New York Returns Home To Host Tampa Bay

After being on road last week and winning on a last second drive by their quarterback Eli Manning on Monday night the New York Giants who are a member of the NFC East return to East Rutherford New Jersey to host Tampa Bay who is a member of the NFC South Sunday.

New York comes into the game with a record of 2-7 and are last in the NFC East while Tampa Bay who is a member of the NFC South comes into the game with a record of 3-6 and like New York are last in their division.

As for New York’s previous game, they played on Monday night and topped San Francisco out in California.

Pat Shurmur knew all about Eli Manning’s reputation for orchestrating late-game magic. He had lost games because of it as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, and had admired it from afar during his other NFL coaching assignments. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

But Shurmur had never benefitted from Manning’s preternatural ability to remain calm in the tensest of situations, and his ability to lead his team to a deciding score with a game on the line. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

Until Monday night. Trailing the San Francisco 49ers, 23-20, the Giants took possession at their own 25-yard line with 2:46 remaining. Faced with the dispiriting prospect of a sixth consecutive loss, Shurmur and the Giants needed Manning to excel yet again in the clutch. They were confident he would. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“Absolutely, because he's done it before” Shurmur said. “Certainly he knows how to do it, so we were very confident that he was going to do it.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

And he did. Manning threw passes on all nine plays of the drive – that was interrupted four times by penalties, two on each team - including a three-yard touchdown to Sterling Shepard that lifted the Giants to a 27-23 victory in Levi’s Stadium. The 350thtouchdown pass of Manning’s career gave the Giants a victory,broke their five-game losing streak and improved their record to 2-7. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“It was just time,” said Odell Beckham, Jr., who caught Manning’s first two scoring throws of the game. “We’ve been in many close games, so we knew how to lose them. We each had to find a way to win it and we did.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“We’ve seen it all along, I watched it when I wasn’t coaching here – Eli being able to engineer drives at the end of a game,” said Shurmur, a 20-year NFL coaching veteran in his first season as the team’s head coach. “That’s one of the things that he does extremely well and so I was happy to see that he could engineer that touchdown drive to win the game.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

The last drive was vintage Manning. It was the 36th time in the regular season he has led the Giants to victory after they faced a fourth-quarter deficit or tie. That places him fourth among active quarterbacks, behind Drew Brees (45), Tom Brady (44) and Ben Roethlisberger (40). Manning has also won five postseason games with spectacular late-game performances in two NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

Manning would never turn the spotlight on himself, not even after a stirring nationally-televised victory. But he clearly was very pleased. Manning had thrown only eight touchdown passes as the Giants earned just one victory in their first eight games. Reporters, former players and, at times, seemingly the majority of the football public said it was time for the Giants to replace him. Speculation had risen that rookie Kyle Lauletta might get a crack at the job Manning has held for 15 seasons. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

But as all those late comebacks indicate, Manning is at his best when the situation is toughest and his prospects appear bleakest. He played efficiently against the Niners, completing 19 of 31 passes for 188 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, a passer rating of 110.7 and one very inspiring performance in the final minutes. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“It means a lot, and that’s kind of what I told the guys this week,” Manning said. “I said, ‘We’ve worked too hard not to be rewarded with wins.’ We’ve kind of stayed true to the course,though, and each week prepare hard, practiced well, play hard in games, and we just weren’t able to get some of the outcomes or make some of the plays we needed to to win. And today we were able to do that. We scored some touchdowns early instead of settling for field goals, a couple on third-and-long, which is tough. So, that was great. That was big, and kept the game close. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“Defense did a good job getting us some turnovers and then dida great job making them settle for a field goal at the end, giving us enough time. A touchdown wins a football game, and we were able to come back and make the plays that we needed to to win.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

The game was close throughout. Beckham’s 10-yard touchdown reception – on third-and-eight – gave the visitors a 7-3 lead after former Giant Robbie Gould kicked a 53-yard field goal. Matt Breida’s three-yard touchdown run and Gould’s 36-yard three-pointer, sandwiched around Aldrick Rosas’ 20-yard field goal – put the Niners ahead at halftime, 13-10. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

