Eli Manning and the New York Giants were at first down by two scores, but a 25 point 4th quarter comeback allowed the Giants to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-34.

Manning was off to an extremely shaky start and threw three interceptions in the first half, including his last interception with less than a minute left, resulting in a Buccaneers’ pick six to go ahead 24-13. However, Manning kept his composure and finished off the game, throwing for over 500 yards and three touchdowns.

Giants wideout Hakeem Nicks was questionable for today’s game because of a foot injury, but that did not seem evident in his performance. Nicks caught 10 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. Giants receiver Victor Cruz had a big day catching 11 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.

Tampa Bay took advantage of the Giants weak secondary throughout the game. Josh Freeman completed 15 of 28 passes for 243 yards and threw two touchdowns along with two interceptions. Wideout Vincent Jackson caught 5 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. Wideout Mike Williams caught 3 passes for 59 yards, and scored a touchdown with less than two minutes left to tie the game.

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw did not see much action after exiting the game in the 2nd quarter with a neck injury. Third year running back Andre Brown handled most of the snaps at running back for the rest of the game. Brown had 13 carries for 71 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown for the Giants with 31 seconds left.

After scoring the go ahead touchdown, the Giants kicked back off to the Buccaneers, giving them an attempt to tie the game. Tampa started their drive on their own 36 yard line, and Freeman and Jackson connected for 19 yards moving up to the Giants 45 yard line. The following play, Freeman connected with Mike Williams all the way down to the Giants’ 16. However, the play was reviewed by officials because Williams did not maintain possession and was overturned, negating the big gain. With about 12 seconds remaining, Freeman dropped back, overthrew intended receiver Dallas Clark and was intercepted by Giants linebacker Michael Boley to end the game.

Eli and the Giants offense came out for one more play to kneel it and solidify the win. At the end of the game, controversy spurred as Giants coach Tom Coughlin confronted Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano evidently upset about something.

The Giants could have easily breezed past the Buccaneers if they would have converted on their red-zone possessions. The Giants settled for four field goals in the red-zone rather than punching in touchdown scores. New York will be back in action this upcoming Thursday against the Carolina Panthers.

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Image Courtesy of   Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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The beginning of the free agency period always sparks a frenzy of activity throughout the league, none more so than this year. Big names have moved on to unfamiliar territory and will be expected to perform instantly, in some cases providing their new teams with the tools to be able to make a run at the playoffs (Buffalo Bills fans be warned, Mario Williams is just one man).

With many of the more high profile players already signed to new deals, it is time to take a step back and look at the winners and losers of what has been a surprisingly interesting free agency thus far.

Given the relatively weak class of free agents this year, it is perhaps not surprising that many teams have swooped early and signed some of the better players to very lucrative contracts, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showing very little restraint early on. They have helped quarterback Josh Freeman immensely with the signings of Carl Nicks and Vincent Jackson.

Freeman’s development seemed to stall last year, Tampa Bay will be hoping for a return to form with the added protection of Nicks and the top receiving target of Jackson. They have also strengthened a fairly weak secondary with Eric Wright, formerly of the Detroit Lions, as they look for the secondary to match up with their formidable defensive line.

The Buccaneers can be fairly pleased with their moves in free agency so far, spending big (and with their cap space and poor form last season, why wouldn’t they?) but acquiring key pieces which have helped strengthen a very young team.

Another team who has spent well so far, but gone under the radar in comparison to Tampa Bay, has been the San Diego Chargers. They have brought in Le’Ron McClain (the injury prone Ryan Matthews will be eternally grateful) to help shore up their running game, whilst the arrival of wide receivers Eddie Royal and Robert Meachem should help to make up for the loss of Jackson to Tampa Bay.

Perhaps their most useful signing so far will be on the other side of the ball, with former Baltimore Raven linebacker Jarret Johnson making the move to San Diego, a signing which will surely aid the Chargers’ poor run defense. Given that both Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs have labeled Johnson as the key to the Ravens unforgiving defense, he could be exactly the man the Chargers need to take the next step on their way to becoming Super Bowl contenders.

