Giants rout Bucs for first road shutout since 1983

TAMPA, Fla. - The Giants beat up the Buccaneers Sunday, but somewhere in their minds, they still thought they were playing the Cowboys.At least they thought they were playing against the 251 rushing yards Dallas ran for last week. It was a number that stuck with the Giants' defense all week, gnawing at their pride with each frame of tape they watched. They don't get to play Dallas again until December, so the best they could do was take out their frustrations on the Bucs.And it was, they all noted, the very best they could do.The Giants used a dominating if not entirely healthy defense to cruise to a 24-0 win and improve to 3-0. It was their first shutout since a 36-0 rout of the Redskins in 2005 - the game after the funeral for team owner Wellington Mara - and their first road shutout since 1983, when they blanked the Eagles, 23-0.How long ago was that? It was Bill Parcells ' first year as head coach of the Giants."It was a great performance by us, one of the ...