The Giants and Buccaneers are underway in an NFC battle that is highlighted by the first career start for No. 6 overall pick Daniel Jones. You can and should expect to see a new-look Giants offense with Jones adding elements of zone-read option, RPO, and designed bootleg plays from under center.
Jones got off to a fast start by leading the Giants on two scoring drives on his first two possessions. On the second drive, he capped it off with a seven-yard rushing touchdown on a zone-read keeper where he reached over 21 miles per hour at top speed — the fastest peak speed reached by any quarterback besides Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray this season.
On his last drive before halftime, the story shifted away from Jones as the Giants suffered a major scare when Saquon Barkley suffered an ankle injury. Barkley had to be helped off to the locker room and could not put any weight on his left ankle. His return is officially questionable.
On the flip side, Jameis Winston and Buccaneers offense finally broke out with multiple scoring drives and big plays from Jameis Winston and Mike Evans.
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Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa)
TV: FOX | Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the New York Giants in Week 3 marks the beginning of a new era of football for the NFC East franchise. The Giants have officially named No. 6 overall pick Daniel Jones their starting quarterback sooner than anyone anticipated. Only two games into the 2019 regular season, with the postseason still in play, head coach Pat Shurmur’s decision is a clear-cut indicator he believes Jones, and not veteran two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, gives the team the best chance to win now.
Earlier this week, I broke down how the Giants offense will dramatically change with Jones starting in eight key ways. However, Jones’ first start won’t come with the full deck of cards as the Giants’ injury situation at the wide receiver position continues. Starting wide receiver Cody Latimer has been ruled out (concussion) and fellow starter Bennie Fowler is questionable. Golden Tate is still serving his suspension. The good news is that Sterling Shepard has been cleared from the concussion protocol and is expected to start. The Giants will also get back rookie Darius Slayton for his NFL debut; Jones and Slayton built a rapport during the offseason.
On the flip side, the Buccaneers are two Jameis Winston pick-sixes away from being 2-0 through the first two weeks in large part due to their surprisingly stout defense. Tampa Bay was expected to have one of the NFL’s worst defenses again in 2019 after losing Jason Pierre-Paul to injured reserve, but first-year defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has changed that. Through two weeks, they have been the exact opposite of the sieve they were in 2018.
The Buccaneers are expected (and heavily favored) to win this game, but it’s difficult to predict how the rookie quarterback will look in his debut, so every scenario is certainly in play.
