NFC Wild Card Playoff: Giants 24, Buccaneers 14

@#$@#$!! playoff schedule! When did this game start?

Looks like I haven't missed much. The Giants' first position went nowhere. Tampa's first drive moved the sticks once before they sunk themselves with a dumb delay of game penalty.

Getting the ball back at their 14, NY gets to third-and-1, but Chris Hovan pushes deep into the backfield to drop Brandon Jacobs for loss. Tampa will start the next drive near midfield.

And Tampa's cheerleaders are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Walt Anderson is the ref today, but these are "all-star" crews, so we can't speculate whether the rest of the crew will ignore DPI the way they did when the Steelers were in St. Louis.

Earnest Graham breaks tackles for a 10-yard run on 2nd down, and Michael Clayton follows with an 11-yard catch. That's interesting because Clayton's face has been on milk cartons for two years, but that's already his second touch. Two more physical runs by Graham gain nine yards, 35 inches. Hey, here's a novel play on third and inches... the QB takes the snap and just drives forward with the ball! Yeah, he didn't hand off to anybody; he kept it! Wonder what they call THAT play, SCOTT LINEHAN! At the Giant 20, Graham's stopped for no gain, and there's an injury timeout. Garcia hangs tough in the pocket and hits Graham out of the backfield down to the 6. Graham crashes down to the goal line on 1st and goal. Tampa's only inches away. Graham gets in the second time, with a second effort and good blocking on the left side.

Tampa 7, Giants 0, with 1:49 left in the 1st. OK, I'm caught up now.

Giants take over at their 25. Joe Buck announces the Giants have one yard rushing, which Javon Haye makes a negative number with a TFL on 1st down. And Eli has to call timeout. The Giants look little like the team that gave New England everything it could handle last week. Gaines Adams jumps offsides to help the Giants a little bit. 2nd-9. Forced pass for triple-covered Steve Smith incomplete. On 3rd down, Gaines Adams circles in on Eli practically untouched for a sack, whipping Kareem McKenzie badly. Tampa will take over from their 30 after the punt.

James Butler blitzes in and nearly steals the handoff from Garcia. Graham loses three as the first quarter of this defensive battle ends.

Garcia avoids the blitz on 3rd down, but can't throw a decent pass on the move and forces a punt. McQuarters sets the Giants up near midfield with the return.

Eli finds Burress on 1st down, and Toomer breaks tackles on 2nd down to gain about 20. About time the Giants got away from rushing in predictable situations. Jacobs gains 3. Another first down to Toomer, who gets NY inside the 20. They try to sweep Jacobs right but get very little. 2nd down pass incomplete. The Bucs take a timeout on 3rd-and-9.

Eli finds TOOMER AGAIN inside the 5. How is it the Bucs can't cover that guy? First and goal, Jacobs breaks a tackle on a middle screen and evens the score at 7. 2nd time this weekend we've seen the screen pass used down on the goal line.

Game tied at 7.

Kickoff brought back to about the 21. Antonio Pierce breaks up a pass. Tampa is in the no-huddle. With the backfield empty, Strahan overpowers Trueblood for a sack. 3rd-15, Strahan is all over the screen pass and it's only a short gain. Punt is to the 35.

Shockingly, the tide of this game has turned by Coughlin putting the game in... Eli's hands.

Bradshaw runs through the Tampa D for 8. Eli hits Plaxico across midfield for a 1st, then for 9 more. You know, if you're going to call it "cover"-2, maybe you ought to actually cover somebody. Bradshaw gets stopped, leaving 3rd-and-1. I'd play-action and go deep. Eli makes a sweet play - pump-fakes and hits Smith with a tight pass - for a 21-yard gain. Now a 9-yard pass to Bradshaw. 2nd-2 inside the 10, Jacobs knifes through the Tampa D like hot butter for a TD behind Madison Hedgecock's block. That just proves Scott Linehan doesn't know how to use a fullback, because Hedgecock never made a block like that in his Ram career, nor was he ever really set up TO make a block like that.

