Bucs lose to Giants at home
TAMPA (AP) - Eli Manning and the New York Giants shrugged off a bad loss and stayed on top of the NFC East.
Manning threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns, helping the first-place Giants rebound from last weekend's debacle at New Orleans with a 32-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Josh Brown booted four field goals for the Giants (5-4), including fourth-quarter kicks of 53 and 44 yards that gave New York some breathing room after the Bucs (3-5) pulled within two points. The victory on the heels of a 52-49 loss to the Saints moved New York back over .500.
Manning threw first-half TD passes of 8 yards to Reuben Randle and 4 yards to Shane Vereen. The defense, bolstered by the return of Jason Pierre-Paul, did its part by keeping the Jameis Winston-led Tampa Bay offense out of the end zone until the rookie scrambled 10 yards for a TD that made it 20-18 with 9:25 remaining.
Winston's 2-point conversion pass to the rear of the end zone was caught out of bounds. The Giants sealed the victory with Brown's fourth field goal following a long, time-consuming drive, and Trevin Wade had a fumble recovery for a touchdown on the game's final play.
Winston completed 19 of 36 passes for 247 yards. The rookie went a fourth straight game without a turnover, but running backs Doug Martin and Charles Sims hurt Tampa Bay's chances of winning consecutive games for the first time in two years by losing fumbles.
A week after allowing 608 yards, including 505 yards and a record-tying seven touchdowns passing to Drew Brees, the NFL's last-ranked defense held the Bucs to three first-half field goals -- one after Manning threw an interception on the first play of the game and another after Winston and Mike Evans teamed on a 68-yard catch and run to the New York 12.
Evans had eight receptions for 150 yards, but also hurt the Bucs with several dropped passes.
Pierre-Paul made his season debut for the Giants, playing for the first time since the July 4 fireworks accident that sidelined him for training camp and the first eight games. The sixth-year pro lost his right index finger and suffered other damage to the hand in the accident. He returned to practice two weeks ago and was believed to be on track to return next week against the New England Patriots. But he progressed enough during workouts that the Giants decided to activate him against the Bucs. The game was a homecoming of sorts for Pierre-Paul, who played in college at South Florida. The Bulls play home games in Raymond James Stadium, which is also home to the Bucs.
Manning, who threw for six TDs the previous week against the Saints, completed 26 of 40 passes and was intercepted twice. Odell Beckham Jr. had nine receptions for 105 yards.