Tommy DeVito leads Giants to last-second win over Packers
Tommy DeVito of the New York Giants reacts after throwing a touchdown pass during the third quarter against the Packers at MetLife Stadium on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
What if the Giants have saved their best for last?
What if Tommy DeVito is more than an undrafted rookie with fairy dust in his pockets?
What if the Giants were a game out of the final playoff berth with four games to play?
We can’t answer the first two questions. Not yet, anyway.
As for the third?
Well, don’t look now, but the Giants are just one game out of playoff position.
On a night when coach Brian Daboll told DeVito to “go out there and rip that son of a [gun],” the undrafted rookie obliged as the Giants defeated the Packers, 24-22, in a MetLife Stadium thriller on Monday night.
Randy Bullock kicked the Giants into the postseason conversation with a 37-yard field goal as time expired.
DeVito was 17-for-21 for 158 yards and a touchdown. He did not throw an interception. His passer rating was a very healthy 113.9, his third straight game with a rating above 100. He also finished with 71 rushing yards on 10 carries, including a 26-yard run to the 1 that set up Saquon Barkley's second touchdown of the game.
Yet all of that was almost rendered inconsequential when Barkley lost a fumble after a 34-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Carrington Valentine returned the fumble 50 yards to the Giants' 36 to set up a go-ahead 6-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Malik Heath. The two-point conversion run failed, however, leaving the Packers ahead 22-21 with 1:33 remaining.
That was more than enough time for DeVito.
On the winning drive, he found Wan’Dale Robinson for 5 yards. Then Barkley for 7. Darius Slayton made a 9-yard reception. With 49 seconds on the clock, DeVito hit Robinson for 32 yards to the 22.
Barkley got four yards up the middle and the Packers took a timeout with 38 seconds remaining. Two more Barkley carries did what they were intended to do — run the clock. And as time expired, Bullock’s field goal from 37 yards was true.
And in answer to a reporter’s question, Barkley said he’ll buy the kicker dinner at a restaurant of his choosing.
“I was definitely hoping to get [another] opportunity,” a relieved Barkley said, referring to his fumble. “My teammates had my back. [Offensive coordinator Mike] Kafka did a great job calling plays on that drive. It’s the NFL. You’ve got to win games like that. I wish I never put my team in that position. But it could’ve been worse. We found a way to get a win. I just got to be better.
"I was running, I knew where the sideline was, I was trying not to go out of bounds. The ball just popped out on me. It was inexcusable. I’ve got to be better in that situation. I can’t put my team in that situation.”
It was the third lost fumble of Barkley’s career.
“Definitely a lot of praying going on,'' he said. "I watched the field goal. [Running back Eric] Gray told me to keep my head down, he was going to watch it for me. I had a feeling he was going to make it. [But] I can’t let that happen. It happens to great players in the league and I want to be a great player in this league. So it’s about how you respond. I have to respond and get better and come out on fire next game.”
Discussing the winning drive, Barkley said: “The biggest thing in that situation is to stay calm. Two of those throws were checkdowns. One was a big throw to Wan’Dale [Robinson]. I think three of those throws were just reading the defense, taking what they give you and keep going. That’s rare for a rookie quarterback, but with the confidence and swagger that [DeVito] plays with, you could feel it through the stadium, you could feel it on the sideline.”
Also in the mix for the Giants was wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, who played a key role in last year’s Giants playoff run.
He caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling DeVito, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive late in the third quarter. Hodgins also scored the Giants' lone touchdown against the Patriots before the Giants' bye week.
The lane for DeVito initially wasn’t open, Hodgins said.
“But it’s like a scramble drill,” he said. “We work on that every day and we knew it would be big against this team. Tommy does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield. I was praying, please throw it. And he’s got the confidence to rip it back there. That goes to show his poise and his ability to make big plays.”
The rookie quarterback continues to impress.
“He was on fire,” Hodgins said. “You could just see it in his eyes. The moment he really got like that was on the long run [for 26 yards]. You could just see it in his eyes. He got tackled at the 1, and I had the back view. He was juking people and I thought he was going to slide, and he was like, no, I’m trying to score.”
Wink Martindale’s defense was terrific in this game. Barkley was redeemed. Dexter Lawrence was his dominant self. And at his locker, Kayvon Thibodeaux smiled.
“I just went out there and made plays,'' he said. "Prime time is the best time to do it.”
His Giants teammates would agree.
And now, another week of postseason hope awaits.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
