TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – One team hasn’t won a playoff game in seven years, the other has gone through hard times since winning the Super Bowl five seasons ago.

The New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are counting on this trip to the postseason to be different.

No more one-and-done.

“I was brought here to help this team get back to the position where we can compete in a playoff game,” said quarterback Jeff Garcia, one of the big changes the Bucs (9-7) made to transform themselves from a last-place team into NFC South champions.

“This is when the great players step up. I’m not necessarily putting myself in that position right now, but I understand what is put on our shoulders, what is put on my shoulders, and I will do anything and everything to help this team reach that next level.”

The Giants (10-6) will be looking for the same from Eli Manning in today’s NFC wild-card game.

The top pick in the 2004 draft has New York in the playoffs for the third straight season, but he’s still trying to deliver the team’s first postseason win since January 2001.

The Giants have lost in the opening round three times since, including the 2005 and 2006 seasons with Manning struggling at quarterback.

In two career postseason games, he’s completed 26 of 45 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. He was sacked five times, lost one fumble, and New York exited quickly against Carolina (23-0) and Philadelphia (23-20).

“I am just looking at the game ahead of me. I’m just going to try to play smart, put our team in a situation to win the game – whatever that is,” Manning said. “Just make plays here and there, don’t force any turnovers, and don’t force anything to happen unless you have to.”

The Bucs’ only other playoff appearance since winning the Super Bowl five years ago ended in a first-round loss to Washington.

They had the NFL’s stingiest pass defense this season and hope to take advantage of Manning’s inconsistency and knack for making critical mistakes.

The 27-year-old threw for 3,336 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also tossed 20 interceptions, tied for the league lead with Carson Palmer and Jon Kitna.

It certainly doesn’t help that he’s the younger brother of Peyton Manning.

“Eli has more pressure on him than anybody in this league, but I think he handles it extremely well. … If his last name were Smith, I don’t think it would be such a big deal,” Giants defensive end Michael Strahan said.

“He hasn’t always been great and hasn’t been nowhere near as bad as people like to say. I know as teammates we stand behind him because we know how talented he is.”

Not if Garcia has his way.

One of the main reasons Tampa Bay has missed the playoffs three of five seasons since its Super Bowl run has been the absence of an experienced quarterback who could protect the ball and make plays.

Enter Garcia, whom coach Jon Gruden considers an ideal fit for his version of the West Coast offense.

The 37-year-old signed with the Bucs as a free agent in March, two months after leading the Eagles past the Giants in the playoffs. He’s 2-0 against New York in the postseason and 4-1 overall against the Giants.

“We wouldn’t be here, I don’t think, without him. And we wouldn’t have a chance to advance without him, either,” Gruden said, adding teams generally don’t win this time of the year “despite” their quarterback.

“You usually win because of the play of your quarterback,” the Bucs coach said. “Garcia has been superb for us. He’s protected the ball, he runs our offense and he’s truly a great competitor.”

Garcia’s passer rating of 94.6 was seventh in the league this season. He threw for 13 touchdowns against four interceptions, and the ninth-year pro did not throw a pick in 11 of 13 games he played.

Manning lost seven fumbles, Garcia two.

Gruden doesn’t buy the argument Manning could be overmatched. The coach thinks too much is being made of the young quarterback’s rate of development, calling him a “winner.”

“I don’t know about all that criticism, man. I loved him when he came out of Mississippi, and I like the fact that he’s taken his team to the playoffs three times in a tough league,” Gruden said. “I’m a big fan of his, personally.”

Garcia began his pro career in the Canadian Football League before moving to the NFL in 1999. He spent five seasons with San Francisco and one each in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia before landing in Tampa Bay.

He can only imagine the pressure Manning feels to deliver in the postseason for a New York team.

“Unless you have actually lived it before, it is hard to really put yourself in his shoes,” Garcia said.

“He is not just dealing with the scrutiny of playing in New York; he is also dealing with the scrutiny of being one of the top quarterbacks to ever play the game’s younger brother. You are always somewhat working from a shadow, but I think that Eli has done some great things himself for being such a young guy. I think sometimes we lose sight of how young he still is, and how much more he still is going to learn, and how much more he is going to grow as a quarterback.”

AP-ES-01-05-08 1615EST