Playoff Matchup #3 Giants vs. Buccaneers

Written by Kyle Payne

Sunday 1:00 p.m. – Fox New York at Tampa Bay

This may be the game that is drawing the least amount of attention on Wild Card weekend, but it may also be the most interesting match-up. These are two teams that are hard to figure out. The New York Giants looked like a Super Bowl contender in their first half performance last week against New England, but turned into pretenders during their second half meltdown. Quarterback Eli Manning can be frustrating to watch, but if the Giants can avoid self-imploding, they are tough to beat. Having Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress healthy makes them a different team, but both have been injured throughout the season. For the Bucs, they may be the most overlooked of all the playoff teams. They benefited from the weakness of the NFC South, but can not be taken lightly. Jeff Garcia resurrected his career late last season with the Eagles and has been the steady hand that Jon Gruden was looking for to run his offense.

Tampa wins games by playing solid in all three phases of the game and look for them to play this one close to the best and wait for a mistake from the Giants. The homefield advantage the Buccaneers have can not be overlooked, and because we trust Jeff Garcia more than Eli Manning.

We will take Tampa Bay 27-14.