Did Tiki Barber hit his former team with an announcer jinx on Sunday? If you’re the kind of person who believes in announcer jinxes, then yes.
Barber, one of the greatest players in New York Giants history, was on hand for his former team’s home game on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Barber and broadcast partner Andrew Catalon both noted how bad the first half was for the Giants and their fans as the home team trailed 23-0 at halftime.
Despite the poor first half, the Giants started the third quarter on a good note. New York received the second-half kickoff, then quickly moved down the field. After converting a third-and-two, the Giants faced a first-and-goal from the five-yard line. As the cameras showed cautiously optimistic New York fans celebrating the third down conversion, Barber made an observation.
“This Tommy DeVito first second-half drive is looking really good so far,” he said.
Things then went awry.
Tiki Barber: This Tommy DeVito first second-half drive is looking really good so far.
The Giants fumbled on the next play. pic.twitter.com/AmhzsjNqgQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 24, 2024
The Giants ran a trick play on first down. The quarterback, DeVito, lined up as a receiver to the offense’s right. Rookie running back Tyrone Tracy, who Barber had identified as the man (along with fellow rookie Malik Nabers) who sparked the drive to that point, took a direct snap. Tracy faked a hand-off to Devin Singletary but the trick play did not fool the defense. As the running back was being tackled, Tampa linebacker Lavonte David came in and knocked the ball loose. Calijah Kancey recovered the loose ball, giving the Buccaneers a turnover.
Tampa took full advantage of the fumble. The Bucs marched down the field and scored a touchdown to go up 30-0. The Giants finally got into the end zone on their next drive, cutting the deficit to 30-7 but neither team scored again for the remainder of the game.
As Catalon noted, Tracy’s fumble was “The seventh red zone turnover this year, committed by the New York Giants.”
This particular one, however, came only one play after one of the greatest players in franchise history had just finished crediting the team for a nice drive.
The jinx was strong here.
[Photo Credit: CBS]
