Daniel Jones wasn't perfect in his first NFL start, but he did lead the New York Giants back from a big deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road, 33-31.
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Final Score
New York Giants 32, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31
New York Giants
Daniel Jones has a calm demeanor when pressure is collapsing around him, he and did a fine job getting the ball into his playmakers' hands. He still struggled a bit with pocket awareness and fell victim to two strip-sacks in the contest. He made good decisions throwing the ball and showed athleticism in escaping pressure as well as being a running threat on read-option plays. The Daniel Jones era began with a bang and was capped off with a game-winning touchdown that Jones ran in himself after driving the offense down.
Left tackle Nate Solder struggled all game and gave up multiple sacks. He looked overpowered and unathletic in trying to protect his rookie quarterback, and he didn't add much in the running game either.
Janoris Jenkins followed Mike Evans for most of the day and could not contain him. Jenkins looked slow and was outmuscled several times on contested catches. He also provided little production in stopping the short passing game, as he missed or over pursued on tackles.
B.J. Hill was one of the few bright spots on the Giants' defensive line. Hill proved to be a force in the running game. He used his strength to shed the interior offensive line of the Giants. Hill came up with some big run stops, including late in the game when Tampa Bay was trying to run clock.
Rookie Takeaways
While Jenkins struggled significantly, rookie Georgia product DeAndre Baker had a much better day compared to his performances in the first two weeks of the season. He wasn't burnt for any big plays down the field and finished the game with a forced incompletion.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Shaquil Barrett looked unblockable at times. He won with both speed and power and picked up a few sacks as well as two forced fumbles.
Not to be overshadowed by Barrett, Carl Nassib had a nice pass-rushing day himself, racking up a handful of pressures. Nassib was also a factor in the Bucs shutting down the run. The Bucs as a team did not miss a tackle when defending the run.
Mike Evans had his way with the Giants secondary. Evans was Jameis Winston‘s go-to receiver today and looked virtually unguardable at times. Evans created separation with ease and won nearly all of his contested-catch opportunities.
Jameis Winston looked like his old self today, both the good and the bad. Winston had several big-time throws as he was able to launch the ball downfield to open targets. However, he also had a couple of head-scratching passes and was lucky that he only threw one interception.
Rookie Takeaways
Mike Edwards played significant snaps on the defensive side of the ball and limited big plays when targeted. He allowed very few yards in coverage and picked up a forced incompletion in the contest.
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