Lifeless Giants Falter vs. Bucs, 30-10

The New York Giants had a golden opportunity to make a statement against the defending Super Bowl champions. They failed, pure and simple.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants laid a brutal egg on Monday Night Football against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team who lost to the Washington Football team last week, dropping a 30-10 lifeless and poorly played game in prime time.

The Giants, who were coming off the bye week, were terrible on both sides of the football. The defense failed to get any pressure on Tom Brady, their zone coverage seemed non-existent, and the Tampa Bay offense did whatever they wanted all game.

The opening offensive script was solid, but, per usual, the offense bogged down in the red zone, ending a 13-play drive with only three points.

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett used what seemed like a lot of 12 and 13 personnel packages with a healthy Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney, and there didn't seem to be a concerted effort with consistently involving either play. Running back Saquon Barkley returned but was a non-factor for much of the game.

A major storyline is that the offensive line was terrible once again. Tampa Bay was getting pressure and sacking Daniel Jones by only rushing three. They often aligned both defensive tackles in the B-Gap, isolating one of the two guards against one of the defenders. Will Hernandez, who was repeatedly victimized by this strategy, had a horrible game.

The bye week didn't seem to make a huge difference for the Giants' offense. Their only touchdown came from an Adoree Jackson interception, which gave the Giants the football at the 5-yard line. The touchdown didn't go to Kenny Golladay, nor did it go to Saquon Barkley or Kadarius Toney; it went, instead, to tackle Andrew Thomas.

The much-awaited return of Barkley netted six carries for 25 yards and six catches for 31 yards. Barkley is an incredible athlete at the running back position, but he can't put the team on his back either.

He's a running back behind a bad offensive line, and the Giants couldn't get anything going against a good Buccaneers defense that was missing star defensive lineman Vita Vea.

The Giants rushed for a total of 66 yards in the game. They only had 215 yards of offense. For reference, Tampa Bay allowed 334 yards per game on the season. Not good.

If there's anything positive to glean from this loss, Kadarius Toney saw 12 targets, but some of that was in garbage time. Tampa Bay also possessed the ball for over 35 minutes. The Giants didn't show up and didn't seem prepared for this game despite having two weeks to prepare.

This season, Tampa Bay has allowed 23.6 points; the Giants scored ten and were gifted seven after the Adoree Jackson interception. This offense ranked 31st in points and yards last season. They have marginally improved. With all the weapons they now possess on the offense, even the excuse of the offensive line is too much to disregard the lack of efficiency and effectiveness with this entire offensive unit.

Fans of the New York Giants are waiting for that moment where Daniel Jones puts the team on his back and proves he could be the franchise quarterback for years to come. Unfortunately, he didn't do that on Monday as his primetime record falls to 0-8. He's looked pretty bad in many primetime games, including one of his worst games last year on Monday Night Football against these same Buccaneers.

Jones finished this game with 167 yards passing, one touchdown to Andrew Thomas, and two interceptions on 23 of 38 passing. He didn't see open receivers, his accuracy was marginal on some throws, and he was reckless with the football. He's not making a strong case for his ability to stay as the New York Giants signal-caller.

The lack of pressure on Tom Brady allowed the future first-ballot Hall of Famer to throw for 307 yards and two touchdowns. Brady was comfortable, and it didn't seem like Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was doing much to disguise the two high looks he continuously ran against the Buccaneers.

The game was over by the fourth quarter, as Brady exited the game with seven minutes left, which allowed Blaine Gabbert to take some snaps. That's when the Giants' defense recorded their first sack by Raymond Jonson III.

These are the types of losses that stick with coaches. The Washington Football Team and the Philadelphia Eagles have both won two straight games. In Washington's case, last week was against these same Buccaneers. To not even be competitive and to be embarrassed live in front of a national audience has to infuriate Giants ownership.

The Giants' defense played better over the last three games, but they couldn't dictate anything against the Buccaneers. Graham must go back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong.

Safety Logan Ryan's absence was unfortunate but not an excuse for what happened on the football field. The Giants were missing too many tackles and didn’t seem to play with the same discipline that we came to appreciate over the last few weeks.

The Giants are now 3-7. The wildcard spot in the NFC may be manned by a team that's hovering around five hundred. Before this game, the Giants had a realistic shot at the seventh seed. But after such a terrible performance, it's difficult to fathom this team and coaching staff figuring out all the many issues that plague the 2021 New York Giants.

• RELATED: Giants OL Andrew Thomas Scores First Career Touchdown in Game vs. Bucs

Injury Report

Tight end Kyle Rudolph let the game in the third quarter following a 28-yard reception. The Giants enter this game without Kaden Smith, inactive due to a season-long knee issue. Now they are potentially facing next week against the Eagles without Rudolph.

Receiver Kadarius Toney suffered a quad contusion and had to leave the game.

Game Notes and Stats

Despite his less than stellar showing, quarterback Daniel Jones's 23 completions gives him 777 for his career and puts him past fellow Duke alumnus Dave Brown (766) for the sixth-most completions in Giants history.

Jones (8,196 yards) also passed Eli Manning (8,049) for the most passing yards by a Giants player in their first three seasons.

Running back Saquon Barkley's 56 scrimmage yards gives him 3,943 in his career and pushed him past Tiki Barber (3,916) for the third-most scrimmage yards by a Giants player in their first four seasons. Barkley also managed to pass Odell Beckham, Jr. (3,902) for the most scrimmage yards by a Giants player in their first 40 career games.

Cornerback James Bradberry has now allowed six touchdowns this year. Bradberry, who per Pro Football Focus came in missing 26.3% of his tackle attempts, had at least two missed tackles this week.

Up Next

The Giants return home to honor defensive end Michael Strahan on his jersey retirement ceremony Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.