Giants pull off 18-point comeback to beat the Bucs 32-31

If you had watched this game up until halftime, you would have thought that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have pulled out the victory. But if you kept watching, you would see that the New York Giants pulled off an 18-point comeback in the second half to propel them to victory.

The Bucs lost to the Giants 32-31, after a historic 18-point halftime comeback, led by rookie QB Daniel Jones in his first ever start.

The Comeback

In a game filled with adversity, Jones stepped up when his team needed him most.

After star running back Saquon Barkley suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter, Jones kept his poise and composure throughout the game. He cut into the deficit right out of halftime when he hit Evan Engram in stride for a 75-yard touchdown. A few plays later, Jones cut the deficit even more when he landed the ball perfectly to Sterling Shepard in the end zone. This made it a three-point game, 28-25.

To complete the epic comeback, Jones scored the game winning touchdown on a 4th and 5 from the 7 yard line to put the Giants up for the first time with 1:16 remaining.

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1175912566574313472?s=20

Jones finished 23-36,336 passing yards, with two passing and two running touchdowns.

Trouble for the Bucs

The Bucs got too comfortable in the second half, leaning toward the rushing game more than they should have, especially after QB Jameis Winston threw 3 touchdown passes in the first half .

The most controversial play of the game was when kicker Matt Gay missed a potential game-winning field goal from 34 yards. Head coach Bruce Arians said that he purposely got a delay of game penalty so Gay could have a better shot at the kick, but that tactic didn’t work when the kick went right.

Gay also missed two other field goals during the game.

Video: Here’s Bruce Arians explaining that he took a delay of game penalty “on purpose” before final field goal to back up rookie Matt Gay, who had already missed one extra point and had another blocked in the same game. pic.twitter.com/h4WIwaVdq7

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 23, 2019

Moving On

Winston, who threw 23-37, had 380 yards, and 3 touchdowns, is ready to move on and bounce back after the loss Sunday.

The Bucs now drop to 1-2 and will go on the road to face the reigning NFC champion Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.