Monday Night Football: 5 takeaways from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Week 8 win over the New York Giants
The "Monday Night Football" game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Giants was a lot closer than anyone expected, with the Bucs eking out a 25-23 victory that came down to the final minute.
The New York Giants (1-7) played hard and gave the heavily-favored Buccaneers (6-2) a run for their money. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to start planning for their NFC South rival New Orleans Saints next week, and may have been overlooking the woeful Giants..
Both the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have left their fan bases with 5 takeaways from their game on Monday night.
5. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were looking ahead to their matchup with the Saints
The Buccaneers may have been taken by surprise by the New York Giants. This is something that happens a lot when a team has a big game the week after. The Giants were coming into this game at 1-6 and the Buccaneers were heading home to host the New Orleans Saints.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense was not as productive as it's been in the past couple weeks. The running game of the Buccaneers struggled to get started against the New York Giants defense. The Buccaneers did just enough to get the victory on Monday.
4. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense came up clutch in the end
When anyone mentions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the first thing that comes to mind is their offense. The defense of the Buccaneers has played great football this season, however, and came through on Monday. The Buccaneers' offense was having a rough game and the defense picked them up in the end.
Quarterback Daniel Jones and the New York Giants had the opportunity at the end of the game to even the score. Jones converted two fourth-down conversions on the Giants' last drive. Daniel Jones stood in the pocket and threw a pass that took a great catch by Golden Tate to secure a touchdown.
The Buccaneers' defense almost let the team down. The New York Giants conducted a great drive and were a two-point conversion away from forcing overtime. Daniel Jones was just a second late on a throw to Dion Lewis that was broken up by the Buccaneers' defense. The play caused a flag to be thrown by the back official. After a conference the officials ruled it was not pass interference and the Buccaneers defense held up again to give them the win.
3. Leonard Fournette needs to start producing for Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went out and signed running back Leonard Fournette after he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the offseason. When signing Fournette, the Buccaneers thought he would give them a big boost in their running game. Since signing with the Buccaneers, Leonard Fournette has rushed for 100 yards in just one game.
Ronald Jones II has been carrying the majority of the load for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' running game. If the Buccaneers want to make noise in the playoffs they will need to run the football. If the Bucs do not win their division they could possibly head to Green Bay in January. On that trip to Green Bay it is going to be freezing and they will need to run the football with power.
Fournette has to be that back to run the football with power for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even though Tom Brady is used to playing in the cold weather from playing in New England. The Patriots ran the football more when it was cold outside. This is why it is important for Leonard Fournette to start showing his worth to the Buccaneers offense.
2. The New York Giants need to keep Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram and Darius Slayton
The New York Giants have a good group of receivers with Sterling Shepard, Golden Tate, and Darius Slayton. They also have a great tight end in Evan Engram that can cause matchup problems. Golden Tate is almost ready to retire from football and the Giants will most likely add a wide receiver in the draft or in free agency.
One thing that is for sure, the New York Giants need to hold on to Engram, Shepard, and Slayton. Daniel Jones is improving but he needs reliable receivers that he can count on. The Giants already have that in the two wide receivers and tight end.
Slayton made a catch on fourth down against the Bucs that kept the game alive for the New York Giants. Daniel Jones was heading in the wrong direction and threw a duck to Slayton. The play after the catch was amazing effort shown by Slayton to gain 12 yards and keep the Giants drive alive. Jones has two receivers and a tight end that will fight for him and the New York Giants need to keep them together.
1. Daniel Jones is learning still and the Giants should feel good about his future
The New York Giants shocked a lot of their fans when they selected Daniel Jones with the sixth pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Daniel Jones had a great career at Duke but no one expected him to go in the top 10 with the quarterbacks that were in the 2019 Draft. Jones had a promising rookie year in the NFL, replacing Eli Manning.
Many people say that Daniel Jones is a faster Eli Manning and that is why the New York Giants selected him. In Year 2, Daniel Jones is still learning the NFL and how to make the right decisions with the football. One big problem that Jones has is holding onto the football too long. The Buccaneers intercepted Daniel Jones twice in Monday night's game.
On one of the interceptions, Jones was clearly going to get sacked and should've thrown the football away, but decided to try and make a play. That throw resulted in the Buccaneers' defense getting another takeaway. The two interceptions that Jones threw resulted in 10 points for the Buccaneers.
The New York Giants hired Jason Garrett as their offensive coordinator in hopes that he could help Jones grow into an NFL quarterback. Daniel Jones has steadily improved and that should have the Giants feeling optimistic about their future at the quarterback position.