EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Notes and statistics from the Giants' 25-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
*The Giants play close, exciting games. Their last three games – a win and two losses – have been decided by a total of four points. The Giants' last four games have been decided by a total of seven points.
*The Giants' last three losses – to Dallas, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay – have been decided by a total by six points.
*The Giants had defeated Tampa Bay in both 2018 and 2019. Their last loss to the Bucs was on Oct. 1, 2017 – also by a 25-23 score.
*This was the second game in a row the Giants could not hold a fourth-quarter lead. They led 17-15 before the Bucs scored 10 consecutive points to jump ahead, 25-17. In their previous game in Philadelphia, the Giants led 21-10 before the Eagles scored two late touchdowns to win, 22-21.
*In addition, this was the second consecutive game in which the Giants owned an 11-point lead. This time, it was 14-3 in the second quarter.
*The Giants lost their second consecutive game and reached the season's midpoint with a 1-7 record. Tampa Bay is 6-2.
*The teams were statistically very even. The Giants led in total yards, 357-344; rushing yards, 101-81; and first downs, 24-23. Tampa Bay had edges in passing yards, 263-256, and time of possession, 30:10-29:50. Each team converted four third-down opportunities.
*The Giants have rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games after reaching that benchmark just once in the first five games.
*The Giants rushed for 101 yards on 24 carries, a 4.2-yard average. Tampa Bay entered the game allowing an NFL-best 3.0 yards-per-rush.
*Daniel Jones completed 25 of 41 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and two second-half interceptions for a passer rating of 74.8. The 41 attempts tied his season high, set on opening night vs. Pittsburgh. The 25 completions also tied a season-high set on Sept. 20 in Chicago, and the 256 yards is Jones' second-highest total of the season (279 vs. the Steelers.). This was the second consecutive game and the third time this season Jones threw a season-best two touchdown passes.
*The scoring passes were a seven-yarder to Dion Lewis in the first quarter and a 19-yarder to Golden Tate with 28 seconds remaining in the game. That lifted the Giants to within two points. But on the two-point conversion attempt, Lewis appeared to get hit by safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. before Jones' pass arrived in the end zone. One official threw the flag but after a discussion decided no penalty was committed.
*Jones, the Giants' leading rusher this season, ran for 20 yards on three carries. That increased his season total to 316 yards, a record for a Giants quarterback in the Super Bowl era – with half the season remaining:
2020 Daniel Jones - 316
1967 Fran Tarkenton - 306
1968 Fran Tarkenton - 301
2019 Daniel Jones - 279
*Running back Wayne Gallman made his second start of the season in place of Devonta Freeman, who was inactive with an ankle injury. Gallman also started vs. San Francisco one week after Saquon Barkley suffered his season-ending knee injury. Gallman had a season-high 12 carries for 44 yards, one less than his yardage total at the Rams on Oct. 4.
*Gallman scored his second touchdown of the season on a two-yard run with 14:46 remaining in the first half to increase the Giants' lead to 14-3. The score capped a 10-play, 77-yard drive. It was the second consecutive game in which Gallman ran for a touchdown; he scored on a one-yard run in Philadelphia on Oct. 22.
*Lewis scored his second touchdown of the season, and first via a reception, when he caught a seven-yard scoring pass from Jones with 4:10 remaining in the first quarter. Lewis hadn't scored since the season opener vs Pittsburgh, on a one-yard run. The touchdown was his first on a catch since Dec. 22, 2019, when he caught an 11-yard scoring pass for Tennessee vs. Houston. Lewis has scored both of his touchdowns this season in Monday night games.
*On the Giants' first offensive possession, Tate completed an 18-yard pass to Gallman. Tate's pass was the first thrown by a Giants wide receiver since Dec. 2, 2018, when Odell Beckham, Jr. threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Russell Shepard. On Oct. 7 that season, Beckham threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Barkley at Carolina.
*Tate's pass was the first thrown this season by a Giants player other than Jones.
