Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting returned to action on Monday night against the Giants after missing almost nine games with a dislocated elbow that occurred against Dallas in Week 1. Murphy-Bunting came up huge in his first start since coming off injured reserve. He notched seven tackles and a forced fumble as a result of being tested early and often by Giants QB Daniel Jones.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was extremely pleased with Murphy-Bunting’s first game back.

“Way better than I thought or even expected it to be,” Arians said. “He played really well. He used his arm to punch the ball out with that hand and created a fumble. I think he should have a ton of confidence heading into this week.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Murphy-Bunting was the highest-graded Bucs defender on Monday night. He played almost exclusively outside and earned an 84.1 overall grade and an 85 grade in coverage. Murphy-Bunting was targeted eight times in the game, but surrendered only six catches for 43 yards (7.2 avg.).

Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs missed Murphy-Bunting’s tackling on the perimeter during his absence. He secured an 80.3 tackling grade from PFF on Monday night and was physical from the start. Murphy-Bunting didn’t show any ill effects from his elbow, which was sporting a hefty brace.

His teammates were fired up to see the energetic Murphy-Bunting back in the starting lineup, healthy enough to play again.

“Ah man, you can see the difference,” said Bucs outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul. “I mean, not saying [anything] about our corners, but he’s one of our starters. And you can tell why. You know, especially that one call that they gave him a PI (pass interference) on. But he did a great job on that. He was just energized.”