Who played tonight on Monday Night Football tonight in Week 8? Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New York Giants, 25-23 – more stats are below, along with our Monday Night Football schedule with information on where, when, and how you could have watched the game, as well as a preview and prediction of the highly-anticipated matchup.
Monday Night Football Final Score and Stat Leaders
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25, New York Giants 23
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to hold off a last-minute surge by the New York Giants to win, 25-23. Tampa Bay was led by Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette while the Giants were led by Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram.
Quarterback – Tom Brady, Tamp Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady completed 28 passes on 40 attempts for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns. New York Giants QB Daniel Jones completed 25 passes on 41 attempts for 256 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Running Back – Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Leonard Fournette ran for 52 yards on 15 carries. He averaged 3.5 yards per carry and had zero touchdowns. Ronald Jones II was next in line for the Buccaneers with 23 yards on 7 attempts, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. For the Giants, Wayne Gallman led the team with 44 rushing yards on 12 attempts with 1 touchdown. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry.
Wide Receiver – Sterling Shepard, New York Giants
Sterling Shepard hauled in eight receptions for 74 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per reception. Evan Engram came in second on the team with 61 yards on five receptions, averaging 12.2 yards per reception. For the Buccaneers, Mike Evans caught five passes for 55 yards, averaging 11 yards per reception. He also had one touchdown on the day.
Tight End – Evan Engram, New York Giants
Evan Engram was the leading tight end in this game, pulling in five catches for 61 yards, averaging 12.2 yards per reception. For the Buccaneers, Rob Gronkowski can do it all and Monday Night Football was no exception. He hauled in four catches on 41 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 10.2 yards per reception.
Week 8 NFL Power Rankings & Week 7 NFL Recap
Pro Football Network’s Senior NFL Analyst Matt Williamson (Former NFL Scout and ESPN Analyst) released his Week 8 Power Rankings following the games on Monday Night Football in Week 7. This week, Williamson has the New York Giants floundering in 27th after blowing a multi-score lead in primetime in Week 7. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit among the top five teams in the league, with Tom Brady playing at an MVP level.
We also have Mike Tanier’s weekly NFL Recap, breaking down trending topics from Week 8’s action-packed slate. This week, he takes a look at Tua’s debut, the struggling New England Patriots, and more!
Who plays on Monday Night Football tonight?
- Game: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants
- Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey at Metlife Stadium
How to watch Monday Night Football tonight, Week 8 | Start Time, TV Channel, and Live Stream
- Date: Monday, November 2nd
- NFL Monday Night Football Start Time, Week 8: 8:15 PM ET
- Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: ESPN app and NFL App
What to expect from Buccaneers vs. Giants
The Giants aren’t a good team. In fact, they’re one of the worst in the NFL this season. This is evident when you look at where they stand in season-long stats. The Giants rank 31st in points, total yards, and first downs. They are 30th in passing yards and touchdown passes, 27th in rushing yards, and 28th in rushing TDs. They have nine total offensive touchdowns and 13 total turnovers. They are slightly better on defense, but not by much (13th in total yards allowed and 14th in points surrendered).
However, you can’t ever count them out against Tom Brady. At least, that’s been the thinking since the Giants upset Brady’s New England Patriots twice in the Super Bowl. In reality, Brady is 4-1 against the Giants in the regular season. Brady has also been playing lights out since getting accustomed to this new offense. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 4, completing 66.4% of his passes while generating a 7:0 touchdown to interception ratio in the last three games.
The Buccaneers are stacked on offense. Their offensive line is playing like one of the best in the NFL, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are elite receivers, Ronald Jones has got the running game going, and Rob Gronkowski is rounding into form. They are also seeing an emergence of speedster Scotty Miller in the absence of some of their bigger named weapons.
There are no weaknesses for teams to attack. They just have to hope to weather the storm better than others and outscore the Bucs.
The Giants aren’t going to do that. Daniel Jones has struggled all season long, throwing for just five touchdowns to 11 total turnovers. That is a lot of turnovers. In fact, in the last two seasons, he has turned the ball over 34 times, four more times than any other player not named Jameis Winston. He has fumbled the ball 23 times since last year and lost 15 of them. Both of those are the most in the NFL during that time.
Jones also leads one of the worst offensive units in the NFL. It’s hard to see them scoring even two touchdowns in this game, mostly because Jones has thrown for zero touchdowns four times this year.
Unfortunately for New York, Tampa Bay isn’t just excelling on offense. The Buccaneers have been unforgiving to offenses through both the ground and air. They allow the fewest rushing yards per game (66.0) and ninth-fewest passing yards per contest (225.3), including 195.3 over the last three contests.
This game isn’t going to be close. Brady and the Bucs run away with this one.
Monday Night Football Tonight Score Prediction: Buccaneers win 28-13
Full 2020 Monday Night Football Schedule
Here is the full MNF schedule for the remainder of the 2020 NFL season. All Monday night games begin at 8:15 PM ET. All games will be aired live on ESPN. You can also live stream the games from your ESPN app and NFL app.
Monday Night Football: September Schedule
- Monday, September 14: Steelers at Giants
- Monday, September 14: Titans at Broncos
- Monday, September 21: Saints at Raiders
- Monday, September 28: Chiefs at Ravens
Monday Night Football: October Schedule
- Monday, October 5: Falcons at Packers
- Monday, October 12: Chargers at Saints
- Monday, October 19: Cardinals at Cowboys
- Monday, October 26: Bears at Rams
Monday Night Football: November Schedule
- Monday, November 2: Buccaneers at Giants
- Monday, November 9: Patriots at Jets
- Monday, November 16: Vikings at Bears
- Monday, November 23: Rams at Buccaneers
- Monday, November 30: Seahawks at Eagles
Monday Night Football: December Schedule
- Monday, December 7: Bills at 49ers
- Monday, December 14: Ravens at Browns
- Monday, December 21: Steelers at Bengals
- Monday, December 28: Bills at Patriots
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