3:20: 14-play drive here for the Giants. Bucs need a stop for any small chance to win.

3:21: Toomer touchdown equals ballgame. Troy Aikman sees it as a trademark drive by Eli. I can't disagree, but how about the emergence of Ahmad Bradshaw? He was the key.

3:25: My wife has beat me on two of three bets this weekend now. For each loss, she gets a box of cereal. Lot of excitement here in the Rosenthal house.

3:27: I probably shouldn't start writing post-mortem analysis with seven minutes left, but this loss may not be a terrible thing. How far can the Garcia-Galloway-Hilliard trio take this team? Where are you going with Garcia as your quarterback? Jon Gruden isn't afraid to remodel his roster each offseason, and I don't think that will be any different this offseason.

Tampa positives this year: They had some young players emerge, finally, on both lines. Earnest Graham, Tanard Jackson, and Barrett Ruud are keepers. Gruden loves the veterans, but this team badly needed youth.

3:34: Tampa offense in a nutshell. Down three scores in the fourth quarter, with time running out, it takes them nine plays and 3.5 minutes to cross midfield.

3:35: Bucs finally pick up the pace, and get in the end zone with 3:30 left. Clearly punishing me for talking about the Bucs offseason. With three timeouts left, the Bucs need to force a three-and-out, score a touchdown, then recover an onsides kick. Good luck!

3:40: Ahmad Bradshaw, in crunch time, remains in the game over Brandon Jacobs. Very interesting. Jacobs may not be 100%, but it's still a statement.

3:41: The Giants run it on third-and-three instead of throwing for the first. Underrated part of the Steelers game last night was Ben Roethlisberger on a called run on third-and-six when a pass would have won the game and the Jaguars secondary was struggling. Timeouts are nice, but first downs are better. Giants kept Tampa in the game there.

3:44: Galloway isn't even playing. When you rely on one receiver so much, you set the team up for problems when he gets hurt.

3:49: Garcia throws another duck of a long pass, which was picked off. It's not just that the Bucs didn't hit a deep pass all game. They weren't even close. The Giants fans in Tampa are making noise. It's gotta be troubling for the Glazers to see the lack of passion from the locals for this team, this game.

3:50: Fox has to be thrilled with the Dallas-Giants matchup. So do the Cowboys. They have had New York's number this season.

What a big moment for Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin. Both men needed a playoff win this year to push this Giants program and their careers forward. Another loss this weekend would have the tabloids on their backs all offseason. They got it, and in a dominant effort against a great pass defense. Coughlin may get a contract extension out of the win.

Thanks for stopping by today. We'll be back on the blog tomorrow morning.