New York Giants vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tampa Bay Grades, Notes & Quotes
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers met a familiar fate at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, dropping yet another home game, this time a 32-18 defeat at the hands of the New York Giants.
Turnovers, dropped passes and missed opportunities helped drop the Bucs to 3-5 on the season as the Giants hop over the .500 mark at 5-4.
The Giants did more with their takeaways than the Bucs could, and Tampa Bay struggled to punch the ball into the end zone once they got inside New York's 20-yard line. Settling for too many field goals led to a 17-9 halftime lead for the visitors.
Both teams would trade field goals in the third quarter before the Bucs made things interesting in the final period. A 10-yard touchdown run by Winston—complete with a high-flying dive just over and inside the pylon—brought the Bucs within two points, but a failed conversion attempt kept the Giants in the lead.
Another Josh Brown field goal stretched New York's lead to five points, but the Tampa Bay offense stalled at midfield with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Head coach Lovie Smith elected to punt, but his defenses couldn't stop the Giants until they had kicked yet another field goal, leaving the Bucs with under 30 seconds and no timeouts to drive the length of the field for a potential game-tying score.
The game's final play couldn't have gone worse for the Bucs, as Mike Evans caught a pass and tried to throw it back across the field. It sailed over the head of left guard Logan Mankins and bounced right into the waiting arms New York's Trevin Wade, who walked into the end zone as time expired.
Mike Evans had a big day in the box score—eight catches for 152 yards—but he dropped six passes, including what could have been a long touchdown in the second half.
Tampa Bay's normally impressive ground attack was bottled up well by the Giants, as both Doug Martin and Charles Sims struggled for most of the afternoon, each losing a fumble that led to a score for New York as well.
Even with all the drops, Winston still threw for nearly 250 yards and went a fourth straight game without committing a turnover.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning threw for 213 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Odell Beckham led the team with 105 yards on nine receptions.
Position Grades for Bucs
1 of 7
| Position | Grade |
| QB | B- |
| RB | D |
| WR | C- |
| TE | C |
| OL | B |
| DL | D |
| LB | D+ |
| DB | C- |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | D |
Jameis Winston had another impressive outing, but the stat sheet won't show multiple throws that should have been intercepted. Even so, he's showing even more signs of improvement, and his comfort level in the offense and as the team leader is growing every week.
The ground game just couldn't get going. Aside from a 59-yard run from Charles Sims, Tampa Bay's running backs were bottled up all afternoon. Doug Martin dropping what could have been a long touchdown catch on a wheel route doesn't help the grade there, either.
Evans' drops were obviously painful, but he still had a huge day statistically, while rookie Adam Humphries made a few big catches in key moments. The highlight of the game for the tight ends was a diving catch by Cameron Brate, as the unit continues to play fairly well despite the absence of Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
The offensive line struggled to open up many holes in the run game, but they held New York's pass rush at bay, not surrendering a single sack.
On the other side of the coin, Tampa Bay couldn't get to Eli Manning all day either. Tampa Bay's front four kept the ground game in check for the most part, but they simply didn't get the job done when it came to pressuring Manning and making big plays down the stretch when they need them.
Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David each tallied more than 10 total tackles, but the linebacking corps was just a step too late in getting to multiple intermediate passes that went for first downs.
Tampa Bay's secondary continues to struggle with injuries, but Sterling Moore's performance was a huge plus for a unit that held the opposing quarterback under 300 yards passing for the first time in four games.
Connor Barth made four field goals, but the one he missed—his first miss of the season—was a costly one. Bobby Rainey was hit-or-miss in the return game.
Coaching will continue to get a poor grade until the Bucs clean up their laundry list of penalties. The Bucs were flagged nine times on Sunday, keeping them among the most penalizes teams in he entire league.
Even in Another Losing Effort, Winston Shines Again
2 of 7
The Bucs may have lost, but it wasn't without another gutsy effort from rookie quarterback Jameis Winston.
This year's No. 1 overall draft pick completed 19 of his 36 passes for 249 yards, despite tons of dropped passes. Winston added his third rushing touchdown on the season, tying him with Doug Martin for the team lead. He had a few errant throws, but he went yet another game—four in a row now—without committing a single turnover.
