With the return of Tommy DeVito under center, the New York Giants (2-8) will look to finally find the win column when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m. ET).
After pivoting from longtime starting quarterback Daniel Jones, the Giants are shifting to DeVito as the leading man under center. A move that drew skepticism from fans and players alike, Giants head coach Brian Daboll is all in on preparation for DeVito.
“Yeah, I think that’s what we’ll be doing here over the next course of this week and getting ready for Tampa Bay,” Daboll said. “Tommy has his strengths that we like to try to utilize. We’ll try to put the game plan together that’s best for our football team but also is conducive for him to go out there and play well.”
Although his run as Giants quarterback was short in 2023, DeVito quickly became a fan favorite. In nine games, including six starts, he went 3-3, tossing for 1,101 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. However, DeVito had a dismal 23.7 QBR and a sack percentage of 17.21%, hitting the turf 37 times.
One major reason why Tommy Cutlets was able to be as successful as he was last year was due to takeaways by the Giants’ defense. Last season, New York had 31 takeaways. The defense was able to set DeVito up in short-field situations where he could be successful.
This season, the Giants rank near the bottom of the league. In order to set DeVito up to succeed, they need to do a better job of forcing turnovers and allowing the once-third-stringer to succeed.
With both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans out of action for the Bucs, the Giants will have significantly less to worry about when it comes to the plethora of skill players Tampa has had in recent years. However, Big Blue is far from out of the woods.
In the absence of Evans and Godwin, the emergence of Tampa tight end Cade Otton as the team’s number one target has helped keep the Bucs ship from sinking. This season, Otton has 456 receiving yards on 49 receptions for four touchdowns. All three rank in the top 10 amongst all tight ends in the NFL. While the Giants have done a good job limiting tight ends this season, stopping Otton could go a long way to winning the game.
Despite injuries to many of his weapons, that hasn’t stopped Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield from having a productive season. In 10 starts, Mayfield has thrown for 2,505 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Mayfield’s 24 touchdown passes have gone to 10 different receivers, which shows his lack of fear in spreading the wealth amongst targets.
In order to find the Giants’ first home victory of the season, DeVito will need to utilize running back Tyrone Tracy and wide receiver Malik Nabers to the best of their abilities, and the defense will need to force Mayfield into making mistakes. If the Giants are able to do both of those, they could very well find victory for the first time since Oct. 6.
