‘Kid’s done a good job’: DeVito delivers for Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — There is no debate. The New York Giants are now Tommy DeVito‘s team down the stretch after he added a last-minute, game-winning drive to his résumé in a 24-22 decision over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night at MetLife Stadium.

The undrafted rookie went 4-for-4 passing for 53 yards as the Giants drove 57 yards in seven plays in the final 1:33 to set up Randy Bullock‘s 37-yard field goal as time expired. It only added to the improbable story that is unfolding.

“You enjoy it when it’s an outcome like this, right?” DeVito said. “I mean, I enjoy being on the field any play, no matter what play it is. So just try to enjoy it.”

The Giants (5-8) are now just one game back of five teams for the final NFC wild-card spot, including the Packers (6-7). This after starting a woeful 2-7 before turning to DeVito because of injuries to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor.

New York is in this position because DeVito has won three of his four starts, including three straight. He is just the third undrafted rookie quarterback in the common draft era to win three of his first four career starts, according to Elias Sports Bureau. He joins Washington‘s Ed Rubbert (1987) and the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Devlin Hodges (2019).

DeVito is taking it all in stride, even after a heroic second-half effort on Monday.

“I think as a quarterback you have to stay even keel through it all. You know, because when you are winning like we are right now, everything is high, and when you are losing, everything is low,” DeVito said. “So as a quarterback, you have to be able to stay even through it all. So, I take pride in that. It’s something that I’ve grown over, obviously over time, from when I was playing from when I was 5. Throughout high school and college, just continuing to grow that part of my game.”

There is no question now that the Giants will stick with DeVito next week on the road versus the New Orleans Saints over a now-healthy Taylor. Coach Brian Daboll wouldn’t commit to that entering Monday night’s game.

DeVito’s clutch performance made it a no-brainer.

“Earned the right to play [Monday], and earned the right to play next week,” Daboll said. “The kid’s done a good job.”

DeVito went 17-of-21 passing for 158 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions against the Packers. He also ran for 71 yards on 10 carries and completed 11 of his 12 passes in the second half, with the only incompletion being a throwaway.

He continues to surprise and impress.

“That’s a hell of a competitor,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.

The rookie now has seven touchdown passes and just one interception in his four starts.

But needing to drive the field for the winning score in the final seconds was something he hadn’t done in the NFL.

Not that the Giants were concerned about nerves being a deterrent.

“We don’t have to worry about that. He keeps his composure,” Daboll said. “There was really nothing [to say]. Here’s a couple plays we like and go out there and rip that son of a b—-. Pretty simple.”

DeVito was as confident as ever with everything, including potentially his starting spot, on the line.

“Let’s go win the game,” he told his teammates prior to the final drive. “It’s on us. It’s on the offense.”

DeVito hit Wan’Dale Robinson, Saquon Barkley and Darius Slayton underneath on the first three plays of the winning drive.

Then he found Robinson on a play to the right sideline that was the same call that DeVito missed earlier in the contest, having overthrown the ball.

But this time, DeVito hit Robinson in stride. The second-year wide receiver turned it upfield for a 32-yard gain that put the Giants clearly in field goal range.

“Calm, poised, cool, collected, taking what the defense gives him,” Barkley said of DeVito on that last drive.

The Giants and their fans seem to be feeding off DeVito’s energy. His trademark pinched fingers celebration was all over the stadium and the Giants’ postgame locker room. The craze is in full effect these days in the New York metropolitan area.

The Giants are relevant again with their third-string quarterback now the starter. They’re rallying behind DeVito, who played collegiately at Syracuse and Illinois.

“That is rare for a rookie quarterback. With the confidence and swagger that he plays with, you can feel it through the stadium, you can feel it through the sideline,” said Barkley, who rushed for a pair of touchdowns against Green Bay. “Happy we were able to get the win.”

With it all, DeVito’s legend only continues to grow. The local legend who won a state championship at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey and famously still lives at home with his parents has won over a fan base that once viewed this as a lost season.

This is DeVito mania. His family was seen on multiple occasions during the nationally televised game. His agent, Sean Stellato, father, Tom, and brother, Max, were even shown during the television broadcast kissing each other on the cheek in celebration after the touchdown pass.

The entire DeVito crew are becoming household figures.

“It’s good for business,” the quarterback said.

As are game-winning drives.