EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — After a disastrous, injured-filled start to the season filled with high expectations and met with too many poor performances, the New York Giants have a reason to feel good as they head into their bye week.
Consecutive wins over Washington (4-8) and New England (2-9) have the Giants at 4-8 in coach Brian Daboll's second season in charge.
Two of New York's final five regular-season games are against the team with the NFL's best record, the Philadelphia Eagles (10-1). The defending NFC champions beat the Giants three times last season.
“Obviously, not where we want to be right now at 4-8, but I am proud of the guys and the way they’ve continued to battle and compete over the last few weeks,” general manager Joe Schoen said Monday.
“When things are bad, they can go one of two ways, and I’m really proud of the way the guys have continued to come in and compete. We’ve seen some progress over the last couple weeks and the results to show. We’ve got five games left against NFC teams, against four different teams, and we’re not out of it.”
If there has been a positive in the past few weeks, it's been the surprising play of undrafted rookie free agent quarterback Tommy DeVito.
Since taking over after Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending knee injury against Las Vegas, the New Jersey native has thrown six touchdowns and one interception in his past three games. He has not thrown an interception in his past 66 passes and has posted passer ratings of 137.7 and 103.9 against the Commanders and Patriots, respectively.
“He’s got the right mindset, a lot of work to do,” Daboll said. “He’s a young, young player, but he’s made some progress and he’s done a good job for us.”
WHAT’S WORKING
Despite playing without Pro Bowl tackle Dexter Lawrence (hamstring) for the first time this season, the Giants defense came up big again. A week after forcing six turnovers in the win over Washington, Wink Martindale's group got interceptions from rookie Deonte Banks, linebacker Bobby Okereke and safety Xavier McKinney. The latter two set up both Giants' scoring drives in the 10-7 victory.
WHAT’S NOT
The same thing as last week and the week before and the week before. The offensive line is a mess. It allowed the Patriots to get a season-high six sacks, seven quarterback hits and seven tackles for loss.
While Saquon Barkley had runs of 19 and 14 yards, the other 17 rushes netted 25 yards.
STOCK UP
Jalin Hyatt had a breakout game. The rookie wide receiver, who was a third-round pick, was targeted six times and had five catches for a career-high 109 yards. He had four plays over 10 yards, including the Giants' three biggest offensive plays, receptions of 41, 29 and 22 yards.
STOCK DOWN
Daboll. The Giants have won the past two games with DeVito at quarterback. He has energized not only the offense, but the team with his confidence and free spirit. When asked who his starter would be after the bye if veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor (ribs) is ready to come off injured reserve, Daball was non-committal.
INJURIES
TE Darren Waller (hamstring) also is eligible to come off injured reserve, while Lawrence and OT Evan Neal (ankle) might be ready to return after the bye. Daboll said he has not been updated by the medical staff.
KEY NUMBER
5 and 1 — With the win, DeVito became the fifth undrafted rookie in the common draft era to win at least two of his first three starts. He is also the first undrafted rookie in the common draft era to get at least a 100 passer rating in consecutive starts.
NEXT STEPS
Use the bye to rest and get healthy for a Monday night game at home against the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 11.
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