New York Giants Keys To Victory Prediction
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Costly turnovers and a controversial no-call lead to another New York Giants loss, this time at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Almost everyone expected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to blow out the New York Giants on Monday night. But instead, the Giants played perhaps their best game of the season.

It wouldn’t be enough however as Daniel Jones threw two costly interceptions and a controversial no-call on a potential pass interference late in the game sealed Big Blue’s fate. The Buccaneers escaped with a 25-23 win.

The Bucs began the scoring on their opening drive as Ryan Succop connected on a 37-yard field goal after an 11-play, 57-yard drive. The Giants were forced to punt on their opening possession, but then the defense came through with one of the biggest plays of the game.

On the second play of the next drive, Tom Brady completed a short pass to Ronald Jones, Blake Martinez stripped the ball away from him, and Darnay Holmes recovered the fumble at the Bucs 12-yard line.

Three plays later Daniel Jones connected with Dion Lewis on a seven-yard touchdown to put the Giants in front 7-3.

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The Giants would extend their lead to 14-3 as Wayne Gallman scored on a two-yard touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the first half. The Bucs would quickly march down the field and settle for another Succop field goal this time from 40 yards out as the Giants took a 14-6 halftime lead.

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But on the second play of the second half, the momentum began to change as Jones was intercepted by Carlton Davis who returned the ball to the Bucs 42-yard line. The Bucs would convert the interception into another Succop field goal to trail 14-9.

The Bucs finally found the end zone with six minutes left in the third quarter as Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski on a three-yard touchdown. The two-point attempt failed but they led 15-14.

Big Blue would retake the lead 17-15 on their next possession as Graham Gano connected on a 33-yard field goal. The Giants defense would keep the momentum on the next drive as they forced a three and out as Brady was sacked by Carter Coughlin.

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But once again the momentum of the game was changed because of a turnover from Jones. Sean Murphy-Bunting intercepted Jones at the Bucs’ 34-yard line with 12:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The interception would lead to Brady connecting with Mike Evans on an eight-yard touchdown to go up 22-17.

Tampa would extend their lead to 25-17 on their next possession on a 38-yard field goal with 3:41 remaining in the game.

With no timeouts remaining, the Giants marched down the field 70 yards on 13 plays culminating on a Jones 19-yard touchdown to Golden Tate with 28 seconds remaining. All they needed to do was convert the two-point attempt to send the game to overtime.

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Jones tried to complete a pass to Lewis but rookie cornerback Antoine Winfield Jr. collided with Lewis just before the ball arrived. Jones was late throwing the ball, but Winfield clearly interfered with Lewis.

Initially, a flag was thrown signaling pass interference, but after a long discussion, referee Brad Rogers picked up that flag.

The Giants’ onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, resulting in another heartbreaking loss.

The Giants will look to rebound on Sunday as they travel to Washington and hope to sweep the season series for the second consecutive year.

Jason's first love was football while growing up in northern New Jersey. For the past three years, he has covered the New York Giants, as well as several boxing events along the East Coast.