Jan 6, 2008 - 10:09 AM
1 shoutNew York Giants (10-6) at Tampa Bay (9-7) Sunday 1:00 pm EST
TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- The New York Giants can't seem to avoid running into Jeff Garcia in the playoffs.
When the fourth-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Giants in a wild card contest on Sunday, Garcia will be looking to beat New York for the third time in the playoffs with his third different team.
Garcia first playoff win over New York was one of the Giants' most horrific defeats in the franchise's history.
In 2002, Garcia engineered the second-biggest comeback in playoff history, rallying the San Francisco 49ers from a 24-point deficit to a 39-38 victory over the Giants.
Last season, Garcia faced the Giants again in the postseason as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He emerged victorious when David Akers kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to give the Eagles a 23-20 win.
Aside from Garcia's playoff history against the Giants, Sunday's contest matches a pair of teams looking to end postseason droughts.
The Giants, the No. 5 seed, have not won a playoff contest since routing the Minnesota Vikings, 41-0, in the 2001 NFC championship game. The Buccaneers' last postseason win came in an 48-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.
Tampa Bay enjoyed a turnaround season in 2007, capturing the NFC South title after finishing 4-12 last season. The Buccaneers became the fifth straight team to go from last to first in the division.
After clinching the division in Week 15, coach Jon Gruden elected to rest his starters, resulting in a pair of losses to end the season. Garcia played only a half two weeks ago in a 21-19 loss to San Francisco and didn't play at all in last week's 31-23 loss to Carolina.
One of Tampa Bay's main concerns now is limiting Brandon Jacobs, the Giants' bruising 265-pound running back who rushed for 1,009 yards.
"He's not just a big back, he's as big a back as I've ever seen play," Gruden said.
Earnest Graham, who was No. 4 on the depth chart in training camp, led the Buccaneers on the ground with 898 yards. He became the Buccaneers' feature back in midseason following season-ending injuries to Michael Pittman and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.
Gruden also is worried about the Giants' pass rush as New York led the NFL in sacks with 53. Osi Yumenyiora paced the Giants with 13 sacks, while fellow ends Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan had 10 and 9, respectively.
"They have a great blitz package," Gruden added. "They all hit and they all play hard. It will be a challenge for us."
Still, the Giants experienced a strange season. While they were just 3-5 at Giants Stadium, they finished 7-1 away from home and take a franchise-record seven-game road winning streak into Sunday's contest. In their last four road victories, the Giants rallied for wins after trailing at halftime.
"We like the fact that we play hard, we play for four quarters and we play well on the road," Strahan said.
Tom Coughlin joins Bill Parcells and Allie Sherman as the only Giants' coach to guide the team to three straight playoff appearances. But New York is 0-2 in the postseason under Coughlin.
Embattled Giants quarterback Eli Manning may have gotten a confidence boost after throwing four touchdown passes in last week's 38-35 loss to the New England Patriots.
"It doesn't guarantee anything," Manning said. "The most important thing is that on Sunday, we go out there and play good football."
From the Bleachers
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NEW YORK: 24
TAMPA BAY: 14
Final
Jan 6 3:55 PM -
WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD TAM
ALEX SMITH 6 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA
(MATT BRYANT KICK)
NY GIANTS 24
TAMPA BAY 14 3:25 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Jan 6 3:37 PM -
WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD NYG
AMANI TOOMER 4 YD PASS FROM ELI MANNING
(LAWRENCE TYNES KICK)
NY GIANTS 24
TAMPA BAY 7 8:03 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Jan 6 3:23 PM -
NEW YORK: 17
TAMPA BAY: 7
End of 3rd
Jan 6 3:11 PM -
-
WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
FG NYG
LAWRENCE TYNES 25 YD
NY GIANTS 17
TAMPA BAY 7 9:56 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Jan 6 2:44 PM -
NEW YORK: 14
TAMPA BAY: 7
Halftime
Jan 6 2:21 PM -
WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD NYG
BRANDON JACOBS 8 YD RUN
(LAWRENCE TYNES KICK)
NY GIANTS 14
TAMPA BAY 7 4:06 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Jan 6 2:08 PM -
WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD NYG
BRANDON JACOBS 6 YD PASS FROM ELI MANNING
(LAWRENCE TYNES KICK)
NY GIANTS 7
TAMPA BAY 7 10:02 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Jan 6 1:55 PM -
NEW YORK: 0
TAMPA BAY: 7
End of 1st
Jan 6 1:41 PM -
WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
NFL WILD CARD PLAYOFFS
TD TAM
EARNEST GRAHAM 1 YD RUN
(MATT BRYANT KICK)
NY GIANTS 0
TAMPA BAY 7 1:49 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Jan 6 1:30 PM