The biggest signing of the Free Agency thus far has arguably been Mario Williams’ move to the Bills. He singlehandedly improves their defense immeasurably and will give Tom Brady something to fear when his Bills meet the Patriots next season. This will of course be trumped by the signing of Peyton Manning once the quarterback decides whether his future lies in Denver, Tennessee or San Francisco as he not only singlehandedly improves a teams’ offense, but makes them a Super Bowl contender, such is the talent he brings to a team.

Not every time has been so active in the early stages however, with the likes of the Ravens, Steelers and Patriots all biding their time given that their limited cap space means they cannot compete with the Buccaneers and Bills of the league in terms of lucrative contracts.

While the Patriots will retain the nucleus of their team next season, the Ravens have already lost starters in the forms of Ben Grubbs, Corey Redding and Johnson, whilst the Steelers have had to cut several key players in order to stay under the cap and face the challenging task of trying to sign star wide receiver Mike Wallace to a new contract. Both teams will need to spend wisely towards the end of free agency if they are to retain their statuses as genuine Super Bowl contenders.

Whoever ends up with Manning, whether it be the Broncos, Titans or 49ers, is a strong candidate for the team to have done best in the free agency, as are the previously mentioned Buccaneers.

However, the fairly understated signings that the Chargers have made will help them immeasurably, potentially putting them back into the playoffs and therefore could well be the best signings of the Free Agency period so far. At the other end of the spectrum are two AFC North sides, the Ravens and the Steelers.

The Ravens are noted for building through the draft and do have some cap room left to make some important moves, but the Steelers could be in genuine trouble. With little to no cap room left and the likes of Farrior and Smith already cut, there is little to celebrate in Pittsburgh this offseason and fans will be hoping for some very good prospects in the upcoming draft lest the Steelers fall below the Ravens in the battle for supremacy of the AFC North.

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Eight games later and the Green Bay Packers are still undefeated after they won in a shootout, 45-38, over the San Diego Chargers. The Packers, coming off their bye week, showed no signs of rustiness, as they scored three touchdowns in the first quarter taking a 21-7 lead. An early lead isn’t a new sensation for the Packers but how they managed it was definitely unique.

The Packers defense outscored Aaron Rodgers and the Packers high powered offense two touchdowns to one. Charlie Peprah and Tramon Williams both picked off Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers for 40 yard touchdown returns. The Chargers would not be deterred by the Packer defensive pressure.

Early in the second quarter Rivers and running back Mike Tolbert marched the offense down the field to score a Tolbert rushing touchdown, and closed the gap to 21-14. From there it was a showcase of offensive prowess by the Packers as they jumped out to a 45-24 lead with 10 minutes left in the 4^th quarter.

Rodgers further showed why he is currently regarded the best player in the NFL; he began to pick apart the Chargers secondary, throwing for three more touchdowns each to a different receiver. Rodgers had the Packers on their way to what seemed like an easy victory over the Chargers.

Even with the Chargers down 21, Rivers was determined to make up for those costly interceptions. He engineered a well executed drive that began on the Chargers 20 and culminated in touchdown pass to wide receiver Vincent Jackson. After the touchdown drive the Chargers were still down 14 points and with time running out vied to go for the onside kick.

The Chargers managed to recover the onside kick and with a short field Rivers led the offense to another touchdown to pull within seven. The Chargers defense managed to hold the Packers and give their offense one last shot at tying the game. Rivers once again had the offense marching down the field, but late in the drive, he was picked off for the 3^rd time, by Peprah — once again, effectively sealing the Packers victory.

The Packers are now 8-0 and there is talk of whether or not the Packers can finish the season a perfect 16-0. The last team to complete a perfect regular season was the 2007 New England Patriots who eventually loss in the Super Bowl and finish the season 18-1.

The Packer faithful are hoping their team can do one better than the Patriots, and be the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to finish the year unbeaten.

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