Tommy DeVito suffers concussion, Lamar Jackson throws 5 TD passes as Giants fall to 2-12
Tommy DeVito of the Giants looks on against the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Mike Stobe
In case fans wondered how much worse it can get for the Giants, Sunday showed rock bottom is getting closer each week.
Tommy DeVito missed the second half with a concussion, meaning Tim Boyle became the fourth Giants quarterback to take a snap this season. It meant another anemic Giants' showing on offense in a 35-14 loss to the Ravens.
The sparse crowd at MetLife Stadium, including wide swaths of purple-clad Ravens fans, saw the Giants (2-12) reach new lows. They’re the first team in franchise history to go 0-8 at home, with one more home game remaining.
The Giants also temporarily own the league’s worst record with the Raiders playing Monday night against the Falcons. Nine straight losses tied a franchise record set by teams in 1976, 2019 and spanning two seasons in 2003-04.
An injury-depleted Giants secondary allowed Ravens quarterback and reigning MVP Lamar Jackson to put on a show with five passing touchdowns.
But the bigger issue was DeVito. After leading the Giants on a scoring drive late in the second quarter capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary, he left early for the locker room before the final play of halftime.
Boyle, who was signed off the practice squad last week with Drew Lock injured, came in to take a knee. He took over when DeVito was ruled out and delivered the Giants’ first passing touchdown since Nov. 3, a 23-yard pass to Malik Nabers.
It was also Nabers’ first touchdown catch since Week 3 when he caught two in a win over the Browns on Sept. 22. Nabers had 10 catches for 82 yards and Boyle finished 12-for-24 for 123 yards. He threw an interception late in the fourth quarter to Ar’Darius Washington
Most Giants fans didn’t see Nabers score because they headed for the exits with 10:46 remaining in the fourth.
The cause? Jackson’s final throw, a 27-yard touchdown pass to Justice Hill, who was wide open and ran untouched into the end zone.
It summed up how Jackson sliced and diced the Giants’ defense for 290 yards, on 21-for-25 passing, and 65 rushing yards on six carries. Jackson led five consecutive scoring drives, the latest quarterback to have the Giants scrambling for answers.
The second touchdown — and most spectacular — came after Rashod Bateman turned safety Jason Pinnock around while getting wide open for a deep ball. Bateman then juked past Pinnock, who caught back up to him, and Greg Stroman Jr. to finish a 49-yard touchdown.
Jackson finished the first half with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Bateman. It atoned for an early mistake the Giants couldn’t capitalize on.
On the game’s second play from scrimmage, Jackson was stripped of the football by Adoree' Jackson, who also recovered the fumble. But the Giants went three-and-out.
For the second consecutive week, special teams let the Giants down. They gave up a 59-yard kickoff return to Hill to open the game. Later in the first, on a short punt, the Giants gave up a 22-yard punt return and the Ravens had the ball at the Giants’ 32-yard line.
Brian Burns’ eighth sack of the season led to the Ravens (9-5) facing third-and-goal from the 13. But Jackson found tight end Mark Andrews for a 13-yard touchdown on the next play.
DeVito’s second start of the season wasn’t much better than his first. On fourth-and-1 from the Ravens’ 30-yard line on the Giants’ third drive, he was stopped well short. The decision to go for it was baffling given the Ravens lead the league in rushing defense.
DeVito rebounded to lead a scoring drive on the Giants' next possession. The Ravens aided the drive with four penalties, including two on third downs, one of them a late hit by Nnamdi Madubuike on DeVito.
Three plays later DeVito was sacked by David Ojabo, then hit again the next play by Odafe Oweh, although Oweh was given an illegal hands to the face penalty. DeVito’s final play was a handoff to Singletary for the touchdown.
He finished 10-for-13 for 68 yards.
Before kickoff, there was a pregame message for team president John Mara via plane for the second consecutive week: “Mr Mara Enough. We Won’t Stop Until You Fire Everyone.”
With three games left, Mara has time to decide if he’ll do that.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
More Giants
