The Giants came back from 14 points down in the third quarter to beat the Bucs 41-34 on Sunday, but it didn’t come without a price.
They lost running back Ahmad Bradshaw and right tackle David Diehl to injuries in the first half of the game. Bradshaw hurt his neck when he took a shot at the end of the run with his head down as he tried to gain more yards and did not return to the game but did stand on the sideline for much of the second half. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Bradshaw will have an MRI on his neck on Monday.
Diehl injured his knee when someone rolled up on the back of his leg at the end of a running play. Diehl was able to walk back to the locker room without any assistance, but he also did not return and the injury happened in a way that we’ve seen end many seasons. Mike Garafolo of USA TODAY reports that Diehl will be having an MRI on the knee Sunday. It may be silly to want to read much into the timing, but it does suggest a bit more immediate concern about Diehl’s condition.
While the Giants surely don’t want to see either of these players hurt, the silver lining is that the offense performed better on the ground when the two of them were out of the game. Andre Brown had some good runs in the second half, including a more successful time wasting choice to kneel down instead of scoring a touchdown than Bradshaw mustered in the Super Bowl.