The New York Giants came out of the bye week with a new quarterback, a beatable opponent, and an opportunity to make the rest of the season worth watching.
In a matter of minutes, those delusions dissipated.
On Sunday, the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into MetLife Stadium and trampled the Giants en route to a 30-7 win.
Quarterback Tommy DeVito was just as bad as Daniel Jones in his 2024 debut, leading a single scoring drive and two explosive plays through the air.
The offense was lifeless but the defense gave the unit a run for its money, combining for one of the most futile efforts of the lost season.
New York’s season has long been over, but the low-effort football might have just begun.
The Giants looked like a team that quit on its head coach. Receiver Malik Nabers didn’t quiet the concerns after the game.
“I mean, it’s just soft man,” Nabers said, via Ryan Novozinsky. “I’m tired of going out there and losing. It’s just that. I mean, I don’t know bro. I go out there, first and second quarter, and I don’t get the ball and start getting targets at the end. I mean, I can’t do nothing. Start getting the ball at 30-0 – what do you want me to do?”
New York certainly looked like the less physical team. The defense allowed 156 rushing yards, headlined by running back Bucky Irving posting over seven yards per attempt.
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Giants’ best player and the leader of the locker room, was clearly disappointed with his team’s performance.
“Extremely, we played soft, and they beat the (expletive) out of us today,” Lawrence began. “We missed a lot of tackles, we didn't contain (Buccaneers quarterback) Baker (Mayfield) well in the scrambles, we didn't cover well, it's soft to me.”
New York crumbled at the first indication of a talent disadvantage, and as DeVito’s offense struggled to move the chains, the entire operation unraveled.
With a short turnover before a Thanksgiving afternoon “clash” with the Dallas Cowboys, there isn’t much time for the Giants to get right. But another performance like Sunday could be Brian Daboll’s last as head coach.
“Like I said, I'm saying soft is we didn't execute our calls well,” Lawrence said. “We played with a lot of effort. Soft is not executing well and soft to me, is soft to not execute well.”
