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5 Plays That Made A Difference

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 7, 2008

The first big test for the Bucs defense came on the Giants' second drive, on a third-and-1 play from the New York 23. To no one's surprise, the Giants opted to hand the ball to Brandon Jacobs, who was directed to run off right tackle instead of straight into a stacked middle of the Bucs line. It didn't matter. The Bucs were ready for Jacobs and dropped him for a 1-yard loss that ended their second drive after just three plays, forcing the Giants to punt. When Jeff Feagles shanked his punt, the Bucs took over at their 46 and 10 plays later, the Bucs led 7-0.

The Bucs had a lead but they were in danger of losing not only that, but also their momentum when the Giants lined up to run a third-and-9 play from Tampa Bay's 18 early in the second quarter. Even after taking a timeout, the Bucs seemed confused by the Giants' alignment, which resulted in Amani Toomer taking a short pass from Eli Manning and carrying it to the 6. On the next play, Manning threw another short pass, this time to Brandon Jacobs. When Derrick Brooks failed to break up the play, Jacobs muscled into the end zone to help the Giants tie the game and grab the momentum.

Fresh off a stuff of the Bucs offense, the Giants were pumped up and moving the ball again midway through the second quarter. They hadn't moved into scoring position yet, but when wideout Steve Smith took an Eli Manning pass and ran 21 yards to the Bucs 17 on a third-and-2 play from the Tampa Bay 38, a score became almost inevitable. In fact, that score, the one that gave the Giants their 14-7 halftime lead, came just two plays later on a 9-yard run off left tackle by Brandon Jacobs.

The game's first half was about as clean as it gets, with neither team turning the ball over. The second half was about as dirty as it gets. It was at least from the Bucs' perspective. On each of their first two possessions, the Bucs gave the all away. The costliest giveaway occurred on the second-half kickoff. When return man Micheal Spurlock was stripped of the ball near his own 30-yard line, the Giants turned their first takeaway into a field goal that gave them not only a two-score edge, but also another injection of momentum that the Bucs could not overcome.

The Bucs had some second-half chances to get back into the game. The best came on a third-and-7 play for the Giants from their own 11 with 5 seconds to play in the third quarter. Had the defense stopped the Giants there, the Bucs would have forced a punt that likely would have left them with good field position and a chance to reduce their deficit. Instead, the Bucs allowed Eli Manning to complete a pass to Amani Toomer, whose 11-yard gain gave the Giants new life. Twelve plays later, the Giants wrapped up their lopsided victory when Manning hit Toomer for a 4-yard touchdown pass that gave them a 24-7 lead.

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