divisional games and, at the peak of their success, had a record of 9–5. Many factors contributed to this, such as the problems faced by Atlanta, whose star quarterback Michael Vick had been arrested on dog fighting charges in the preseason, and the season-ending ACL tear suffered by New Orleans running back Deuce McAllister. they finished off the season on a low point, however, but still won the NFC South division, and qualified for a playoff spot at 9–7. Tampa Bay were set to host the New York Giants at Raymond James Stadium for their second home playoff game in three seasons. They began well opening up the scoreboard with the first touchdown of the game, which was a 1-yard Earnest Graham run. However, the Giants outscored the Bucs 24-0 until the last three minutes of play, when Jeff Garcia completed a touchdown pass to Alex Smith to bring the Bucs back to just a ten-point deficit, although an interception by R. W. McQuarters with two minutes left, sealed the victory for Giants. In the end the Buccaneers had been held to 271 yards of total offense and 3 turnovers, and lost the game 24–14. 2008 On January 28, the Buccaneers re-signed head coach Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen through the 2011 season. Also during the offseason, the Buccaneers expressed interest in acquiring QB Brett Favre from Green Bay, but he eventually signed with the New York Jets instead. The 2008 regular season began with a loss to New Orleans, followed by three wins, a loss to Denver, two more wins, a defeat in Dallas, and four wins over the Chiefs, Vikings, Lions, and Saints. At 9–3, the Buccaneers were close to guaranteeing their place in the playoffs, with 4 games remaining in the season. However, they fell to Carolina on Monday Night Football, which ended their chances of successfully repeating as division champions. They next lost to Atlanta in overtime, followed by their first home loss of the season to San Diego. The final week of the season still held playoff hopes, although it would take a Buccaneers win over Oakland coupled with a Dallas loss. The Buccaneers couldn't hold their 4th quarter lead against the Raiders, and lost 31–24. Adding insult to injury, Dallas lost their final game against Philadelphia, giving the Eagles the final wild card playoff spot over Dallas and the Bucs. Having finished 9–7