After the Giants’ 33-25 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Christmas Day which included a second-half comeback attempt and a Hail Mary that had a chance to send the game into overtime, head coach Brian Daboll explained his decision to bench Tommy DeVito at halftime in favor of Tyrod Taylor.
“Just tried to spark the team,” he said. “I don’t really have anything else to add to that. Just did it to try to spark the team.”
Although the defense and special teams produced huge plays in the third quarter to pull New York from a 20-3 halftime deficit, Taylor also contributed to his team’s comeback by hitting Darius Slayton for a 69-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, which pulled Big Blue within five points after the Eagles had extended their lead earlier in the quarter.
Ultimately, Taylor completed the evening 7-for-16 for 133 passing yards, a touchdown, an interception (on the game’s last toss), and two rushes for 21 yards on the ground. Even with Daniel Jones out due to his own ailments and circumstances, the seasoned quarterback—who hasn’t played much this season—put up a strong performance.
“I treat each and every day as if I’m the starter,” he said. “…At the end of the day it wasn’t a winning performance so that’s what I grade myself on… I think I was able to go out there and create some plays, but it’s a team sport and ultimately we failed at the ultimate goal which is to win.”
As for DeVito, who was 9-for-16 with 55 yards before getting pulled, he knows why Daboll and the Giants made the decision.
“I understand, it’s a business,” he said. “We weren’t doing great on offense in the first half, I’m not sure what the numbers were, but we weren’t scoring enough points so a change was made. Tried to get a spark and that was that.”
DeVito added: “It’s just a constant reminder that it’s a business. They’re always gonna try and find someone to replace you, whatever it is, but at the same time, it is a business, it’s your job. I respect it, there’s no feelings one way or another. I was hoping Ty[rod] was gonna go out there and ball and we win the game. It’s nothing more than that.”
The Giants’ decision to part ways with DeVito shouldn’t have come as a total surprise, considering they struggled offensively in their 24-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints the previous week. In actuality, Big Blue had not scored a touchdown for seven straight quarters prior to the benching, including the fourth quarter over the Green Bay Packers.
The question now is, with the Giants officially out of playoff contention, who will start at quarterback for them the following week? It’s a question that raises more issues in New York and for which no one seems to have an answer as of yet.
“We’ll talk about that this week,” Daboll said.
No matter who the starter is, DeVito said he’s going to keep his routine the same this week. Still, after getting benched he admitted that “as a competitor it hurts, but at the same time it’s a business.”
“It’s just work to me,” the rookie said. “I just go out and try to enjoy it every single day. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again you never know which snap is your last so I try to go out and make the most out of every snap that I’m out there. I’m appreciative of every snap that I’ve had and just try to keep moving forward.”
With two games remaining in the season, Big Blue’s next opponent is a home matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. They end the regular season against the Eagles, who now have a five-game win streak against them, on Sunday, Jan. 7.
Although we’re obviously eliminated from the playoffs, Taylor noted that there are still two games remaining. “We need to take this game as a lesson; we’ll play these guys again in two weeks. Return for the following two weeks, and let’s play our best ball.
