The New York Giants (4-8) secured back-to-back wins against the Washington Commanders (4-7) and most recently the New England Patriots (2-9). Although both teams aren’t playoff contenders this may be able to jump-start a late playoff push or at least build momentum heading into next season. This New York Giants team remains fairly youthful, however veteran leadership or guidance becomes very useful late in seasons. That said, the Giants must rely on their experience and coaching to guide them in the right direction to overcome the early deficit they put themselves in with their performance earlier in the season.
“It feels great to get a win at home, any game after a win is awesome,” DeVito states. “To be able to do it here at home for the first time is surreal. … Sometimes you get little lucky and it’s better sometimes to be lucky than good, overall just glad it worked for us and we got the win.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFeS65p4HEg
The Giants found a way to pull this game out at home in an ugly fashion, 10-7. Yet, there were tons to build off moving forward by their young players. The biggest concern coming into the game was rookie quarterback and New Jersey native Tommy DeVito. Since Devito’s debut against the New York Jets, he’s improved greatly and is beginning to look more comfortable.
“I thought he made a lot of good decisions for us, he didn’t turn the ball over outside of the one fumble on the jet sweep (Giants recovered),” Giants head coach Brian Daboll explains his thoughts on DeVito’s performance. “…We have to help him out too, we had a few drops in there and things we can clean up but his job is to put us in the best direction to win and he did a good job of it today.”
Positives to Build on for the New York Giants
The Giants began to find early success with the DeVito to rookie wide receiver Jalin Hyatt connection. In this game, Hyatt recorded five receptions for 109 yards and truly gave the Patriots a hard time. The Pats threw multiple looks at DeVito and Hyatt, yet they still managed to find success down the field. Naturally, the energy from this connection helped build momentum, and therefore the entire team was able to feed off of it.
“Bill Belichick obviously a great coach, but we knew they would come in and disguise a lot,” Hyatt explains. “For us, Tommy’s [DeVito] played a great game, he checked when he needed and he read the plays correctly. Ultimately, I’m just following his lead.”
Defensively the New York Giants continued to improve and managed to cause three turnovers against the Patriots and the Commanders. Naturally, seeing the offense find success helps instill faith in the defense. Thibodeaux explains seeing the rookie have a great day makes everyone play harder and just builds momentum for the team moving forward.
“Yeah, seeing Jalin Hyatt play he’s just a ball player, so I’m really happy he finally got some things going his way,” Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux emphasizes.
Expectations for the New York Giants
On December 11th, Monday night, the Giants are set to take on the Green Bay Packers (5-6) at Metlife Stadium. The Giants’ tail end of their schedule seems to be lighter than earlier in the season. Therefore, there’s a possibility that the Giants will pick up steam and find their way to the NFL playoffs. They will not decide their own destiny, that said along the way they will need assistance from opposing teams around the league. Nonetheless, they’re not statistically eliminated just yet and have a great opportunity to ride this new wave of success.
“It’s great and we’re building although we started out slow, when you get one win in this league you have to keep that momentum and just keep playing together,” Thibodeaux continues.