TAMPA, Fla. _ Nick Folk kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bucs a 25-23 win over the Giants at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday. It was the second time in two weeks that the Giants lost on a last-second field goal, dropping their record to 0-4.
Folk's kick barely slipped inside the left upright. The former Jet had kept the Giants in the game and was fortunate that he had a chance to redeem himself. Folk missed a pair of field goals and an extra point _ seven total points _ through the first three quarters that left the Bucs (2-1) within arm's length of the struggling Giants.
The Giants are 0-4 for the first time since 2013, when they were 0-6. The 1992 San Diego Chargers are the only team ever to make the playoffs after losing their first four games.
The Giants waited until they really needed it to spring their most creative offensive play-call of the season. On third-and-goal at the 2 and trailing 22-17, the Giants gave every indication they were going to run. They had three tight ends on the field and even had defensive lineman Kerry Wynn lined up at fullback. But instead of trying to pound the ball into the end zone, Eli Manning ran a play-action fake, and one of those tight ends, Rhett Ellison, was open in the end zone to make a sliding grab. That touchdown made it 23-22 with 3:16 remaining.
The Giants went for two and Manning found Odell Beckham Jr. in the back of the end zone, but he went out of bounds earlier in the route, so the play was nullified by the illegal touch.
That left the Bucs needing only to get in field-goal range to potentially take the lead in the final minutes. On third-and-1 from the 39, just outside that range, Jameis Winston hit tight end Cameron Brate on a 26-yard gain over safety Landon Collins to put the ball at the 13 with 41 seconds remaining. The Bucs just took a knee twice, forcing the Giants to expend their final timeout, before setting up for the winning kick with 4 seconds left.
The Bucs took a 22-17 lead with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter when Winston hit Cameron Brate on a 14-yard TD pass. Linebacker Jonathan Casillas slipped in coverage. The Bucs went for a two-point conversion, but Winston's pass for DeSean Jackson was broken up by Eli Apple.
Folk's third miss, a 49-yard field-goal attempt with 10:10 left in the third, gave the Giants the ball at their own 39 while trailing 16-10. They then embarked on a 61-yard, 11-play drive for a go-ahead touchdown.
Brandon Marshall pulled in a pass from a scrambling Manning for 10 yards on third-and-5 from the 14, and two plays later running back Wayne Gallman caught a 4-yard pass for a touchdown in his first NFL game. That made it 17-16 with 4:19 left in the third.
The Giants had a chance to extend their lead early in the fourth but rookie Aldrick Rosas missed for the first time in his career, a 43-yarder that went wide right. On the ensuing possession the Bucs drove to the Giants' 35 and attempted a fourth-and-2 conversion. Collins broke up a pass intended for Brate that gave the ball back to the Giants.
The Bucs led 13-0 after a 6-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Mike Evans over Eli Apple, then a 58-yard touchdown pass to wide-open tight end O.J. Howard. That play came two snaps after the Giants elected to attempt a fourth-down conversion on fourth-and-4 from the 30 rather than attempt what would have been a 47-yard field goal.
Rosas' 30-yard field goal made it 13-3 with 7:17 left in the first half, and on the next drive Manning scrambled 14 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-10 with 3:17 left. That was enough time for the Bucs to drive for a field goal at the end of the half and take a 16-10 lead. They left points on the field on that drive, too, as Evans caught a pass that initially was ruled a 32-yard touchdown, but replays showed he was down inside the 1 on a Collins tackle. The Giants stopped three attempts at the end zone from inside the 2 and forced the field goal.
