The New York Giants proved their 2–0 record was no fluke after they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24–0 at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Giants got the ball to begin the game and took the field with something to prove. Eli Manning started the drive by handing off to Brandon Jacobs and threw a series of crisp passes to Steve Smith for 13, 8, and 12 yards. On the last of those passing plays, Manning hit Smith in tight coverage and the young wideout managed to come down with the ball sandwiched between two defenders.
New York refused to be denied in the red zone as Brandon Jacobs rumbled in for a six-yard touchdown run.
The Giants defense made an impressive stand in the first quarter as Terrell Thomas intercepted Bucs QB Byron Leftwich at midfield, giving the ball back to the offense with good field position.
Linebacker Antonio Pierce commented, “We had a lot of three and outs, we had turnovers, got after the running backs, got after the quarterbacks, just a pretty solid game overall.”
Manning and the offense went back to work with minutes remaining in the quarter. With accurate passes to Smith and Manningham and a 38-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw, Eli drove the G-Men into the red zone for the second time in the game.
As the second quarter got underway the Giants capped off their 62-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith putting New York up 14–0.
In the third quarter, the Giants defense continued to shut down Tampa Bay. Manning put together another sold drive that included a nice seam pass to Mario Manningham for 20 yards.
In the red zone, the Giants were in a prime position to put some distance between themselves and the Bucs, but offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride got too conservative electing for three consecutive Ahmad Bradshaw runs that went nowhere.
Lawrence Tynes came on the field and connected for a 26-yard field goal that put the Giants up 17–0. They got a scare on the same play however as right tackle Kareem McKenzie suffered a knee injury and was forced to leave the game. The severity of his injury is unknown.
New York extended their lead to 24–0 in the fourth quarter after Manning connected with Sinorice Moss for an 18-yard touchdown catch in the right corner of the end zone, beating beleaguered Bucs corner Aqib Talib.
Manning spoke about the Giants win, “I thought we did a lot of things really well today. We ran the ball very effectively and the passing game was efficient.
“Obviously one of our main concerns was once we got into the red zone, getting touchdowns, and we did a lot better with that today. It was a good win for us.”
In their first two games, New York struggled to run the ball effectively and was inefficient in the red zone. On Sunday however, they gashed the Bucs defense for 226 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions.
Eli Manning had another strong effort completing 14 of 24 passing attempts for 161 yards and two touchdowns. With Manning at the helm, the Giants were also successful on third down conversions, completing 10 of 16.
Assisting Eli in the offensive attack, Steve Smith caught seven passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
Not to be outshined, the Giants defense limited Tampa Bay to a mere 28 yards rushing, 58 yards passing, and no touchdowns.
For New York, it was a dominating win and their first shutout on the road since 1983.
The Giants got the ball to begin the game and took the field with something to prove. Eli Manning started the drive by handing off to Brandon Jacobs and threw a series of crisp passes to Steve Smith for 13, 8, and 12 yards. On the last of those passing plays, Manning hit Smith in tight coverage and the young wideout managed to come down with the ball sandwiched between two defenders.
New York refused to be denied in the red zone as Brandon Jacobs rumbled in for a six-yard touchdown run.
The Giants defense made an impressive stand in the first quarter as Terrell Thomas intercepted Bucs QB Byron Leftwich at midfield, giving the ball back to the offense with good field position.
Linebacker Antonio Pierce commented, “We had a lot of three and outs, we had turnovers, got after the running backs, got after the quarterbacks, just a pretty solid game overall.”
Manning and the offense went back to work with minutes remaining in the quarter. With accurate passes to Smith and Manningham and a 38-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw, Eli drove the G-Men into the red zone for the second time in the game.
As the second quarter got underway the Giants capped off their 62-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith putting New York up 14–0.
In the third quarter, the Giants defense continued to shut down Tampa Bay. Manning put together another sold drive that included a nice seam pass to Mario Manningham for 20 yards.
In the red zone, the Giants were in a prime position to put some distance between themselves and the Bucs, but offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride got too conservative electing for three consecutive Ahmad Bradshaw runs that went nowhere.
Lawrence Tynes came on the field and connected for a 26-yard field goal that put the Giants up 17–0. They got a scare on the same play however as right tackle Kareem McKenzie suffered a knee injury and was forced to leave the game. The severity of his injury is unknown.
New York extended their lead to 24–0 in the fourth quarter after Manning connected with Sinorice Moss for an 18-yard touchdown catch in the right corner of the end zone, beating beleaguered Bucs corner Aqib Talib.
Manning spoke about the Giants win, “I thought we did a lot of things really well today. We ran the ball very effectively and the passing game was efficient.
“Obviously one of our main concerns was once we got into the red zone, getting touchdowns, and we did a lot better with that today. It was a good win for us.”
In their first two games, New York struggled to run the ball effectively and was inefficient in the red zone. On Sunday however, they gashed the Bucs defense for 226 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions.
Eli Manning had another strong effort completing 14 of 24 passing attempts for 161 yards and two touchdowns. With Manning at the helm, the Giants were also successful on third down conversions, completing 10 of 16.
Assisting Eli in the offensive attack, Steve Smith caught seven passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
Not to be outshined, the Giants defense limited Tampa Bay to a mere 28 yards rushing, 58 yards passing, and no touchdowns.
For New York, it was a dominating win and their first shutout on the road since 1983.
