Ralph Vacchiano
NFC East Reporter
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—This whole Tommy DeVito story is as improbable as it is crazy. Even he knows this magic roller coaster ride isn’t likely to last.
But don’t jump ahead yet and assume an unhappy ending. Because this wild story isn’t over yet.
The kid from New Jersey added another chapter to his storybook season on Monday night, with a terrific performance and a wild finish in a game the Giants absolutely had to win. DeVito threw for 158 yards and ran for 71 against the Green Bay Packers. But most importantly, he led the Giants on a 57-yard drive in the final 1:33 to set up a game-winning, 37-yard field goal by Randy Bullock that gave the Giants a 24-22 win.
It was the third straight win for “Tommy Cutlets”, who looks more and more like a real NFL quarterback every game. And don’t look now, but he’s got his Giants (5-8) just one game out of the final NFC playoff spot with four games still to go.
It might be too good to be true. It almost certainly is. But it’s getting harder not to believe.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Giants running back Saquon Barkley said. “He’s the real deal.”
He certainly looked the part on Monday night when he pulled the Giants back from the brink of disaster. They were up 21-16 with 3:34 remaining when the unthinkable happened—Barkley fumbled when he stumbled and fell at the end of a 33-yard run deep into Packers territory. And not only did he lose a fumble for just the third time in his six-year career, Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine returned 50 yards the other way.
That set up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Packers quarterback Jordan Love to receiver Malik Heath with just 1:33 remaining. When they missed the 2-point conversion, Green Bay had a 22-21 lead.
But the Giants’ hometown hero wasn’t fazed at all. DeVito, in just his fourth NFL start and sixth appearance, just calmly gathered his offense on the sidelines and told them what to do.
“He just gave a quick pep talk,” said receiver Isaiah Hodgins. “‘Hey, everyone keep your composure. Lock in. Let’s go win this game.'”
And then he did exactly that. DeVito went 4 of 4 for 53 yards on the final drive, including a beautiful, 32-yard pass to Wan’Dale Robinson (6 catches, 79 yards) to get the Giants into field goal territory. And when Bullock nailed his game-winning kick through the swirling win, DeVito was a hero again.
And really, the magic he worked on Monday night wasn’t limited to just that final drive. He gave the Giants a lead in the third quarter by setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by Barkley (20 carries, 86 yards) with a dazzling, 26-yard run of his own. He just kept changing directions and made at least three Packers miss, before he dove for the end zone and landed less than a yard short.
“He wasn’t trying to slide,” Hodgins said. “He was trying to get extra yards. I was behind him on hat play. He just put his leg into the ground, juked the DB and got to the 1 yard line. I was literally amazed. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, you don’t even see that in a receiver at times.’
“You could see it in his eyes. He wanted that end zone. He wanted that touchdown.”
He actually got a better touchdown on the next drive, when he was flushed from the pocket, scrambled to his right, and somehow found Hodgins in the back corner of the end zone and hit him with a pinpoint pass for an 8-yard touchdown and a 21-13 Giants lead.
It was a ridiculous pass for any quarterback to make, but just completely crazy for an undrafted rookie who was his team’s third-string quarterback in the first half of the season. Don’t forget, he’s only six weeks removed from his first NFL appearance in an overtime to the Jets in a game where Giants coach Brian Daboll famously didn’t even trust his third-string quarterback to throw.
He sure trusts him now, though.
“He’s improving,” Daboll said in his typically understated fashion. “He’s still got stuff to work on. He’s a young player, doing the right things and making the most of his opportunity. The kids done a good job.”
And he looks like he’s hardly breaking a sweat. Asked how it felt taking the field at his own 25-yard line with 1:33 to go knowing the Giants needed a field goal to win, DeVito said “Not crazy”. And that might be believable if it weren’t for the fact that just about every part of the Tommy DeVito story has been crazy so far.
That includes the part about the Giants being left for dead at 2-8 after they were blown out in his first career start in Dallas just three weeks earlier. Now they’re a team fully embracing their longshot playoff hopes because they’ve got a longshot quarterback that’s paying off.
“In every game we played this year we’ve shown we never gave up on any snap, no matter what the score was,” DeVito said. “We just kept on fighting. It’s starting to come to fruition now.”
That is largely because of him and whatever unexpected magic he keeps wielding. Never mind that the Giants would still have to leap over six teams to get that last playoff berth. And never mind that they probably have to win out and that they’ve still got to play the Philadelphia Eagles (10-3) twice in the last four weeks.
This story is too good to ruin with inconvenient truths. Don’t spoil the fun. This is Tommy DeVito’s story and moment. There’s no reason to ruin it yet.
“I think as a quarterback you have to stay even-keeled through it all,” DeVito said. “When you’re winning, like now, everything’s high. When you lose everything’s low. As a quarterback you have to stay even through it all.”
Maybe he does, but everyone else doesn’t. Great stories and magical runs don’t come along like this very often. Don’t try to explain it. Just let everyone enjoy the ride, however long it lasts.
Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.
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2023-12-12 06:10:02
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