Giants (2-8) Tampa Bay (4-6)
Before their bye week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off against the San Francisco 49ers. It was a close game, with the 49ers missing on three of their field goal attempts. On the last play of the game San Francisco got it right, a 44-yard field goal gave them a 23-20 win over the Buccaneers.
The Giants were also on a bye after hosting the Carolina Panthers. The Giants trailed up until the last play, a field goal to tie up the game. The Giants had the ball first in overtime, and a first play fumble led to a 20-17 win by the Panthers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers were stuck in muddy waters until Tom Brady came aboard in 2020. They hadn't been to the playoffs in 12 years. Brady's rescue ship even included former crewmate, tight end Rob Gronkowski. Still, it took a lot to right the Buccaneers ship during that season. They started off at 6-2, but four games later were at 7-5. Wide receiver Antonio Brown heard Brady's SOS, and he joined up in week nine.
Brown hadn't played football in over a year, but he got his sea legs going to help the Bucs finish at 11-5.
Tampa Bay was then a traveling team for every playoff game. They went on to beat Washington, New Orleans, and Green Bay, before handing Kansas City a 31-9 loss in Super Bowl LV. Brady got the team into the the playoffs the next two years he played with them. Baker Mayfield did the same for them last year when he took over the quarterback slot.

Buccaneers Offense
The Buccaneers are one of the top ten passing, and running teams, and their 28 points a game has them fifth in scoring. All those numbers are much better than last year. Baker Mayfield is completing over 70 percent of his passes, which is the highest in his career. Mayfield has already thrown 24 touchdowns, and with seven games left, should easily top the career high 28 touchdown mark he set last year. Mayfield has been missing Mike Evans, as he's been out for three games with a hamstring injury. Evans still leads the team with his 6 touchdown catches, and he's back for this game. Chris Godwin is right behind him with 5, playing in the same number of games, but he is out for the season.
Tight end Cade Otton has taken a lead role with 49 catches for 456 yards and 4 touchdowns. Otton has seen more passes come his way during the stretch those two top receivers have been out. The same goes for former Giant Sterling Shepard. Running back Rachaad White was the third leading receiver on the team last year, and rookie Bucky Irving hasn't missed a catch in the past six games. The two running backs have been targeted 69 times this season, and missed on only 6, averaging over 7 yards a catch. Irving right now leads White in carries and yards, with a rushing yards average of over 5 yards a carry, and he has 4 rushing touchdowns.

Buccaneers Defense
Things have not gone well for the Buccaneers defense this year. They haven't improved on their weaknesses, and their strengths have taken a nose dive. They were ranked fifth with their rushing defense, and now are giving up 30 more rushing yards a game. Their passing defense was ranked a low 29th in the NFL, and allowing 264 yards has them in the 30th spot. Opposing teams are averaging almost 6 yards a play. All this adds up to giving away 26.6 points a game, compared to last years 19.1, In the four games the Bucs have won, the winning points averaged 35 points a game, and in the six losses 23.
This week they have an advantage of playing against a quarterback who is in charge of the offense for the first time this season. On the flip side, Brian Daboll is likely to change his play calling this week to suit things better for Tommy DeVito. Any tendencies the defense may have uncovered over the past games might not be there for them in this one. One tendency they'll be hoping for is that the Giants continue to be one of the top teams in dropped passes.
That's especially so, since currently most of the players that are appearing on their injury report are in their secondary. Rookie safety Tykee Smith Smith has shown he can do the job, but was injured in a practice before missing their last game, and will be out for this one as well. Three cornerbacks are in the mix. Jamel Dean is dealing with a hamstring injury that had him on injured reserve. Zyon McCollum also has a hamstring issue, and Troy Hill has a bad ankle.

Giants Offense
Daniel Jones made his first career start against Tampa Bay in 2019. In that game Jones threw 2 touchdowns, and ran for 2 more, to lead the Giants to a 32-31 win. A lot has changed since then, and you won't see Jones back on the field against the Buccaneers. Eli Manning was benched for that first game, and now Jones is off the team for this one. It should be noted in that Tampa Bay game Saquon Barkley was out in the first half after hurting his ankle, and he spent the second half on the sideline on crutches. Jones has had Barkley's skills available in just 38 games in the 5 years the two had played together.
Third string quarterback Tommy DeVito was given the starting role over backup Drew Lock. DeVito doesn't have Barkley, but he does have Tyrone Tracy, who was selected in the fifth round of the draft. Devin Singletary was brought in to supplement the loss of Barkley, but Tracy has become the lead rusher over the last six games, averaging over 5 yards a carry. Rookie, Malik Nabers, though missing two games while under concussion protocol, is the leading receiver, with 61 receptions on 94 targets and 3 touchdowns.
Another rookie, tight end Theo Johnson, has shown he can use his hands as well as block over that same stretch, catching 18 of 24 for 201 yards and 1 touchdown. Wan'Dale Robinson has 2 touchdowns, and Darius Slayton has 1. Those four receivers have accounted for 91 of the teams 106 passing first downs, and 7 of the 8 touchdowns thrown. Tight end Chris Manhertz has caught the other one
The Giants offensive line has been a work in progress since left tackle Andrew Thomas went on IR. It looks to be the most stable then it's been for DeVito's first start. Last game Evan Neal did very well starting at right tackle for the first time this season. Jermaine Eluemunor was moved to the left side, as the best option for that spot, and he adjusted as the game moved on.

Giants Defense
The Giants passing attack has come up with 36 sacks, when last year they were near the bottom with 34 on the full season. Their pass defense is fourth in the NFL, allowing just 184 passing yards a game. Those are major improvements, and the bye week came at a good time. For one thing, they were able to activate edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux from IR after he missed five games with a fractured wrist injury. They might limit his playing as they ease him in, but they sure can use Thibodeaux's skills on the field, playing along with Brian Burns and Azeez Ojulari.
The bye also gave them an opportunity to review how the run defense has failed them in games. The Giants are at the bottom in the league, allowing 5.3 yards per rush. That average sits so high because they have given up 20-plus runs 15 times, and 40-plus runs 4 times in the games they've played. Teams know if they pound away, sooner or later the Giants will give them what they need.
The Buccaneers can score a lot of points, and it would help if the defense came up with a few more takeaways. They have had only one interception on the year, and that was in their first game of the season. Dexter Lawrence is the best player on the defense against the run and rushing the passer, but he can't do it all. Others need to step up and put an end to all the missed tackles that hold this defense back.

Overall
Tampa Bay has lost four games in a row, and are the favorites in this game over the Giants who have lost the last five. The rookies the Giants drafted have experienced some growing pains, but now have ten games under their belts and had a bye week to reflect on some mistakes they've made. The Giants are celebrating their 100th year playing football, and have lost every home game. The fans will be hoping the Giants can put it all together for once, and come up with a win for them this Sunday.

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Next Games
Nov 28 Giants at Cowboys
Dec 8 Saints at Giants

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