Brady, Bucs end 2-game slide
Tampa Bay pulls away from N.Y., 30-10
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady stepped up in the pocket to scramble, high-stepped a tackler, slid hard for a first down and got up pumping his arm and screaming.
That’s one way to erase the taste of losing.
Brady threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New York Giants 30-10 on Monday night.
The Super Bowl champion Buccaneers (7-3) snapped a two-game skid as Brady avoided dropping three in a row for the first time since 2002.
“We’re at a decent point but we can play a lot better than we’ve played,” Brady said. “Hoping our best football is ahead of us.”
Brady started 10 for 10 before misfiring on a deep ball to Mike Evans. On the next play, the 44-year-old scrambled 10 yards on third-and-4 to extend Tampa’s drive that ended with Ryan Succop kicking a 25-yard field goal that made it 10-3.
“Eleven-yard run. They don’t happen very often so I do remember how far they go,” Brady said, unaware it was officially ruled 10 yards.
Rob Gronkowski joked that he was open up the seam for a touchdown on the play.
“He could’ve just chucked it up but I saw him running and that was pretty dope,” Gronkowski said. “That was pretty impressive.”
Daniel Jones threw a TD pass to left tackle Andrew Thomas and the Giants (3-7) stayed close for one half before unraveling.
Down 17-10, the Giants drove to the Buccaneers 25 on the opening drive of the third quarter before Jones, under pressure from Devin White, threw incomplete on fourthand-1 after rushing to the line to beat the play clock.
Brady then connected with Evans on a 5-yard TD pass to extend the lead to 24-10. Evans set a franchise record with his 72nd touchdown, passing Mike Alstott. He made sure to keep the ball after giving away Brady’s 600th TD pass to a fan earlier in the season.
“I’m very proud of that accomplishment. Hopefully I can extend it really far,” Evans said. “I’m very proud. A-Train was an unbelievable player. I’m happy to be in the same sentence as him, let alone break his record. It’s a blessing.”
Jones threw an interception to 310-pound nose tackle Steve McLendon on New York’s next possession, but Tampa settled for Succop’s 40-yard field goal despite starting at the Giants 37. It was McLendon’s first career pick in 12 seasons.
Brady finished 30 of 46 with one interception. He improved to 6-1 against the Giants in the regular season but has lost two Super Bowls to New York, including one that prevented New England from a perfect season.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion leads the NFL with 29 TD passes and is second in yards passing with 3,172.
Gronkowski was back in Tampa’s lineup after missing five of the previous six games. Brady targeted his buddy eight times, connecting with the four-time All-Pro tight end on six passes for 71 yards.
Star running back Saquon Barkley returned for the Giants after missing four games with a sprained ankle but only had 25 yards rushing on six carries.
The Giants have lost 10 straight games in prime time.