14-7, Giants. And before everybody start saying this is Eli Manning's star turn, that this is the day he became a stud NFL QB, all he's had to do so far is mostly hit wide-open receivers that Tampa is too stupid to cover. Monte Kiffin is way overdue to adjust what they're doing on D.

After the kickoff, 3 up the middle for Graham. About 3:30 till halftime. Blitz gets to Garcia on 2nd down but Askew makes a nifty shoetop grab for a 5-yard gain. Full dropback for Garcia on 3rd down; he gets in trouble but finds Pittman over the middle for a 1st at the 40. Wacky 1st down pass incomplete at 2:04. Flip pass to Graham in heavy traffic gains only a little as the 2:00 warning arrives.

The Claritin commercial, where the sculptor says, if I sneeze, this guy could lose his nose? Would be far funnier if the speaker were a plastic surgeon.

Tough sliding catch by Ike Hilliard for a first down at midfield. After a short pass, the Giants, who are blitzing a lot, break up the 2nd down pass. Protection is solid on 3rd down, but Garcia's got nobody open. Good coverage by Ross on Hilliard. 1:14 left and another shot coming for the Giants, who take over near their 20.

Jacobs gains 9 up the middle but it looks like the Giants are happy to run out the clock. Troy and Joe are criticizing NY for not going for it, but that far in your own end, against the Tampa defense, you don't want to take any crazy chances. I'm fine with the strategy.

Giants take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

Let's start the 2nd half. It's a half where the Bucs better start putting some pressure on Manning.

Ugh. Spurlock fumbles away the opening kickoff and Corey Webster recovers it to start the half out with a golden opportunity for New York. Jacobs gains 7 up the middle. They're at the TB23. 4 more for Jacobs running right. Jacobs right for 1. 2nd down, Eli wheels away after Kevin Carter falls, and flings it up into the end zone, tipped and almost picked off. 3rd-and-9, NY gets away with the middle screen to Jacobs, it's set up well and he gains a first down inside the 10. Jump ball for Plax on 1st and goal is nowhere close. False start moves NY back to the 13. Tough pass to Toomer between three guys gets them back inside the 5. Refs deserve a delay of game penalty for their slowness calling delay of game. 3rd-and-goal now from the 9. Only a couple to Smith, and NY will try the FG. Tynes hits from 25 to make it 17-7, but the Bucs may have won that exchange considering how and where the Giants got the ball.

Kick return out to the 30. Graham muscles for 6 and powers for almost 4 more to set up 3rd-and-inches. He dives for the 1st down and follows with a 5-yard catch from Garcia. Cofield appears to catch Garcia helmet-to-helmet after the throw to give Tampa their biggest play since the 1st quarter. Bucs are at the NY40. Graham draws for 10. 2 more left for Graham. From the 28, TERRIBLE throw by Garcia is picked off in the end zone by Webster. Joey Galloway wasn't remotely open. That may have been the killer for Tampa, their second turnover of the quarter.

Tampa stuffs the first down run, and the Giants hold on 2nd down, putting them in a 2nd-18 hole from their 12. Bradshaw draws for maybe 3. 3rd down, a fake draw, then a pump fake by Eli, then a throw into the ground for a wide open Bradshaw. Doh. Tampa dodges a bullet there and takes over from their 33.

Bucs need something here. Graham is stuffed for 1, but Tampa beats a blitz with a screen to Askew for 7. Huge 3rd-and-2. It's a pass, a tight throw to Alex Smith between two guys. Great throw by Garcia puts Tampa at the NY43. Maybe 1 again for Graham. 2nd-9, Garcia wants to go long but throws it away. Bad shotgun snap screws up the timing of the next play. Garcia tries to rush it to the hot read and nearly gets picked off. Bucs punt again, and Eli will take over at the 8.