The Bucs have plenty of issues, but it's clear already that their young field general isn't one of them. Winston is taking care of the football and putting his team in position to win on a weekly basis, which is all anyone can really ask of him.
Drops, Missed Opportunities Spell Doom
3 of 7
Whether it was failing to score touchdowns in the red zone or dropping way too many catchable passes, the Bucs left plenty of promising opportunities out on the field on Sunday.
Tampa Bay couldn't take advantage of big plays on defense or advantageous field position, racked up nine more penalties and proved they still have lots of work to do on fundamentals before they can compete for playoff contention.
Coughing the ball up and settling for field goals is a recipe for disaster, something the Bucs found out yet again on Sunday. They were just close enough to smell victory, but the taste eluded them this week thanks to their penchant for shooting themselves in the foot.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Moore, Humphries Provide Bright Spots in Loss
4 of 7
Despite another frustrating loss, there were a few bright spots for the Bucs, including a pleasant surprise on each side of the ball.
Sterling Moore set the tone for a solid performance by picking off Eli Manning on the game's first play, and he followed it up with a handful of big plays throughout the game, often when matched up against Odell Beckham. With Tampa Bay's cornerback situation extremely muddied at the moment, Moore's play should earn him increased playing time in the coming weeks.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Bucs got a helpful contribution from rookie receiver Adam Humphries, who caught five passes for 55 yards, including multiple chain-movers in key situations. An undrafted free agent out of Clemson, Humphries is making the most of his opportunity with veterans Vincent Jackson and Louis Murphy injured.
Head Coach Lovie Smith on Costly Mistakes
5 of 7
There was plenty of blame to go around for the Bucs on Sunday, as miscues in all three phases helped contribute to yet another home loss.
Head coach Lovie Smith knows even though his team was close, almost doesn't count, per Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune:
"Dropped balls, untimely penalties, and two fumbles didn’t help us any either. We just did some things that kept us from winning the football game. It’s really kind of simple as that. We hung in there and we felt like we had a chance to win. We just didn’t quite get it done. And when a game ends up the way this one did, (mistakes) like that really kind of stand out a little bit.
"
Fans and players alike have to be frustrated to see so many chances for victory slip through their hands, but the Bucs are still a relatively young team that's bound to have plenty of growing pains, even in Smith's second season. Sunday's loss was just another painful reminder that they're not quite there yet.
WR Mike Evans on Dropping Passes
6 of 7
A quick glance at the box score might make it look like Mike Evans had a dominant performance, as the second-year pass-catcher hauled in eight passes for 152 yards. But Evans could have had an even bigger day had he not dropped a whopping six passes, many of them in key situations.
Evans made it clear he's not interested in racking up gaudy numbers if his mistakes keep his team from winning, refusing to make excuses for his drops, per Buccaneers.com:
"The Giants receivers were catching them in the rain, and I wasn't. I live here. That's unacceptable. I'll be better. I had my opportunities, I could have had a huge day and it could have helped us get a win, but I didn't do that. Even though it was raining, it was slick, I've got to be better.
I don't care nothing about (stats). I just want to win. I cost my team big time.
"
Evans did have his positive moments, including a 68-yard catch-and-run early in the game that helped set up a field goal. If anything, it's refreshing to see a young player who realizes big numbers don't matter if they don't lead to a win.
Even so, with the lack of depth Tampa Bay has at receiver due to various injuries, they'll need their top target to figure out his focus issues as soon as possible.
QB Jameis Winston on Leaping Touchdown Run
7 of 7
Jameis Winston gave the Bucs their only touchdown of the game, but he did it with his legs, rolling out to his right and finishing it off with a leap over the pylon to put Tampa Bay within two points of the Giants in the fourth quarter.
It was an impressive individual effort, but Winston sent the credit in every direction, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:
"I just wanted it. The offensive line was protecting their tail off. [The Giants] covered it well and the wide receivers, when I took off they started blocking. That's just want-to. When you see this team, we're improving so much and we're doing so many good things. We've just got to pull some of them out.
"
The score was Winston's third on the ground so far this season, tying him with Doug Martin for the team lead. Winston wasn't lauded as the more mobile, athletic of the top two quarterbacks in last year's draft, but he's already proving he has what it takes to make big plays with his legs when things break down.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