In the third quarter, Breida and Beckham caught touchdown passes – the latter a 20-yarder on third-and-seven – and Rosas added a 31-yard field goal to create a 20-20 tie entering the final quarter. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

Gould’s third field goal with 2:46 remaining put San Francisco ahead, 23-20. If Manning couldn’t deliver with the game on the line, the Giants’ season would fall deeper into the abyss. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“It’s the same thing I always tell him: ‘Take me home, (number) 10,” Beckham said. “He’s been there plenty of times. We put together a drive.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

After an incompletion to Beckham, Manning hit tight end Evan Engram up the right side for 31 yards. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“We had a play we’ve been working on all week and we didn’t call it all game, we called it at the right time,” Engram said. “Just made the play and everything opened up the way we drew it up, and just had to make the play and got us down there.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

The drive slowed down because of penalties – a false start and holding by Giants offensive linemen, and holding and pass interference by the 49ers’ defense. But Manning stayed focused on the task at hand and on second-and-10, completed a 23-yard pass to a crossing Saquon Barkley for a 23-yard gain to the San Francisco 12. A pass to Engram picked up nine yards before Shepard eluded rookie safety D.J. Reed, Jr. and caught Manning’s pass for the game-winning touchdown. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

Manning, as he has done in so many games over so many seasons, had delivered again. Shurmur was asked what makes Manning so good in those clutch situations. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“We talked about it, even when I was learning the background of Eli from back when he was at Ole Miss,” Shurmur said. “Ernie Accorsi and Dave Gettleman – you know, the guys that drafted him and brought him here said he was just so good at doing that. Some quarterbacks have a knack for that phase of the game and I think he’s done it well. And he just played tonight like he can still do it.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

His teammates always believed he could. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“Eli’s been doing this forever,” Engram said. “He was the same E back there. Everybody else was just anxious, ready, hopping around, just it’s a big drive, but 10 is 10. We’ve just been working, fighting all season and tonight is a big night for him and big night for our team. It was just great to be out there and be a part of that with him.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

Manning couldn’t agree more. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

“It doesn’t get old,” he said. “That’s fun. It’s fun playing in those games and having a two-minute drive to win it. Those are the situations you want to be in if you want to have a chance. Obviously, you’d love to have a two-score lead with a little time, and run it out or whatnot, but you prepare and practice for thosetwo-minute drives to go win football games. To come through is exciting. The team needs that. The defense needs that to know that we can do that. Offense, we needed that for ourselves, saying, ‘Hey, we can win.’ If we get close in games, we can go win football games and we just had to do it.” “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

And so they did. “according to https://www.giants.com/news/eli-manning-s-clutch-play-leads-giants-over-49ers

Unlike New York, Tampa Bay lost their previous game as they lost to Washington.

After two straight road games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoyed a return to their home field in Week 10…or, at least, they enjoyed 80% of that home field. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

As usual, Tampa Bay's high-powered offense moved the ball with little trouble in Sunday's game against Washington Redskins, until it hit the red zone. Despite racking up 501 total yards of offense the Buccaneers could only turn them into three points thanks to persistent troubles inside the 20. The result was a 16-3 loss to the Redskins that dropped the Buccaneers to 3-6 on the season. Tampa Bay has lost six of seven since an encouraging 2-0 start to the season. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

"That's exactly what it was," said Fitzpatrick. "They did a nice job of bending but not breaking down in the red zone a bunch of times today. As a quarterback, when you get in the red zone, you've got to get your team into the end zone, and I wasn't able to do that today. Whether it be decision-making or whatever it was, turnovers, I didn't do my job today in the red zone, and that was the story of the game." “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

The Buccaneers' red zone troubles began right away, as they took the game's first drive down into scoring range before Josh Norman picked off an errant Ryan Fitzpatrick at the goal line. Three other red zone incursions ended in field goal tries by Chandler Catanzaro, one of which he made from 43 yards and two that he missed from 30 and 48 yards. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

