A Sub Above

So much for tanking. Whoever said the New York Giants season was over at 2-8 - that would be me, by the way - apparently never checked in with Tommy DeVito. Over the last three games, the one-time practice squad and backup quarterback has been anything but. Indeed, he's made one helluva case to be a starter in the NFL next season, if not with the Giants then somewhere.

Just look at these numbers:

Against the Washington Commanders, DeVito was 18/26 for 246 yards with 3 TDs, no INTs and had a quarterback rating of 137.7.

Against the New England Patriots, he was 17/25 for 191 yards, 1 TD, no INTs and a quarterback rating of 103.9.

And against the Green Bay Packers, he was 17/21 for 158 yards, 1 TD, no INTs and a quarterback rating of 113.9.

He has completed 52 out of 72 pass attempts over those three games for a completion percentage of 72.2. To put that in perspective, Brock Purdy and Tua Tagovailoa have a completion percentage of 70.2 and 70 respectively. Whatever DeVito's mom is putting in those chicken cutlets she makes for her son, she should package it and sell it to the entire Giants organization.

Now before we get ahead of ourselves here, a couple of things need to be said. First, I'm not suggesting that DeVito is in the same class as Purdy or Tua. The only reason I mentioned him in the same sentence with those two was to point out just how well he's played these last three games and to give him full props; that's it. What DeVito reminds me of is Jeremy Lin: the basketball guard who burst onto the scene for the Knicks in 2011 and lit the Garden on fire for a season before being dealt to the Houston Rockets. Moments like this are special but fleeting, and Giants fans should enjoy this one while it lasts.

Second, let's knock it off with all the "in the playoff hunt" nonsense. This team is 5-8 and two of their remaining four games are against the Philadelphia Eagles who, as much as I hate to admit it, are in another league. If this season has taught us anything, it's that 2022 was an anomaly. The Giants clearly overachieved and, as a result, gave a lot of fans - myself included - a false sense of expectation going into 2023. Joe Schoen still has a lot more work to do before Big Blue becomes a legitimate contender. As I wrote prior to the start of last season, it took George Young seven years before he was able to field a team that eventually won the Super Bowl. This is only year two of the current regime. 

Bottom line: given where they were three weeks ago, if the Giants finish 7-10, they'll be very fortunate. Just as important, though, they will owe their strong finish - a finish that might well save Brian Daboll's job, by the way - to a man who lives at home with his parents and whose mom still makes his bed and cooks his meals for him.

Not a bad gig. Capiche?