touchdown pass to Gronkowski to give the Bucs the lead in the third quarter and another go-ahead score to Evans in the fourth.
Brady also stood in the pocket under pressure and delivered key throws that he had missed in the first half.
The result was a comeback victory, and Winfield helped out by breaking up the Giants’ two-point attempt at the end of the game.
Daniel Jones, Giants Offense Collapse in Second Half
The beauty of the NFC East for the Giants is their playoff hopes are very much alive even with a 1-7 start.
Wins are worth their weight in gold in the lackluster division, which made Monday’s game all the more important after the Eagles’ victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The path to winning figured to be through improved offense for a unit that entered play 31st in the league in yards (282.4) and points (17.4) per game.
New York didn’t waste much time finding some of that improvement, as Jones floated a pass to Lewis, who made a sliding catch for a touchdown in the first quarter. Wayne Gallman also found the end zone in the first half as the home team led 14-6 at the break.
Most importantly, Jones avoided the turnovers in the first half that have plagued him, which allowed the Giants to move down the field and keep Brady on the sideline.
That went out the window after intermission.
Jones was intercepted by Carlton Davis on the first possession of the second half when Darius Slayton was wide-open for a potential touchdown on the other side. He also threw another terrible pick to Sean Murphy-Bunting as he was attempting to avoid a sack when the Giants were driving to potentially go up two scores.
To his credit, the Duke product directed a brilliant drive in the final minutes with two fourth-down conversions before he found Golden Tate for a 19-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining, but his throw to Lewis on the two-pointer came out late and cost his team a chance at overtime.
It was the type of play quarterbacks cannot afford to make with Brady on the other side.
What’s Next?
Both teams face divisional foes in Week 9 when the Giants visit the Washington Football Team and the Buccaneers host the Saints.