Cover 3: Takeaways from the Week 12 loss to Tampa Bay

The Giants.com crew reacts to Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

John Schmeelk: Despite the changes the Giants made, the results stayed the same this Sunday against the Buccaneers because the underlying issues were not solved. There are three huge issues that have dogged the Giants throughout the year: their big play deficit, run defense, and turnover battle. All three showed up again on Sunday.

The Buccaneers had six plays of more than 25 yards while the Giants’ longest play was 23 yards. They had only one other play of more than 20 yards. It is hard to score touchdowns when there aren’t any explosive plays on offense. Malik Nabers did have his first 20-yard gain since returning from his concussion.

It is difficult to slow down the opposing team when they run the ball effectively. The Bucs had 32 carries for 156 yards, averaging just under five yards per carry. The overall number was helped by Baker Mayfield, who ran four times for 29 yards, but Bucky Irving averaged over seven yards per carry and had at least one short pass turn into a big gain due to poor tackling, which also continues to be an issue.

Finally, the Giants set another new franchise record by not winning the turnover battle for the 11th straight game. The Bucs fumbled four times, but the Giants could only recover one. The Giants are now 2-4 in games where they have been even in turnover ratio, and 0-5 in games they have lost it.

Those are the three critical factors that have hurt the Giants all year long.