Despite winning the coin toss and saying that ideally the team would like to start each game on offense, Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter elected to defer to the second half, giving the Giants the first crack at things.

It would have been better if the Bucs had stuck with what Koetter said a few weeks ago instead.

On their first drive, the Giants got things started with a few nice runs by running back Saquon Barkley. But, all of that just set up a big 41-yard pass down the field to wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. After Beckham Jr.’s catch, Barkley caught an easy 6-yard touchdown to open the scoring at 7-0.

When the Bucs got the ball themselves, they were able to move it with ease between the 20’s. Running back Peyton Barber was running hard all game, and that started on the first drive with a 15-yard gain that set up a 14-yard gain of a pass from Fitzpatrick to Godwin. The Bucs got into the red zone, but as they stalled, not only could they not punch it in, the Giants stopped them on 4th-and-1 and Tampa Bay didn’t even get any points out of it.

To answer, the Giants went 95 yards on 12 plays to extend their lead. Giants quarterback Eli Manning completed passes to Barkley, Ellison, Fowler, Penny and Gallman on the drive, all of which led to the goal-line and a 5-yard touchdown run by Barkley to cap it off and bring the score to 14-0.

After the Giants second touchdown, the game slowed down a bit. There were back-to-back punts by the Bucs and the Giants, one for each, and that gave the ball back to Tampa Bay. On that drive, they went down the field 84 yards in eight plays, which was capped off by a tough Fitzpatrick rushing touchdown. That brought the score to a manageable 14-7.

The Giants went on a bit of  drive to close out the half after that, but a sack by Jason Pierre-Paul forced a punt by them. With the ball and over a minute left to go, the Buccaneers tried their best to tie the game up. However, after going 56 yards, Fitzpatrick was intercepted as they were entering the red zone, and the game went to the half 14-7.

On the first series of the second half, Fitzpatrick threw a pick-6 to Giants linebacker Alec Ogletree. This gave the Giants a commanding 21-7 led. And on the following drive, the Bucs drove the ball into Giants territory once again, but Fitzpatrick threw an ill-advised pass which was again intercepted.

That made Dirk Koetter go to a quarterback change, and Jameis Winston was re-inserted into the lineup. Fitzpatrick ended the day with three turnovers.

The Giants kicked a field goal through off Fitzpatrick’s last interception to make the score 24-7. When Winston came into the game, he led the Buccaneers on a 9-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a fumble by Winston near the goal line that was actually recovered by Mike Evans, which gave them a touchdown and cut the lead to 24-14. Not the way they drew it up, but it did the trick.

The Giants offense, basically imposing their will all game long, drove the ball 76 yards in seven plays on their next drive, and answered the Bucs touchdown with one of their own. The drive, as most did, included a big run by Barkley, and was capped off by a great catch by Beckham Jr. in the corner of the end zone.

As their answer, the Winston-led Buccaneers orchestrated their own 7-play, 77-yard drive that ended in a score. The drive started with a big 24-yard pass and catch to tight end O.J. Howard over the middle. That let running back Peyton Barber power through into Giants’ territory. A 19-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Godwin then set up a nice 5-yard run up the middle for the score by Barber. That brought the score to 31-21, still in favor of New York.

The Bucs defense actually held firm on their next drive, forcing a three-and-out for the Giants, just their second of the game. After nearly giving the ball away on Winston’s first pass of the next drive, Winston hit wide receiver Mike Evans for a big 25-yard gain. That got things going, and a crucial third down conversion to DeSean Jackson set up an 8-yard touchdown pass caught by Adam Humphries to bring the game to 31-28.

However, unfortunately for Tampa Bay, a mismatch for Giants tight end Evan Engram, who got Devante Bond in coverage, on the next drive gave him a 54-yard catch and run to bring the ball all the way into the Bucs red zone quickly. After a few Barkley carries to burn the Bucs timeouts, Barkley found his way into the end zone for his third score of the game. That brought the score to 38-28 in favor of the home team.

One would figure that would be enough to do it for the Giants — and one would be wrong.

On the Bucs ensuing drive, thanks to a bust in coverage, Winston was able to hit Evans for a 41-yard touchdown to once again get the Bucs within three points with 2:22 left to play.

After running the clock down to 31 second, the Giant had to put, giving the Buccaneers one last chance down three points. But, after Winston was intercepted on his first pass, the game was over, 38-35 in favor of the Giants.