Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
Man, that was something. Eli Manning went from goat to hero with 510 yards passing, a career high, and second most ever for the New York Giants as they came back and beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-34 with a 25 point fourth quarter. Here are some takeaways from the game.
Ouch Babe: That was a lot of injuries to come back from. David Diehl, Domenik Hixon and Ahmad Bradshaw all left the game with various injuries. With a short week this week, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if none of those guys played Thursday night. Their replacements stepped up as Will Beatty came in and did a good job at left tackle, Ramses Barden helped in three wide sets and Andre Brown had 71 yards rushing. The Giants are fortunate that no one was hurt on the last play when it appeared the Buccaneers’ defensive line dove at the Giants O-Line’s legs.
No Rush: The Giants were only able to get two sacks of Josh Freeman in this game and again it was from the interior of the defensive line. Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul need to start getting some sacks. They did do a better job of stopping the running game. Doug Martin only had 66 yards, but his touchdown run stung.
On The Outside: These are the kinds of games you need from your starting wide receivers if you’re going to come back. Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks each had over 10 catches and almost 200 yards receiving each. This was big for Nicks who looked healthy, though don’t be surprised if he doesn’t practice leading up to Thursday. Cruz needed to rebound from his performance last week and did so.
