After a first half in which the Buccaneers scored 21 points off of turnovers, the Tampa Bay defense face planted, allowing Eli Manning to throw for a team-record 510 yards in the Giants' 41-34 comeback victory.
An Eric Wright 60-yard pick-six on Manning's third interception of the half gave the Bucs a 24-13 advantage heading into the locker room, but following that, the wheels came off. Connor Barth sank a 52-yard field goal on Tampa's opening drive of the second half, but from there, it was the Manning Show.
An 80-yard strike to WR Victor Cruz tied the game at 27 before TE Martellus Bennett allowed the Giants to take the lead with a 33-yard TD grab of his own.
But Josh Freeman (15-of-28, 243 yards, two TD, two INT) still refused to admit defeat, hooking up with Mike Williams on a 41-yard touchdown toss in the corner of the endzone to even things up with two minutes left.
Ultimately though, Manning's famous fourth-quarter heroics were too much to handle. Manning found Hakeem Nicks for a 50-yard reception to set up a game-winning two-yard touchdown run from Andre Brown. Freeman tried to lead his team back once more but the game was iced when one of his passes landed in the hands of Giants LB Michael Boley.
Fantasy studs/duds: Wide receivers were the story for both teams with Vincent Jackson(128 yards, one TD), Hakeem Nicks (199 yards, one TD) and Victor Cruz (179 yards, one TD) all putting up eye-popping numbers. Manning obviously had a huge game with 510 yards and three touchdowns, but it could have been his best performance ever if it wasn't for the negative points off the picks.
But Did They Cover?: The Giants comeback covered their 2.5-point favorite spread.
Injury Info: RB Ahmad Bradshaw (neck), WR Domenik Hixon (concussion) and RT David Diehl (knee) were all forced from the game and did not return for the Giants. CB Eric Wright did not return on for the Buccaneers after aggravating a lower back injury that bothered him all preseason.
Next Week's Schedule: The Giants only have four days to recover before heading to Carolina to face the Panthers on Thursday Night Football. The Buccaneers will continue on their NFC East tour next Sunday, taking on the Cowboys in Dallas.
For More On This Game: For more Buccaneers coverage, head on over to Bucs Nation. To join the Giants talk, pay a visit to Big Blue View.
