The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ latest defeat 38-35 against the New York Giants is the latest in an embarrassing season, with Eli Manning having a career day.
Manning had a near perfect 17 of 18 in pass completions (94.4 percent, a career high), throwing for 231 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and a QB rating of 155.8. In recent years, the two-time Super Bowl winner has been pretty far removed from the elite QB he was when he was averaging over 4,000 yards a season. It seems the Bucs’ defense served as a perfect tonic for his current mediocrity, especially since he’s 5-1 against the team.
Manning’s Giants have outscored the Bucs 175 – 115 in their 6 encounters with a completion percentage of 65.22 average for 1,557 yards, 12 TDs, and 5 interceptions.
Another QB the Bucs struggle against is Case Keenum, current starter for the Denver Broncos. He is a perfect 3-0 with his quick releases, usurping the Bucs with the Rams and the Vikings. Keenum has a career 70.7 completion percentage, 793 passing yards, 7 TDs and 1 INT against the Bucs.
In the post-Jon Gruden era, after 2008, there are several of what many consider to be average or just career backup QBs who seem to do better against the Bucs than they do against the rest of the league. As a reminder, these records may not necessarily reflect their career record against the team. Jay Cutler, who had stints with the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears, came out 3-2 against the Bucs in that span.
The Bucs have lost to a variety of QBs worth mentioning who were either career backups or had brief runs as starters. The Bucs have lost to these quarterbacks the only times they ever faced them in that span: Tyrod Taylor, Brett Hundley, Ryan Mallett, Austin Davis, Teddy Bridgewater, Brian Hoyer, Geno Smith, Matt Schaub, Blaine Gabbert, Charlie Batch, Drew Stanton, Trent Edwards, Jason Campbell and Chad Henne. Kellen Clemens managed to get two wins against the Bucs.
Have a personal story of the Bucs’ futility against a lackluster QB you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments.
