The New York Giants are coming off a tough loss to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints last Sunday. Heading into the contest New York knew they had to bring it to beat Brees in the Superdome. Brees has been known to light it up at home, and that’s just what he did against the Giants. Brees threw for seven touchdowns and 505 yards. Eli Manning had a great game too, tallying 350 yards and 6 touchdowns. It was a shootout that the Giants could have won, but came up a late field goal short for a 49-52 loss.
Even though the game was not a divisional match-up, it still was a critical loss. It has raised concerns about the Giants ability to win games on the road. On the year, New York is just 1-3 when they are not playing at MetLife Stadium. New York only has a 0.5 game lead on the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. Both teams have 3-4 records and can take first place with a win and Giants loss this week.
The Giants will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4), who sit 4th in the NFC south. The Buccaneers have quality wins over the Saints in the Superdome, and the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston has been playing better football. Winston has not thrown an interception in his last three starts, and the Buccaneers have a 2-1 record during that stretch. Doug Martin has been running the ball well this season. On the year, Martin has 612 yards on 132 attempts and three touchdowns.
New York is going to have to solve their defensive issues to pick up a win Sunday against Tampa Bay. This season the Giants have held opponents to 21 points or less in just three games. The Giants are 31st in the league in total yards against, and last in the NFL in passing yards a game against. New York is giving up 427.5 yards per game which is also last in the NFL. If the Giants have any hopes of being in first place after Week 9, they will need to force Winston to make mistakes. New York can’t allow Winston to get comfortable.
Manning has shown that the offense is not the issue. If the Giants could compete blow for blow in a shootout against Brees in the Superdome, they can compete with any team offensively. The question will be can the Giants secondary show up big, and keep Mike Evans quiet like he has been most of the season. Also, can the Giants defensive line get push early and eliminate Martin from getting chunk yardage runs.
Prediction: The New York Giants find a way to get a win on the road. Manning continues his impressive play and throws for 300+ yards and 2 touchdowns. New York will snap Winston’s no turnover streak, and get a 27-13 win against the Buccaneers.
Barry Holmes is a Feature Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732