Three takeaways from the Giants' Week 12 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after scoring a second-quarter touchdown against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Mike Stobe
1. What goes around comes around
During his rocket to stardom last year, Tommy DeVito celebrated big plays by pursing his fingers in a tribute to his Italian-American heritage.
He did not get a chance to celebrate much of anything in his first start of 2024 – a 30-7 loss to the Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday – but his counterpart, Baker Mayfield, did.
When Mayfield scored on a 10-yard run in the third quarter, he punctuated the moment by copying DeVito’s moves.
“Tribute to Tommy,” Mayfield said later. “He’s a good dude. He’s got swag . . . New York fans love Tommy here. (I gave) them something they like.”
DeVito’s reaction?
“They were having a good game,” he said. “They celebrated. It is what it is. It kind of happened last year and it’s going to happen, I guess.”
Said receiver Darius Slayton, “That’s what happens when you lose. When you lose you allow people to do stuff like that.”
2. Tyrone Tracy Jr. needs to regain trust
Tyrone Tracy Jr. has made a big impression as a rookie fifth-round draft pick, but the running back could derail his season if he keeps coughing up the ball in key spots.
Two weeks ago in Munich, his fumble in overtime set up the Panthers for the winning field goal.
On Sunday, he fumbled at the Tampa Bay 5-yard line, ending a promising Giants drive early in the second half.
Coach Brian Daboll benched him for a stretch after that before putting him back on the field.
“He turned the ball over,” Daboll said. “Gave ‘Motor’ (Devin Singletary) some burn and (Eric) Gray and then put Tracy back in . . . It's something we’ve got to continue to stress and work on. I have a lot of confidence in Tracy. But we can't turn the ball over to the other team.”
Tracy said his mistake was carrying the ball in his right arm rather than his left, thus exposing it to linebacker Lavonte David.
Asked whether he was still shaken by the fumble in Munich entering Sunday’s game, he said, “Not at all. You walk into the games with a clear mind, clear heart, clear soul. I feel like that’s what I did for this game.
“Obviously, you don’t want something bad to happen, but at the same time you don’t want to carry something from the previous game.”
Tracy said sometimes he puts himself in harm’s way with too much second effort.
“I’m always trying to fight for the extra yard,” he said, “but I have to understand when enough is enough and that right there kind of hurt us.”
3. Malik Nabers might be reaching a boiling point
Rookie receiver Malik Nabers has emerged as a star this season, but after the game his frustration level seemed to be at an all-time high.
He was not targeted once in the first half, after which the Giants trailed, 23-0. He ended up with nine targets and six receptions for 64 yards after catching three consecutive passes on the first drive of the second half.
Nabers referred questions about the playcalling to Daboll.
“We didn't have very many plays,” the coach said. “We tried to mix in the run. Started off the game with a good run and not much after that. The game got away from us and turned into a pass-a-thon, which is not what we want to do.”
Said DeVito, “Kind of just going through my reads. Kind of just how it played out.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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