Giants QB Tommy DeVito is enjoying his success with bye week looming
Tommy DeVito of the Giants throws a pass against the Patriots at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
As the Giants enter their bye week, they can continue to revel in a rare win.
Tommy DeVito quarterbacked the Giants to their fourth win of the season Sunday, 10-7 over the Patriots, a week after he quarterbacked them to their third win of the season in Washington.
The 25-year-old DeVito has brought some life to the party.
His energy is infectious.
The wins have brightened an otherwise sad season.
But how long will it last?
Tyrod Taylor is eligible to come off injured reserve this week. Could he start in the Giants' next game, on Dec. 11, against the Packers? He could.
Could the Giants stick with DeVito? They could.
But Giants general manager Joe Schoen made this clear Monday: When he is healthy, Daniel Jones is their starting quarterback.
Jones underwent surgery for his torn ACL on Wednesday. Whether he’ll be ready to start the 2024 season is anybody’s guess.
“He’s in there rehabbing right now,’’ Schoen said of Jones on Monday being at the Giants' facility. “He’s gonna attack it. You guys all know Daniel and his work ethic. He’s probably a guy we’re going to have to pull back [from working too hard]. The expectation is when Daniel is healthy, he will be our starting quarterback. We don’t have a crystal ball on how the rehab is gonna go. Different patients respond differently to these surgeries.’’
Clearly, the first year of Jones’ four-year, $160 million contract did not play out as the Giants planned.
His final statistics in six games were 108 completions in 160 passing attempts (67.5%) for 909 yards, two touchdowns and six interceptions.
He was sacked 30 times.
Jones’ season ended after sustaining the second neck injury of his career against the Dolphins and then tearing the ACL in his right knee at Las Vegas. When his season ended, he was 1-5 as a starter.
The Giants currently have the No. 6 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
For DeVito, the undrafted rookie from Cedar Grove, New Jersey, who started his college career at Syracuse before transferring to Illinois for his final season, these are good times.
He said that pregame introductions on Sunday— for his first home start — were, essentially, a blur.
“I’m not going to lie, I kind of blacked out," DeVito said. "I was kind of just in my element I didn’t know if people were cheering or booing or what was going on, it could’ve been anything, but I was just locked in, enjoying it.”
Jalin Hyatt enjoyed his day Sunday, as well, in a performance the Giants want to see him duplicate. He recorded personal season highs and team-leading totals of five receptions for 109 yards. With more opportunities, the speedy and conscientious Hyatt, the Giants’ third-round draft choice this year, is the first Giants player with at least 100 receiving yards in a regular-season game since Nov. 20, 2022, when Wan’Dale Robinson — then a rookie — gained 100 yards on nine catches.
The Giants had played 18 regular-season games without a 100-yard receiver. Isaiah Hodgins had 105 yards on eight receptions, including a touchdown, in the Giants' NFC Wild Card victory at Minnesota on Jan. 15.
For DeVito, winning his first home start was sweet.
“It feels great,” he said. “Any game after a win is awesome, but to be able to do it here at home for my first time is surreal. I’m going to enjoy the moment.”
During the bye, he can do just that.
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.
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