Dumpoff to Hedgecock for 4. Long sideline pass is not only well covered by Philip Buchanon, he draws an OPI from Plaxico. Giants retreat to their 6. Jacobs runs right for 5. 3rd-7. Another pump fake by Eli, who hits Toomer over the middle for 11 and a HUGE first down as the third quarter ends.

Giants from their 22. Bradshaw loses his helmet but still cuts back for 7. Play-action and nice throw by Eli to Toomer at the 40. Bradshaw's running hard and hits it up the middle for 6. Bradshaw again, running patiently for 8. NY's across midfield and sticking a fork in this thing. Play action to Kevin Boss for 11. Tampa's D is missing tackles, falling by the wayside due to their own hometown heat, and the wheels are steadily coming off. Eli just misses a sideline pass to stop the clock at 11:30. No problem, Manning hits Burress for 12. Tampa needs to make a play NOW. Bradshaw dances out of a big loss and gains 6. Tampa is near toast. 6 more for Bradshaw up the middle, and they're inside the 10, and Tampa has no hope. Tampa blitzes this time and Barber stops Bradshaw for 1. Ronde's name hasn't been called a lot today. Neither has Derrick Brooks, except when he whiffed trying to knock down the TD pass to Jacobs in the 2nd. Bradshaw slips down to the 4. The Rams don't have anyone remotely like Bradshaw who can come off the bench and pound away at a defense like this. Eli ends the drive, the game and Tampa's season with a fine TD pass to Amani Toomer. It's 24-7 and the Giants can start planning for Dallas.

Penalty on the kickoff will put Tampa in lousy field position. Bucs from the 12. Dockery swats down a lame short slant to Hilliard. Quick slant downfield to Hilliard works this time for 9. Graham squirts through for 4 on 3rd-and-1. 5 to the TE crossing. This drive is pretty funny. Tampa's going to use up the rest of the clock to score once at this rate with 6:30 left. 5 to Graham, after a penalty, leaves Garcia with 3rd-and-5. Garcia rolls and hits Pittman for 10. Strahan is slow getting up, stopping the clock for Tampa. Garcia barely gets the 1st down pass away before he's taken down by Stahan's replacement. Then he scrambles right and hits Pittman for a 25-yard play, their biggest of the day. About 15 more to Clayton. 9 more to Hilliard at the 11. Draw to Pittman for 5; first and goal at the 6. Slant pass to Smith for the TD makes it 24-14 with 3:25 left. The Giants achieved everything they wanted to this drive, though. They didn't give up a long play, forced the Bucs to dink, dunk and burn 3+ minutes off the clock just to get within 10.

Onside kick should be coming here. The Giants play 10 men up, and Tampa squibs it to Reuben Droughns, who brings it out to the 30. You know, if you're not onsiding there, DON'T kick it straight to the deep man, HEH?!? Bradshaw gains 8 and nearly broke it for a monster gain. The illusion of the Tampa defense has been shattered again by an opponent smart enough not to run their offense right into where they're loaded up. Bucs letting the clock run inside 3:00, but they stop Bradshaw short here and use one. 3rd-and-3 with 2:20-ish left. Hovan stuffs Bradshaw to force NY into punting. Tampa uses TO#2 with 2:19 left. After the punt, Bucs will take over at their 27.

LOVELY, my worthless computer ate the last half of the post. Basically, McQuarters picks off a long pass to put the game away, then Troy wet-dreams all over himself about how Eli "has grown up today". Sure, when the opponent plays a crappy scheme and the Giants run as well as they did, Eli's great. And I'll give him star of the game today, because it's no mean feat to win a playoff game on the road, and he didn't make the big screwup he often makes. (Though the real star of the game is the Tampa coaching staff for crappy game-planning on both sides of the ball.) But Dallas will get after him next week a lot better than Tampa did. If he falls apart under some actual defensive pressure, Dallas will beat the Giants for the third time. But, if T.O. can't go, there's every reason to think the Giant defense can look as good in Dallas as they did in Tampa today. So the Giants could win in Dallas even if Eli sucks.

Keep an eye on the injury lists.