What a heartbreaker for Bucs fans! Tampa Bay ends up losing a thriller in the waning seconds of the game. Rookie quarterback Daniel Jones shined for the Giants. The Bucs secondary looked like last season in the second half. Bucs lose 31-32.
Jameis Winston Played Well
Tampa Bay started the game off very impressively. Winston had an incredible first half, passing for three touchdowns and almost 250 yards. All three of his scoring passes were hauled in by Mike Evans, who finally had a breakout game after being slowed by an illness in the first two contests.
Unfortunately, the Bucs were not able to continue their dominant ways in the second half. Leading the Giants by 18 points at the half caused Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich to turn to play more conservatively. Consequently, the Bucs ran the ball more, which is reasonable considering the lead. However, the plan did not work. The Buccaneers only scored three points in the second half.
To make matters worse, Winston ruined his flawless performance with a turnover in a crucial situation. In the 4th quarter, he made a terrible decision by underthrowing his favorite target of the night, Evans. The ball ended up right in the hands of a Giants defender.
Other than that, Winston had a great game. He even led Tampa Bay on what should have been a game-winning drive with less than 90 seconds left in the game.
Some Good, Some Not So Much
Defensively, Tampa Bay was able to create pressure on the Jones. Shaq Barrett was a beast, once again. He finished the night with an impressive four sacks and two forced fumbles. He just seems unstoppable at the moment.
On the other hand, though, the secondary allowed huge chunks of yardage over and over again. Evan Ingram was a player the Bucs did not have an answer for. Once again, the defense was torched by the opposing tight end, he caught six passes for a total of 113 yards and also had a touchdown.
As far as the run defense is concerned, Tampa Bay did an excellent job. Saquon Barkley was a nonfactor, rushing for only 10 yards on eight attempts before having to leave the game in the 2nd quarter with an ankle sprain.
Tragic Figure Of The Game: Matt Gay
Tampa Bay’s kicking woes seem to be a never-ending story. While the rookie kicker’s overall performance was not too bad, as he made four of five attempted field goals, missing two extra points and the game-winning field goal is simply unacceptable. Gay missed in the waning seconds from 34 yards, which was practically the equivalent to an extra point kick.
On the other hand, Arians’ decision to take a delay of game penalty to make it a 34-yard try instead of a 29-yarder was definitely a head-scratcher, especially in regards of Gay having missed two extra Points from a similar distance.
One Bright Spot Of The Game: Ronald Jones
On a positive note, second-year running back Ronald Jones had a very solid game, again. He ran hard and found the right holes quickly. All in all, he finished the contest with 14 carries and 80 rushing yards, averaging an impressive 5.7 yards-per-carry. Hopefully, the former USC Trojan has turned the corner and is on the verge of getting his career on track.
It’s A Bucs Life… Again.
After all, a very promising start to the game kept Bucs fans’ hopes high. Yet, we fell flat on our faces. The Buccaneers’ record is an ugly 1-2 and things are certainly not getting any easier with two tough matchups on the road against the Rams and the Saints coming up.
Photo credit: buccaneers.com
