Greg Schiano returned to New Jersey Sunday and after the ceremonial coin-toss by his former Rutgers player and Tampa Bay Buccaneer Eric LeGrand, the New York Giants probably wished he stayed in Florida.
Eli Manning was frustrated by a couple of dropped passes but more devastating to the Giants were the three first-half interceptions by the visiting Buccaneers.
Manning threw his first interception in 144 attempts in the first quarter but it was Eric Wright's 60-yard pick-6 return that had Easy Eli shaking his head and coach Tom Coughlin turning even more red-faced.
Wright's interception and run back was huge swing in the 17-13 game with :08 left in the first half. A possible 17-16 Bucs' lead turned into 24-13.
Manning threw the ball directly into the raised arms of Wright, who looked like he would take a knee, before he changed his mind and raced into the end zone. Even Eli gave chase to no avail.
The Giants Victor Cruz was Manning's favorite target and made up for last week's drops. He already had 9 catches for 94 yards before halftime.
Manning, meanwhile moved the team by throwing for 215 yards and running back Andre Brown ran the ball well but it was the INTs and penalties which killed a couple of Giants touchdown chances.
To add injury to insult, three key Giants players left the game and didn't return. OL David Diehl, RB Ahmad Bradshaw and WR Domenik Hixon were checked for knee, neck and head injuries respectively.
The Super Bowl champs also heard a sound they haven't heard since last December — boos at MetLife Stadium when they hit the locker room at the half.
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