*Sterling Shepard led all receivers with eight catches for 75 yards. Tight end Evan Engram caught five passes for 61 yards, and Darius Slayton added five for 56 yards.
*Tight end Levine Toilolo caught his second pass of the season, a nine-yarder. His first was a 13-yard reception on Sept. 14 vs Pittsburgh.
*The Giants added three practice squad players to their game day roster four hours before the game: running back Alfred Morris, defensive back Montre Hartage and offensive lineman Chad Slade. Morris and Hartage were what the NFL terms standard elevations. Slade was a replacement for Will Hernandez, who is on the Reserve/Covid-19 list.
Morris rushed for 28 yards on eight carries in his Giants debut. He has now played for three NFC East teams: the Giants, Washington and Dallas. Morris had last played in a game for Arizona vs. San Francisco on Oct. 31, 2019, when he had one carry for four yards – his only rushing attempt of the season. His eight rushing attempts were his highest total since Dec. 30, 2018, when he had 16 carries for 11 yards playing for San Francisco at the Rams.
*Hartage and Slade were in uniform but did not play.
*Hernandez missed the first game of his three-year career. He had started each of his first 39 games and participated in all 2,523 offensive snaps at left guard, including the first 429 this season.
*Rookie fifth-round selection Shane Lemieux made his NFL starting debut in place of Hernandez. Lemieux was the third rookie offensive lineman to start for the Giants this season. The Giants last had three rookie offensive linemen start at least one game in the same season in 2003, when David Diehl, Wayne Lucier and Jeff Roehl were the linemen.
*Rookie cornerback Darnay Holmes picked up the first fumble recovery of his career when he fell on a ball that linebacker Blake Martinez had forced from the hands of running back Ronald Jones, who had just caught a three-yard pass from Tom Brady.
*Martinez's forced fumble was his first of the season and third of his career.
*Defensive lineman Leonard Williams sacked Tom Brady for an eight-yard loss. He leads the Giants with 4.0 sacks.
*Rookie Carter Coughlin's first career sack was one to remember. On the second play of fourth quarter, Coughlin, playing in his sixth game, sacked Brady, a future Hall of Famer, for an eight-yard loss on third down to force a punt.
*With Ryan Lewis inactive because of a hamstring injury, Isaac Yiadom returned to the starting lineup at right cornerback. The start was Yiadom's third of the season (vs. San Francisco, at the Rams). Lewis started the previous three games. Yiadom finished with eight tackles (four solo) and one pass defensed.
*Safety Jabrill Peppers led the Giants with 10 tackles (nine solo). Martinez had nine tackles (six solo).
*Linebacker Jabaal Sheard and Trent Harris both made their Giants debuts. Harris had two assisted tackles.
*Lewis replaced Corey Ballentine as the Giants' kickoff returner and gave the team a lift. Lewis returned three kickoffs for 98 yards, including a 44-yard runback that was 10 yards longer than any previous Giants return this season.
*Graham Gano made his only field goal attempt of the night, a 33-yarder, but Tampa Bay's Ryan Succop made all four of his attempts, from 37, 43, 40 and 38 yards to score 12 points in a game decided by two.
*The Giants are 25-42-1 on Monday nights, including 9-13 at home. The Giants were 0-2 on Monday night this season, the first in the 51-year history of Monday Night Football in which they hosted two games. The first was against Pittsburgh on Kickoff Weekend.
*The Giants' inactive players were Freeman (ankle), wide receiver C.J. Board (concussion), safety Adrian Colbert (shoulder), Lewis (hamstring), tackle Jackson Barton, tight end Eric Tomlinson and defensive lineman RJ McIntosh.
*Brady completed 28 of 40 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 106.1. The Giants lost to a Brady-quarterbacked team in prime time for the second year in a row. On Oct. 10, 2019, they were defeated by Brady's New England Patriots, 35-14, in Foxborough.
*The Giants and Buccaneers have played each other in four consecutive seasons, with each team winning twice. The four games were decided by a total of eight points.
