How the Bucs survived the Giants’ upset bid
Greg Auman, Buccaneers beat writer: The Bucs looked bad on both sides of the ball in the first half, but solved problems after halftime, getting two touchdowns from Brady and two big interceptions on defense to help pull out the win over the Giants.
After managing only two field goals in the first half, Brady went back to his best targets and got touchdowns to Gronkowski and Evans. The defense gave up a late touchdown to New York, but got the game-winning stop on the conversion to eke out a two-point win.
Why the Bucs’ offense should improve moving forward
Auman: The Bucs scored enough points to beat the Giants on Monday, but they’ll need much more on offense if they want to beat the Saints in six days in Tampa.
The good news? They’ll have new receiver Antonio Brown as an added option in the passing game, and Chris Godwin could be back if he’s made an ambitious recovery from the broken index finger he sustained in last week’s win over the Raiders. Without those two, the Bucs were inconsistent for much of Monday’s game, trailing 14-6 at the half and needing a late touchdown to Evans as insurance.
How confident are the Giants that Jones can fix his turnover woes?
Dan Duggan, Giants beat writer: I don’t know how the Giants can have any confidence in Jones fixing his Achilles’ heel. He dedicated the offseason to correcting his biggest weakness, but he continues to turn the ball over at an alarming rate.
Jones’ main problem is that he continues to struggle to feel pressure in the pocket. That has led to fumbles and ill-advised throws for interceptions. He made some heroic plays on the final drive to provide a glimmer of hope, but his interceptions were too much to overcome on Monday night.
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta / USA TODAY Sports)
