Greg Schiano and Tom Coughlin exchanged a few terse words after Sunday's game. (Getty Images)

For one half -- and even deep into the fourth quarter -- it looked like Tampa Bay was going to serve notice of just how quickly and dramatically it had improved by going on the road and beating the defending Super Bowl champions. But it all came undone late.

The team's defense was the star in the first half, picking off Giants quarterback Eli Manning three times and helping the team jump out to a 24-13 halftime lead. But by the end, there were tough questions for the defensive players to face after the Buccaneers gave up a franchise-record 604 yards in Sunday's 41-34 loss.

Yes, Manning threw those three picks in the first half, but he picked apart the Tampa Bay secondary in the second half, finishing with 510 passing yards and three touchdowns to lead a fourth-quarter comeback. The Bucs paid for their aggressive mindset, failing to finish blitzes and leaving cornerbacks in man-to-man coverage against the Giants' star receivers, Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. 

"We knew it would be a dogfight and they made one more play than us," cornerback Aqib Talib, who was matched up with Nicks, told Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. "It was our job to stop them and we didn't do it often enough."

Defensive lineman Gerald McCoy noted the turnovers the team forced "covered up a lot of stuff we didn't do [Sunday]. We've got to learn to keep our foot on the gas." 

Bucs defend tactics after dust-up with Coughlin: The game itself was almost overshadowed by a confrontation between the two head coaches, as the Giants' Tom Coughlin was clearly angered with Tampa Bay coach Greg Schiano when the two met for their postgame handshake. 

The controversy involved the way the Bucs handled the game's final play, when New York was in the victory formation and Manning was set to kneel to run out the clock. Tampa Bay defenders crowded the snap and tried to knock the ball free instead of simply allowing a kneel-down. "I don't think you do that at this level," Coughlin said, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. "You don't do that in this league." 

For their part, the Bucs refused to apologize for the decision. "I don't really care about their frustration,'' safety Ronde Barber said. "Coach Schiano believes in playing until the ref puts his hands over his head and ends the game and that's what we're going to do. It is what it is. That's my job.'' 

Late replay reversal frustrates WR Williams and teammates: Despite the defense's issues, the Bucs appeared to be in great position to potentially tie the game and head to overtime when quarterback Josh Freeman hit receiver Mike Williams for a 29-yard catch to give Tampa Bay a first down at the Giants' 16-yard line with 12 seconds to play. 

But a replay review determined that while Williams did get both feet down in bounds, he lost the ball as he went down to the ground following a hard hit from safety Antrel Rolle. Thus, the catch was overturned, and on the very next play, Freeman threw an interception to end the Bucs' hopes. 

"I guess I've got to get three feet down the next time," a frustrated Williams told Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune. "I didn't bobble it at all, and while they were reviewing it, one official told me, 'That's a catch.'" 

It was another moment when the NFL's replacement referees were squarely in the spotlight, and offensive lineman Donald Penn thought they got the replay review wrong. "I can't talk about the referees too much, but it seemed like it was a lopsided game,'' Penn said. "They came and bit us in the end. Mike caught the ball, got two feet down, got hit out of bounds and the ball came loose."

Bucs show vast improvement, but still much to be done: After a Week 1 win and a close call against the defending Super Bowl champions, Tampa Bay Times columnist Gary Shelton offered a simple but compelling analysis of this season's Bucs. 

"They are better. They are not yet good," Shelton wrote. "They fight harder. They still lack a knockout punch. They are good enough to build a two-touchdown lead against the defending world champions. They are not good enough to make it stand." 

Still, given the struggles of 2011, when the team ended the season with a 10-game losing streak, even having reason to be frustrated is a sign of just how far the team has come quickly under Schiano, Shelton writes. "I'm ticked," said defensive lineman Roy Miller. "We didn't play the way we're capable in the second half." 

For more from Tampa Bay Bucs blogger Patrick Southern, follow @CBSBucs on Twitter.