Giants vs. Buccaneers score: Tampa Bay wins behind Tom Brady's two TD passes and Daniel Jones' two INTs

The Buccaneers had to sweat it out before winning their sixth game of the season

The Buccaneers, after trailing 14-3 in the first half, rallied to beat the Giants 25-23 on "Monday Night Football." Tampa Bay had to sweat to get its sixth win, as rookie defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. broke up Daniel Jones' two-point pass that would have tied the game with 28 seconds left. 

Tampa Bay parlayed two second-half interceptions of Jones into 10 points. Tom Brady's third quarter touchown pass to Rob Gronkowski gave the Buccaneers their first lead. Tampa Bay, after a Giants field goal, re-gained the lead on Brady's eight-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 9:02 left. The Giants' defense, which played well for most of the night, gave their team a chance to tie the score after holding the Buccaneers to a field goal on their next drive. 

Jones, who engineered three Giants scoring drives earlier in the game, completed two clutch fourth down passes before hitting Golden Tate for an 18-yard score that brought the Giants to within two points of the Buccaneers. Jones, who hit Dion Lewis for a touchdown in the first quarter, was unable to connect with Lewis again on the Giants' two-point attempt, as the Buccaneers escaped with their sixth win of the season. 

Here are some immediate takeaways from Monday's Bucs win:

Why the Buccaneers won

As the Giants cooled down, the Bucs heated up, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. Despite a slow start, in which Tom Brady and Co. settled for three straight field goals and couldn't muster much with Ronald Jones on the ground, Bruce Arians' squad flashed its weaponry -- sans an injured Chris Godwin and in-waiting Antonio Brown, remember -- just enough. Brady rarely wowed but did a tremendous job spreading the ball all over the field in the second half, with eight different targets hauling in at least two passes. Mike Evans came up big with a highlight-reel score. And Leonard Fournette ran hard despite just average numbers. Defensively, Todd Bowles' unit may have looked a lot worse if Daniel Jones had simply taken advantage of several one-on-one mismatches, and it nearly surrendered a last-minute lead, but still capitalized on Jones' errant throws to come up with two important takeaways.

Why the Giants lost

As is often the case when evaluating Giants games, it's hard to say Daniel Jones was the only reason New York lost, because he did have some athletic and gutsy plays in key spots, pulling the G-Men within two points on a thrilling final drive. Far too often, however, he was also the one holding New York's offense back. Jason Garrett's play-calling didn't do him a ton of favors, but Garrett also wasn't responsible for outright missing on a handful of wide-open deep shots, forcing outside throws under pressure and waiting way too long to deliver the potential game-tying two-point pass that ended up sealing the Bucs' win. Again, he wasn't alone; Garrett inexplicably called upon Alfred Morris for eight valuable touches, and Sterling Shepard appeared to misjudge a would-be TD route. But this wasn't on the defense, which played tough, got after Brady and held firm when it needed to. It was mostly on a QB who flashed but ultimately failed to do enough of the little things to deserve the win.

Turning point

Second down. Second play from scrimmage in the second half. The Giants began their first third-quarter series all the way out at their own 44-yard line after a big Dion Lewis kick return, with a real chance at extending a surprise 14-6 lead at the break. And then Ugly Daniel Jones reared his head, with the QB forcing a pass to Sterling Shepard while under pressure and essentially gifting Carlton Davis the first turnover of the game. Tampa Bay proceeded to pull within five on its next drive, then went ahead on its subsequent series. The Giants eventually regained the lead, but by that point, they'd already squandered a chance to go up big.

Play of the game

For as frustrating as he was, Daniel Jones actually made quite a few nice throws down the stretch, including on multiple third- and fourth-down spots. But the play of the day belongs to Mike Evans on the other side. For a big guy, he moved and landed perfectly to secure Brady's second TD of the night and put the Bucs up five late in the contest.

What's next

The Buccaneers (6-2) will be back in prime time in six days, when they play host to their rival New Orleans Saints (5-2) on "Sunday Night Football." The Giants (1-7), meanwhile, will hit the road in Week 9 for an NFC East matchup with the Washington Football Team (2-5).

[Nov 2, 2020 at 11:29 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Thanks again for joining us! Be sure to stay with CBSSports.com for all of your NFL news and notes.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 11:28 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Tampa Bay had to sweat it out before winning their sixth game of the season. Daniel Jones certainly had his moments, but ultimately this game will be remembered for his two costly second half interceptions. Jones just has to learn when it's OK to take a sack, which he surely will in time. But tonight, the vastly more experienced quarterback made the plays to get his team the win. An already talented Buccaneers offense will have Antonio Brown the next time they take the field, Sunday night against the Saints.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 11:23 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

https://twitter.com/WillBrinso...

[Nov 2, 2020 at 11:08 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Jason Pierre-Paul having a big night against his old team: seven tackles, two tackles for a loss and a sack so far.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 11:06 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Bruce Arians opts for the extra points instead of a potential game-ending dagger on fourth-and-one, and Ryan Succop delivers to put Tampa Bay up 25-17 with 3:41 to go. Daniel Jones will get at least one final shot to complete this simultaneously inspiring and uneven performance. New York's defense has stood strong for much of the night. Can its offense step up in the clutch?

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:59 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

That 18-yard completion was vintage Brady to Gronkowski. Brady bought time in the pocket, and hit Gronkowski after he broke free from the linebackers and before the safeties could come in to make a play.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:53 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

https://twitter.com/MikeClayNF...

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:51 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Tom Brady slings it comfortably to put Tampa Bay in position to retake the lead, Cameron Brate draws a big penalty to push the Bucs further into the red zone, and then Brady hits Mike Evans for the go-ahead TD on the perfect fade to the far right corner of the end zone. A beautiful extension from Evans to haul it in while going to the ground, and the Buccaneers now lead the Giants 22-17.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:46 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Tyler Johnson has come on as a legitimate target in Tampa Bay's offense over the last few weeks. A late-round pick in the 2020 draft, Johnson caught 25 touchdowns during his final two years at Minnesota. Obviously no minicamp stunted his growth, but he's starting to get more chances now. Just came down with a 20-yard catch, as the Buccaneers are threatening to take their second lead of the night.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:41 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

https://twitter.com/WillBrinso...

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:40 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

Man oh man, Daniel Jones just cannot escape the back-breaking turnovers. The Giants are driving, threatening to extend their lead in the fourth quarter against the Bucs, and Jones, under pressure, forces one to Golden Tate rather than throwing it away. Picked off, Sean Murphy-Bunting. Bucs take over. Brutal for New York.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:37 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Really liked the Giants' play design to have Daniel Jones sprint right, then turn and throw opposite field. Similar to what Washington did with Mark Rypien in 1991. Jones overthrew Slayton, but I like that the Giants are trying different things with their young quarterback.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:34 pm ET · Cody Benjamin]

For as iffy as the Giants have been on offense, whether because of Jason Garrett's red-zone play-calling or Daniel Jones' missed opportunities, New York still leads this football game in the fourth quarter. And the defense really has stepped up. The Bucs are missing Chris Godwin, remember, but still, the home team has played up to its competition so far.

[Nov 2, 2020 at 10:33 pm ET · Bryan DeArdo]

Giants' secondary doing a great job producing coverage sacks on Brady. At the same time, Brady is eschewing short passes for bigger gains, thus leading to sacks. Brady should give his check downs more chances at making plays. His line is good, but the Giants have been able to collapse the pocket after three seconds.