The truth can be controversial. The truth can hurt. Tommy DeVito engineered a last-minute, game-winning drive to help the Giants beat the Packers, 24-22, on MNF at MetLife Stadium. It can now be said that DeVito is better than Daniel Jones.
Daniel Jones has shown little to nothing in his five years as the Giants quarterback. Sure, he had a playoff win last season against a Minnesota Vikings team that was not very good, but he has done more losing than winning during his NYG career. He has never elevated the Giants like Eli Manning did, and his 1-12 record in primetime games shows he can’t beat elite teams.
So, DeVito could – and should – be the favorite to win the starting quarterback job heading into next season, especially if he leads the Giants to the playoffs with a final regular-season win against the hated Philadelphia Eagles. If he does, that outcome should end Jones’ tenure as Giants quarterback.
This is not what John Mara, Joe Schoen, and Brian Daboll want to see, as they are all invested in Jones. But Jones has not panned out. DeVito, on the other hand, finds ways to win games. He knows what he’s doing out there, and fans can feel it. DeVito comes up with great drives and keeps his unit on the field rather than going three-and-out, as Jones tends to do more often than not.
Other things stand out about Tommy Cutlets. He can take a hit and get back up. He throws the deep ball better than Jones. He knows how to improvise. What DeVito has, Jones does not, including having attributes that can’t be taught, which Tommy has, and Danny does not. And here’s the best part about the Cedar Grove native’s success: he is improving with every game–winning three of four, including three straight–with seven TDs and one INT in four starts.
DeVito is what you expect and want from a quarterback. He’s a leader by example, and he knows how to put teammates in a position to succeed. Here’s a good example. With 1:33 left in Monday’s game and with the Giants on their own 25, trailing 22-21, DeVito threw three completions to three different receivers — Wan’Dale Robinson, Saquon Barkley, and Darius Slayton. Then, he threw a 32-yard bullet to Robinson with 49 seconds left. That completion set up Randy Bullock’s 37-yard field goal for the win. The winning drive covered eight plays and 57 yards.
Can anyone come up with that type of moment Jones delivered in his career with an opponent of that caliber? (Waiting….)
As great as Jones was at the end of the season, he also struggled at times. Plus, his turnover habit was evident this season, throwing six INTs compared to two TDs. Mara had so much invested in Jones from the day he and then-Giants general manager David Gettleman drafted him. They both figured he had Eli Manning in him, but that hope never came to fruition.
Daboll and Schoen desperately want to draft a quarterback next season after realizing they’ve gotten as much as they can from Jones. It’s their right, but overlooking DeVito would be wrong. It’s clear they don’t believe in him because why else was Daboll finding ways to play Tyrod Taylor? It could have been easy for him to play Taylor after returning from injured reserve, but with the Giants going well with their current starting quarterback, it’s hard to make a change at this point.
Even after the win against the Packers, the Giants head coach didn’t exactly give DeVito a ringing endorsement. That’s strange, but it doesn’t matter if DeVito keeps winning. Maybe he isn’t the Giants’s long-term solution, but he has made the case that he’s a better option than Jones. The results speak for themselves, and the eye test explains everything.
But as I said in the intro, the truth can be controversial.
