It is late in November in the year 2023, past the halfway point of the season, and could anyone in any way, shape or form have envisioned a scenario that the Giants would win a game because they had Tommy DeVito playing quarterback for them and future Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick did not?
It might be more complicated than that, but not by much.
The Giants and Patriots spent a cloudy and damp Sunday doing what comes naturally for them this season. The two lowest-scoring teams in the NFL spent long stretches keeping out of the end zone.
The main difference: The Giants had DeVito and the best thing he did was to not throw the ball to the wrong team. The Patriots used two quarterbacks, Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, and they combined to toss three interceptions.
Advantage, Giants. In a game devoid of offensive punch, the Giants delivered just enough body blows to secure a fortunate 10-7 victory at MetLife Stadium, giving the Giants their first two-game winning streak of the season.
Of course, this being the Giants, the end was fraught with potential peril. Patriots rookie Chad Ryland lined up for a 35-yard field-goal attempt with three seconds to go to send this classic into overtime.
“Knowing our luck we were probably going into overtime,’’ rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt said.
“I was getting the guys ready, knowing we were going to go back out there for overtime,’’ outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux said.
Ryland, with light rain falling, sent the kick wide left. The Giants erupted in celebration. Safety Xavier McKinney rejoiced, removed his helmet and rolled it on the wet turf, incurring a penalty that did not matter one bit.
“Oh man, it was a blessing — that was God’s gift right there,’’ Thibodeaux said.
After giving away so much this season, it was a gift the Giants gladly accepted this holiday season. They are 4-8 and head off into their long-awaited bye week. The Patriots are 2-9 in what might be Belichick’s final season in New England. If it is, lousy play at the quarterback position will have done him in.
The Giants were 2-7 when they went to DeVito as their starter after the season-ending knee injury to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor landing on injured reserve with a rib cage issue. He had no chance in a lopsided loss in Dallas but tossed three touchdown passes to beat the Commanders on the road. There were fewer exploits this time, but DeVito gave the Giants a chance to win, despite producing only one touchdown, a 12-yard scoring pass to Isaiah Hodgins late in the second quarter, with Hodgins using a stiff-arm to move cornerback Jonathan Jones out of the way before he got into the front corner of the end zone.
“It was awesome to be able to throw a maybe like 5-yard route and then see him make somebody miss like that,’’ DeVito said. “Use his size, use his body, throw the dude off him and find his way in the end zone, it’s awesome. He makes your job as a quarterback a lot easier.’’
DeVito, the pride of Cedar Grove, N.J., had more than 100 friends and family at the game, by his estimation. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 191 yards and he was sacked six times, a few he should have been able to avoid. The lone touchdown came only after Bobby Okereke returned an interception of Jones 55 yards to the New England 26-yard line. The only other points for the Giants, Randy Bullock’s 42-yard field goal with 8:10 remaining, came only after McKinney’s interception of Zappe put the Giants on the Patriots’ 32-yard line.
Most games, this would not have been enough. It was because DeVito was much better than Mac Jones, who tossed two interceptions before he was benched in the third quarter, and Zappe threw another.
“Too much poor ball security on offense,’’ Belichick said. “Turned the ball over too many times. Got away from us.’’
Jones finished with a quarterback rating of 27.8. DeVito checked in at 103.9.
“Just bad quarterback play and wasn’t good enough by me,’’ Jones said. “So, if the quarterback doesn’t play well, you have no chance.’’
The Giants had a chance because DeVito held onto the ball — other than a lost fumble on a botched jet sweep exchange with Wan’Dale Robinson — and because their defense gave up nothing other than a third-quarter drive capped by Rhamonde Stevenson’s 7-yard touchdown run to make it 7-7. After the game, coach Brian Daboll handed the game ball to defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, an interesting development, considering before the game a Fox Sports report indicated there is a Daboll-Martindale rift that could lead to a parting of the ways.
Afterward, Daboll said the only arguments he has had with Martindale were about “Who has the last piece of pizza.’’
What happens next with this remains to be seen. In the here and now, the Giants won a game and now have time off to think about where they were, where they are and what they can accomplish with DeVito in the weeks to come.
