ARLINGTON, Tex. – The old saying goes that when a football team has two quarterbacks, it actually has no quarterback.
Do the Giants – losers of seven straight – have a quarterback controversy brewing between close friends Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock in the aftermath of cutting 10-game starter Daniel Jones?
Who will head coach Brian Daboll turn to Dec. 8 against the Saints? Does it even matter who plays?
“We have a few days to go back and watch this game,” Daboll said Thursday, after a 27-20 loss to the Cowboys during which Lock started for the injured DeVito.
“I thought Drew did some good stuff, but two big turnovers — one on a screen where we had a big opportunity to get a big play on. And then, coming out in the second half, up in the pocket and getting the ball knocked out (for a fumble). You can’t have those turnovers.”
It might be a matter of personal preference between Lock – whose career resume suggests that he makes both good and bad happen – and DeVito’s easier-to-manage style.
DeVito has not thrown an interception in six of his seven career starts, including his one this season when he was first up to replace Jones.
Daboll’s preference became clear last season, when he chose to stick with DeVito over Tyrod Taylor-induced chaos until he could not justify it any longer for the final two games.
It was clear again two weeks ago when he bypassed Lock – Jones’ backup – for the third-stringer DeVito in hopes of eeking out a few resume-padding wins by avoid catastrophic plays.
It sure sounded again Thursday clear as he drilled down on Lock’s two giveaways – including a pick-six – after the veteran completed 21-of-31 for 189 yards and ran for a team-high 57 yards and a touchdown.
Here’s the thing, however: Players might find it easier to stomach – and thus keep competing during – a loss like Thursday’s than a 30-7 beatdown like happened the week before with the turnover-free DeVito against the Buccaneers.
Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen – both on the hot seat – need to identify which quarterback gives the Giants the best chance to avoid a season-ending 12-game losing streak.
A vocal segment of the fan base wants to play the quarterback who gives the Giants the best chance to lose and end up with a top-two draft pick.
Lock hadn’t taken a full-speed team 11-on-11 snap in practice since training camp. So, did he do enough to remain the starter by helping the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense reach 20 points for just the fourth time in 12 games?
“I’m not thinking about that right now,” Lock said. “If the opportunity comes again, then be ready to play and play better than we did today.”
DeVito (right forearm) said after the game that he likely would have been able to play had the Giants played on the usual Sunday instead of the shortened week for Thanksgiving. He added that he doesn’t know yet if he will remain the starter.
“I was proud of how Drew competed,” DeVito said. “He took some shots and got back up every time to go out and score a touchdown at the end of the game, to potentially have a chance to get the ball back. He showed a lot of toughness, led the guys out there and ultimately scored points.”
Here are some other thoughts on the Giants:
The Giants’ remaining strength of schedule is the ninth-hardest in the NFL (opponents’ winning percentage .561).
For now, they are projected for the No. 1 pick in the draft, pending the Jaguars’ outcome Sunday when they host the division-leading Texans.
For the sake of a tank, it would help if the Eagles are still fighting for the No. 1 seed in the NFC (or haven’t yet clinched the NFC East) and have a reason to play their starters in Week 18.
But the next game against the Saints (4-7) might be the only winnable option remaining.
The biggest game left for the Giants might actually be the Jaguars-Raiders matchup on Dec. 22 to see which of the other two-win teams in the league joins their misery.
The gap between the Giants and the rest of the NFC is as wide as it has been at any point in this 13-year run of mostly misery.
The Giants are 0-5 against the Commanders, Cowboys and Eagles, with that season finale as the last escape hatch to prevent a winless division for the first time in franchise history. Such is the price for getting passed by the formerly reliably lowly Commanders.
In the bigger picture, the Giants 4-12-1 against their rivals under Schoen and Daboll.
The Cowboys have won eight straight against the Giants and 15 of the last 16 meetings, including all eight at AT&T Stadium since 2017.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was injured and couldn’t extend his personal 13-game winning streak over the Giants, but Cooper Rush fared better as a backup than Andy Dalton did when the Giants last beat the Cowboys in the 2020 season finale.
As indicting as it is on Schoen’s personnel evaluations that he let two homegrown First-Team All-Pro candidates leave in free agency – running back Saquon Barkley and safety Xavier McKinney – the justification was that he needed to build up the lines.
Well, defensively, the Giants have one sack in the last four games and are easier to run against than any other team in the league (5.1 yards allowed per carry). It is not going to be better if top pass-rusher and run-stuffer Dexter Lawrence (dislocated elbow) is out for the season.
Offensively, the Giants just allowed six sacks and nine other quarterback hits. Just like last season, the whole operation began to crumble when left tackle Andrew Thomas suffered a season-ending injury on Oct. 13.
If you slipped into a turkey-induced nap when the Giants fell behind 27-10 in the third quarter, you probably were surprised to find out that the Giants were one play away from having the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
But, on the first play after the two-minute warning, the Cowboys faced a third-and-3. Five of the first seven yards gained to that point were gifted when rookie Elijah Chatman jumped offside on first down.
Rush subsequently completed a sideline-out pass to Brandin Cooks to move the chains and run out the clock.
Nobody wants to hear a team on a seven-game losing streak complain about the referees, but cornerback Adoree Jackson clearly was the victim of a pick play and offensive pass interference should’ve been called.
“[Cooks] had an option route, so I played head-up on the tight end,” Jackson said. “I was sliding outside so I could be there. The tight end just cut me off and didn’t run a route.”
That call has gone against the Giants a few times this season, including when Darius Slayton was flagged to take Wan’Dale Robinson’s touchdown off the board against the Commanders. The Giants settled for a field goal in what became a five-point loss.
With no room for error in these games, one mistake greatly enhances the odds of each loss.