The Buccaneers still had a very good shot to get back into it late in the fourth quarter, with a first down at the Redskins' two-yard line and four minutes to play. But Fitzpatrick took a sack by Preston Smith and fumbled, with Washington's Ryan Kerrigan recovering. On the previous drive, Jacquizz Rodgers had gotten to the Redskins' 18-yard line on a 10-yard catch-and-run, but he had the ball popped out of his hands from behind and it was recovered by the visitors in their own end zone. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

The drive that ended on Rodgers' fumble – one of four turnovers by the Buccaneers on the day – did not technically count as a drive "inside the 20." Still, on that drive and the five others that were red zone incursions, the Bucs netted a total of three points. That led to this rather remarkable statistic: Tampa Bay became the first team in NFL history to have 500 or more yards in a game but score three or fewer points. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Tampa Bay also did not force a turnover for the third game in a row and the fifth time in the last six outings. The Buccaneers recovered a fumble on a punt return in their Week Seven win over Cleveland but have gone 27 straight quarters without a takeaway on defense. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

"We can't move it like that, four to zero in turnover margin is going to kill you every time," said Head Coach Dirk Koetter. "We had a lot of chances in that first half. It was just not good enough. To move the ball like that and come up with three points – you're just not going to win that way." “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Fitzpatrick threw for 406 yards on 29-of-41 passing and once again spread the ball around when primary outside receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson were well-covered. Last week, in a similar situation against Carolina, Fitzpatrick threw two touchdown passes each to tight end O.J. Howard and slot receiver Adam Humphries. On Sunday, he threw 15 passes to second-year WR Chris Godwin and RB Jacquizz Rodgers, combined, and completed all 15 of them, with Godwin gaining 102 yards and Rodgers 103. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

"That was just the way that it went today," said Fitzpatrick. "That's one of the things with our offense – there are just so many guys, but that was the way it went today." “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

With Koetter taking the offensive play-calling duties back for the first time this season, the Buccaneers also gained 103 yards on the ground and 4.3 yards per carry and were a bit more balanced than they have been much of this season, at least early. At halftime, the Bucs had 279 yards and had run it 15 times against 23 passing plays. RB Peyton Barber consistently gained extra yards after contact and finished with 61 yards on 13 carries, averaging 4.7 per tote. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Tampa Bay's defense allowed season lows in points, net yards (286) and first downs (15). The Bucs had been allowing a league-worst average of 34.4 points per game but more than cut that in half on Sunday. Unfortunately, the team continues to have a difficult time putting together a solid performance in all phases at the same time, as Tampa Bay's offense also finished with nearly 26 points fewer than it had averaged through the first eight contests. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

"I think it was just especially frustrating because of the way we moved the ball, not being able to take advantage in the red zone," said Fitzpatrick. "It's tough." “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

S Justin Evans led the team with nine tackles despite missing time due to a toe injury. Gerald McCoy, Carl Nassib and Vita Vea all contributed sacks, and it was the first of Vea's NFL career. The Buccaneers didn't get a lot of pressure on Alex Smith until the second half, despite the fact that Washington was playing without three of its usual five starters on the offensive line. They did make plays in the backfield, however, with six tackles for loss in the game. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

The Bucs veered from their usual approach after winning the toss and elected to receive, and immediately launched an impressive drive down into scoring territory. Fitzpatrick threw across the middle for first downs to Evans, Howard and Godwin, and Barber ran four times for 15 yards. However, on second-and-seven from the Washington 19, Fitzpatrick overthrew Shaun Wilson and Josh Norman made the leaping interception at the goal line. With no one around to touch him down, Norman was able to get up and return it to the Redskins' 32, with a hustling Godwin dragging him down from behind. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

