Getty Image / Michael Owens
With the New York Giants coming into Sunday at 2-8, and the team down to their third-string quarterback in undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito, attention had turned to their eventual draft position in the 2024 NFL Draft. But, the hopes of the first-overall pick wearing Giants blue next season took a serious hit when they beat the Commanders, 31-19, on Sunday.
The G-men had no business winning this game. Yes, the Commanders are the definition of mediocre. But, they’re a lot better than the terrible Giants on their third-string quarterback, at least you’d think.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday, though. Yes, the Giants were out-gained 403-292, but they forced six Commander turnovers. Yes, six. That’s how you win a game where Tommy DeVito was sacked an incredible ten times.
Outside of the sacks, DeVito was pretty good. He was 18-26 for 245 yards and three passing touchdowns. Two of those were thrown to Saquon Barkley, who had a big day.
Normally, a divisional win over a longtime rival would feel great. But, this is probably a big net negative for the New York Giants long-term. Heading into week 11, they were in position to pick second-overall in the NFL Draft, which would guarantee them a shot at taking one of the top two quarterback prospects in the draft in UNC’s Drake Maye and USC’s Caleb Williams.
After today, that’s much more in doubt. As of Saturday at 6PM, the Giants had slipped to the fifth-pick in the NFL Draft. That’s not where you want to be if you want one of the top two quarterbacks, and they’d be smart to trade down out of that spot if that’s where they ended up.
Next week’s game against the also-terrible Patriots is a huge game. Lose that game, and the Giants still have a clear path to a top-two pick. Win that game, and a pick in the top-two becomes pretty unlikely. Unironically, it’s one of the most important Giants games in recent memory.