The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have moved to 7-3 on the season and remain perfect at Raymond James Stadium after handling the New York Giants, 30-10. The defending champs got off to a quick start in this “Monday Night Football” head-to-head as it took just under four minutes for them to drive 73 yards down the field to capture the lead in the game’s opening possession.

The wheels began to really fall off for the Giants. A failed fourth-down attempt just outside the red zone gave the ball back to the Bucs, who would proceed to go on a 10-play touchdown drive that extended their lead to double digits and effectively leave New York in the dust. Following that score, Tampa Bay’s defense started to create turnovers, picking off Daniel Jones twice as they pressed forward toward the win.

Tom Brady finished Monday completing 30 of his 46 passes for 307 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He spread the ball around rather evenly with four Bucs pass-catchers hauling in six receptions on the day. Mike Evans lead that unit with 73 yards receiving and a touchdown, while Rob Gronkowski made his return to action after missing time to a rib injury and finished with 71 yards receiving. Meanwhile, Jones finished with 167 yards while completing 23 of his 38 throws to go along with a touchdown and two picks.

The Dolphins beat the Jets 24-17 at MetLife Stadium, dropping New York’s 2021 record to 2-8.

Dolphin QB Tua Tagovailoa showed up to his postgame news conference decked out in pajama pants speckled with dogs sporting Christmas hats.

Yes, the Miami Dolphins quarterback is already in the holiday spirit. And the team’s third straight victory had him feeling pretty jolly.

Tagovailoa, who threw a go-ahead 5-yard touchdown pass to Myles Gaskin early in the fourth quarter, finished 27 of 33 for 273 yards and touchdown passes to Gaskin and Mack Hollins with one interception.

Jets QB Joe Flacco made his first start in place of the injured Zach Wilson, who missed his fourth straight game. New York opted to go with the 36-year-old Flacco over Mike White, saying the veteran would give them a better chance against Miami’s aggressive defense.

Flacco was 24 of 39 for 291 yards and touchdowns to Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder. Moore finished with eight catches for a career-best 141 yards.

“We did some good things,” Flacco said. “But we made too many mistakes to win the football game.”

Putting aside the distractions of numerous false-positive COVID tests, late schedule changes, and players going on and off the reserve list, the Giants rode an opportunistic defense, Graham Gano’s reliable leg, and just enough offense to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders, 23-16, in MetLife Stadium.

The Giants won for the second time in three weeks and improved to 3-6 entering their bye.

On Monday, they lost a winnable game in Kansas City, 20-17. Two days later, 13 positive tests from Tuesday forced practice to be pushed back. When the testing uncertainty continued Thursday, the players were sent home for Zoom meetings only to return for practice. Saquon Barkley, Xavier McKinney and Gary Brightwell were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Through all the news bulletins and updates, coach Joe Judge emphasized to his players and coaches they had to maintain their normal preparation and focus.