The Bucs' defense kept the turnover from leading to points, getting instant pressure on Smith on the first play, leading to a dump off to Peterson for a loss of one. On third-and-five, Smith tried to zip a quick slant in to Reed but S Anthony Adams stayed in tight coverage and knocked it away. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Tampa Bay's second possession started at its own 15 after a 56-yard punt by Tress Way and an eight-yard return by Humphries. A toe-tapping 16-yard sideline catch by Evans and a short third-down pass that Jackson turned into a 24-yard gain got the ball to the Washington 38. However, the Bucs soon faced a third-and-19 and even though Fitzpatrick made a remarkable escape from a near-sack to hit the open field, the play failed when he tried to lateral to Humphries but the pass, upon review, was seen to go forward. The penalty carried a loss of down and the Bucs punted away, with the ball going into the end for a touchback. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Washington then drove 55 yards for the game's first points, much of it coming on a play-action strike to Reed for 24 yards into Bucs' territory. Adrian Peterson tacked on a 16-yard run but the Bucs held there and Washington settled for Dustin Hopkins' 43-yard field goal. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

The Bucs' offense once again broke into the red zone on the ensuing drive, and once again came up empty. Barber started it with runs of 12 and 13 yards and a Fitzpatrick scramble and dive converted a third-and-five at the Washington 14. Fitzpatrick then overcame a holding penalty with a 14-yard strike to Brate at the 18. However, after a third-down pass to Brate near the goal line was broken up, Catanzaro pushed his 30-yard field goal to the right to keep the Bucs off the board. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Tampa Bay's defense got another three-and-out after that miss, keyed by Adarius Taylor's tackle for loss of Peterson on first down. Way boomed another 52-yard punt that was fair caught by Humphries at the Bucs' 22. The Bucs went from there right back into scoring territory, beginning with an improvised scramble and pitch by Fitzpatrick to Jacquizz Rodgers, with Fitzpatrick running ahead to provide a block near the first-down marker. Completions over the middle to Godwin for 16 and Humphries for 24 got the ball into the red zone for a third time but the drive stalled there, leading to Catanzaro's 33-yard field goal to tie it with 2:03 left. However, Washington was able to take the lead back before halftime with its own 50-yard field goal drive, leading to Hopkins' 43-yarder with 20 seconds left. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Washington got the ball first but was forced to punt from their 38. Way continued his strong game with a 58-yard punt that rolled to a stop at the Bucs' four-yard line. For the Buccaneers, the second half started the same way the first half went, with a long drive that came up empty. Fitzpatrick hit Jackson three times for 35 yards and Evans made an amazing spinning catch for 23 yards near midfield as the Bucs drove down to the Washington 17. However, an aborted snap on third down led to a loss of 14 yards back to the 30 and Catanzaro missed his 48-yard try. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Worse yet, Washington used that good field position to launch the first touchdown drive of the day. Smith converted a third-and-nine with a 20-yard pass down the middle to Maurice Harris, then scrambled down to the Bucs' six-yard line to make it third-and-five. On the next play, Smith moved around in the pocket to escape pressure and then fired a strike in the back of the end zone to Josh Doctson for a 13-3 lead just into the fourth quarter. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Tampa Bay's next drive lasted one play, as CB Greg Stroman jumped a slant intended for Howard and returned it to the Bucs' 14. Tampa Bay's defense held there but the Redskins still netted three points on Hopkins' 43-yarder with 12 minutes left. The Buccaneers got right back down the field on the next possession with an 18-yard underneath pass to Rodgers and a 30-yarder down the right seam to Humphries, but a second completion to Rodgers ended in disaster with Zach Brown popping the ball out of his hand from behind. The loose ball flew and rolled to the back of the end zone, where Washington covered it up for a touchback. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Washington got from there just across midfield and ran the clock down to a little over midfield before punting it back to the Bucs' 13. Fitzpatrick got it back into the other half of the field quickly with completions of 20 and 11 yards to Godwin, then converted a third-and-five from the 31 with a 16-yard out to Rodgers. A defensive-holding call erased a sack three plays later and made it first-and-goal at the two-yard line. Two plays later, however, Fitzpatrick was sacked by Smith and he lost the ball, with Kerrigan recovering at the Washington seven-yard line. “according to https://www.buccaneers.com/news/bucs-zone-out-in-home-loss-to-washington

Kick-off is set for 1:00pm. The game will be televised on Fox. “according to https://www.giants.com/schedule/