The New York Giants were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium in Week 12 and although he wasn’t the only problem, second-year quarterback Tommy DeVito appeared totally outmatched.
That was apparent to the Bleacher Report staff as their team of NFL analysts Gary Davenport, Kristopher Knox, Maurice Moton and Brent Sobleski broke down the weekend as they do every Monday.
The “Giants should start Drew Lock next week,” Bleacher Report proclaimed as their No. 1 takeaway from the debacle versus the Bucs.
“DeVito threw for 189 yards and took three sacks early in the game, mostly because he held onto the ball too long,” B/R reasoned. “DeVito settled down in the second half, but the Buccaneers had a commanding 23-0 lead by halftime, while the Giants had generated little offensive production through two quarters.”
“The Giants will look for their franchise quarterback in the offseason,” the team of writers went on, “though in the meantime, they should start Drew Lock to inject some life into their offense. Lock can at least push the ball downfield to help wide receiver Malik Nabers and tight end Theo Johnson develop in their first year with the team.”
Bleacher Report did acknowledge that “DeVito has more experience in head coach Brian Daboll’s offense,” but added that “Lock, with more starting experience, could uplift Big Blue’s struggling aerial attack.”
They concluded that DeVito is “not the bridge-gap answer going into the offseason.”
Tommy DeVito Expected to Remain as Giants Starter vs. Cowboys Assuming Health
Big Blue head coach Brian Daboll wasn’t willing to commit to DeVito for the remainder of the season when the Giants first benched Daniel Jones on November 18. Having said that, one bad outing doesn’t seem to be enough for Daboll to make another change.
After Week 12, the NYG head coach told reporters that DeVito will continue on as the Giants’ starting quarterback on Thanksgiving, “as long as he’s healthy.”
“Nobody did a good enough job, starting with myself,” Daboll said, taking accountability for the loss.
DeVito took a few big hits against the Buccaneers, especially late in the game. Assuming he’s not compromised physically, however, it appears he’ll suit up as QB1 versus the division rival Dallas Cowboys on Thursday afternoon.
Giants QB Tommy DeVito Struggled With Buccaneers Pass Rush & Identifying the Blitz
Giants star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence said it after the game, “we had a new quarterback in, so they were going to do whatever they did — blitz the [expletive] out of him every play.”
That’s exactly what happened, as Bucs head coach Todd Bowles brought the heat early and often, overwhelming DeVito and the NYG offensive line.
“They were bringing a lot of pressure early on,” DeVito admitted while addressing the media. “I was just starting to figure that out and just let everybody just play. We started to get going, but it was too late.”
Unfortunately, you cannot take a full two quarters to “figure it out” at the NFL level, and the slow start allowed Tampa Bay to run away with this one as the Giants’ holes on defense were exploited up and down the field.
“You always want to be that spark,” DeVito expressed. “I take that hard — [not] being able to get more points going and get things going in the first half.”
As the clock hit zero, DeVito finished 21-of-31 passing with 189 yards through the air and another 32 yards on the ground. He was also sacked four times, with just 6.1 yards per completion. On the bright side, DeVito did not turn the ball over, but his total QBR was a lowly 14.8 out of 100 — so he didn’t do much to help the team win either.
Needless to say, the Giants need more out of the quarterback position moving forward.
Comments
Giants Called Upon to Make Immediate QB Move in Week 13