Saquon Barkley put together one of his finest days as a pro as he and Eli Manning led the New York Giants to a 38-35 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon.
The rookie running back recorded 142 rushing yards and three combined touchdowns, which was just enough to hold off a surge from Buccaneers backup quarterback Jameis Winston.
After Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched early in the second half, Winston led the Bucs on four touchdown drives which were almost enough to see the Giants blow a 17-point third-quarter lead.
For a team that has had issues scoring early all season, there were no such problems on Sunday as Manning, who completed 17-of-18 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, got the offense rolling early.
It took just six plays to get on the board, a six-yard touchdown reception by Barkley giving the Giants the lead just 3:18 into the game. The easy score was set up by a 41-yard completion from Manning to Odell Beckham Jr.
New York gained even more momentum when the defense came up with a huge fourth-down stop on the Giants five-yard-line, stuffing a Fitzpatrick sneak attempt to keep the lead.
The offense answered with an ensuing 12-play, 95-yard off the turnover-on-downs where Barkley once again punched in a five-yard touchdown. This time, though it was on the ground as he capped off the Giants’ longest scoring drive of the season.
Barkley also became the first Giants rookie since Butch Woolfolk in 1982 to record a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game.
After scrambling for a one-yard touchdown on fourth down, Fitzpatrick’s luck would run out as he threw three of Tampa Bay’s four interceptions on successive drives, forcing the Bucs to bench him in favor of Jameis Winston.
In the final minute of the first half and deep in Giants territory, Fitzpatrick forced a ball into double coverage that was picked off by Michael Thomas to keep the Giants lead intact.
The following drive to start the second half saw Fitzpatrick picked off by Alec Ogletree on Tampa Bay’s 15-yard-line and returned for a touchdown to put the Giants up 21-7.
Curtis Riley got in on the fun when he picked off Fitzpatrick in the end zone. Pressure forced the veteran quarterback to heave a pop-up that was caught easily by the safety and returned to the Giants’ 40. It resulted in an Aldrick Rosas 52-yard field goal to put the Giants up 17.
Winston ran with his chance under center as he tore apart the Giants with three-straight touchdown drives. Only a Beckham touchdown catch allowed the Giants to keep a slim lead because with 5:11 to go, Winston hit Adam Humphrey on an eight-yard touchdown to cut New York’s lead to just three.
Barkley’s third touchdown of the day was canceled out by a 41-yard score by Mike Evans, but the Winston magic ran out in the final seconds when he was picked off by B.W. Webb.
