It’s safe to say that the New York Giants 2017 season is already over.
For the second-straight week, the Giants defense broke late, allowing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to drive down in the game’s final minutes for the game-winning 34-yard field goal from Nick Folk as time expired, dropping the Giants to 0-4 in a 25-23 result.
The Giants took a 23-22 lead with 3:16 to go, but a failed two-point conversion attempt left the door open for the Buccaneers to win with any kind of score.
They managed to do so with a one-dimensional offense as quarterback Eli Manning attempted 49 passes, completing 30 of them for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns. By comparison, New York ran the ball just 27 times.
Early on though, it looked as though the Giants were in danger of getting blown out before halftime.
After a pair of three-and-outs from a stagnant-looking unit, the Buccaneers carved apart the Giants defense to get on the board first. After a 41-yard completion to wide receiver Mike Evans and a 36-yard rush from running back Jacquizz Rogers, quarterback Jameis Winston hit Evans for a six-yard touchdown to get the hosts on the board.
It was the first of three touchdown passes on the day for Winston as he passed for 332 yards.
On their very next drive, tight end O.J. Howard wandered uncovered down the left sideline and was found by Winston, setting up an easy 58-yard touchdown to give Tampa Bay a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter.
But the Giants managed to find their footing in the second quarter to get back in it. After an Aldrick Rosas field goal, Manning completed 4-of-5 passes to get New York deep into Bucs territory.
On a 2nd-and-4, Manning had no receivers open so the less-than-fleet-of-foot quarterback did the unthinkable: took it himself. The 36-year-old scrambled 14 yards for the Giants’ first touchdown of the day, cutting Tampa Bay’s lead to just three with 3:25 left in the half. It was the team’s first rushing touchdown of the season.
Starting the third quarter down six after the Bucs tacked on a field goal before the half, the Giants embarked on an 11-play, 61-yard drive with their first possession of the second half that ended in rookie running back Wayne Gallman’s first career touchdown, a four-yard reception to give New York a one-point lead.
But special teams brought the Bucs right back into things when a 15-yard punt from Brad Wing gifted the hosts with the ball on their own 43-yard-line. Four plays later, Winston hit tight end Cameron Brate for a four-yard touchdown.
After a failed two-point conversion, the Giants were trailing by just five with 7:44 to go in the game before the frantic finish.
