ARLINGTON, Texas – The old saying goes that if a football team has two quarterbacks, it really doesn’t have one.
With the Giants on a seven-game losing streak, is the quarterback debate erupting between close friends Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock after cutting starting pitcher Daniel Jones after 10 games?
Who will head coach Brian Daboll pick against the Saints on December 8th? Does it matter who plays?
“We've got a few days to go back and watch this game,” Daboll said Thursday after the 27-20 loss to the Cowboys, where Lock started in place of the injured DeVito.
“I thought Drew did some good things, but we had a couple of big turnovers, one of which was on a screen where we had a big chance to make a big play. He went into the pocket and got the ball knocked out (for a fumble). That kind of turnover is impossible.”
It may be a matter of personal preference between Locke (whose history suggests he's capable of both good and bad) and DeVito's more manageable style.
DeVito has not thrown an interception in six of his seven career games, including this season when he started in place of Jones.
Daboll's preference was made clear last season when he chose to stick with DeVito over the chaos Tyrod Taylor caused until the final two games when it was no longer justified.
Two weeks ago, when he bypassed Lock, Jones' backup, for No. 3 player DeVito in hopes of avoiding a disastrous play and picking up a few wins heading into the restart. It became clear again.
That was heard clearly again Thursday when the veteran went 21-of-31 for 189 yards with a team-high 57 yards and a touchdown before digging deeper into Lock's two accomplishments, including a pick-six. Ta.
But here's the problem. Players may find it easier to put up with a loss like Thursday's, and therefore keep fighting, than a DeVito-like 30-7 beatdown with no turnovers last week against the Buccaneers.
Daboll and general manager Joe Schon, both of whom are in the spotlight, will need to determine which quarterback will give the Giants the best chance of avoiding a season-ending 12-game losing streak.
A vocal segment of the fan base wants to lose to the Giants and face a quarterback who gives them the best chance of getting the top two picks in the draft.
Lock hasn't taken full-speed team 11-on-11 snaps in practice since training camp. So did he do enough to help the NFL's lowest-scoring offense reach 20 points for the fourth time in 12 games and remain the starter?
“I'm not thinking about it right now,” Locke said. “If I get another chance, I'll be ready to play better than I did today.”
DeVito (right forearm) said after the game that he probably would have been able to play had the Giants played on a regular Sunday instead of the shortened week due to Thanksgiving. He added that it remains to be seen whether he will remain as a starting pitcher.
“I was proud of the way Drew fought,” DeVito said. “He hit some shots and stood up every time and scored a touchdown at the end of the game and had a chance to get the ball back. He showed a lot of toughness and led his players and ultimately You earned a point.”
Here are some other thoughts on the Giants:
The Giants have the ninth-toughest remaining schedule in the NFL (.561 opponent winning percentage).
For now, the No. 1 pick in the draft is expected, pending the outcome when the Jaguars play the division-leading Texans on Sunday.
For Tank, it would help if the Eagles were still fighting for the No. 1 seed in the NFC (or not yet clinching the NFC East title) and had a reason to play as the starter in Week 18.
But the next game against the Saints (4-7) may be the only winnable option left.
The biggest game left for the Giants may actually be the Jaguars-Raiders matchup on Dec. 22 to see which of the league's other two winning teams will add to their misery.
The gap between the Giants and the rest of the NFC is as wide as it has been at any point in the last 13 years of near-disastrous conditions.
The Giants were 0-5 against the Commanders, Cowboys, and Eagles, making this final game of the season their final escape hatch to prevent the first winless division in franchise history. This is the price to pay for being overtaken by commanders who were previously firmly in the lower ranks.
Looking at the bigger picture, the Giants were 4-12-1 against rivals led by Shane and Coach Daboll.
The Cowboys have won eight straight games against the Giants and 15 of their past 16 games, including all eight games played at AT&T Stadium since 2017.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was injured and was unable to extend his individual winning streak against the Giants to 13, but the last time the Giants beat the Cowboys in the final game of the 2020 season, Cooper Rush – He was more active as a backup than Dalton.
In Schoen's personnel evaluation, he should be criticized for letting two homegrown All-Pro first-team candidates, running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney, leave in free agency, but the line doesn't justify it. This is because it needed to be strengthened.
Now, defensively, the Giants have one sack in their last four games and are more prone to the run than any team in the league (5.1 yards per carry allowed). Even with top pass rusher and run-staff Dexter Lawrence (dislocated elbow) out for the season, things couldn't get any better.
Offensively, the Giants allowed just six sacks and nine quarterback hits. Just like last season, the entire operation began to fall apart when left tackle Andrew Thomas suffered a season-ending injury on October 13th.
If you took a turkey nap when the Giants trailed 27-10 in the third quarter, know that the Giants had the ball one play away from a chance to tie or take the lead. You must have been surprised.
But on the first play after the two-minute warning, the Cowboys faced a third-and-three. Five of the first seven yards gained to that point came when rookie Elijah Chatman jumped offsides for a first down.
Rush then completed a sideline out pass to Brandin Cooks to move the chains and run time.
No one wants to hear a team on a seven-game losing streak complaining about the referees, but cornerback Adree' Jackson was clearly the victim of a pick play and should have been called for offensive pass interference. .
“[Cooks] I had an option route, so I played heads up at tight end,” Jackson said. “I was skating outside so I could get there. The tight ends were getting in my way and I couldn't run my routes.”
This call has been made several times against the Giants this season, including when Darius Slayton was flagged for a touchdown from Wan'Dale Robinson against the Commanders. The Giants made a field goal in a game that led by five points.
There is no room for mistakes in these games, so one mistake greatly increases the probability of losing.
