In the New Jersey tale of Tommy DeVito, the New York Giants' undrafted underdog turned in his best act yet on Monday evening.
Playing in front of his parents and a home crowd he has galvanized, DeVito scrambled and threw his way into Giants lore as the quarterback led New York to a thrilling 24-22 comeback win over the Green Bay Packers.
"Just go win the football game," DeVito said of his mindset ahead of the game-winning drive. "Go execute a drive that we practice every day before practice, which is a two-minute drive. We do it every day, different situations. … So just go out and go win a game."
Though he's a rookie, DeVito's moxie and poise with the game on the line was clear and unsurprising to his head coach.
"Yeah, you don't have to worry about that," Giants head coach Brian Daboll said about talking to DeVito regarding keeping his calmness. "He keeps his composure. There's really nothing. Here's a couple of plays we like. Go out there and rip that son of a b----. Pretty simple."
DeVito has propelled the Giants to their first three-game winning streak since 2022, having tied the NFL record for most wins (three) by a rookie undrafted QB in the NFL's Common Draft Era after his second game-winning drive, a first for a UDFA rookie in the Common Draft Era, per NFL Research.
Having piloted New York to a surprising 21-13 advantage over a previously red-hot Packers squad, DeVito watched as Jordan Love hooked up with Malik Heath for a touchdown to make it 22-21 as only 1:33 remained on the clock. But the clock's not yet run out on DeVito's fable.
The 25-year-old proud product of Livingston, New Jersey, led the Giants on a 57-yard drive -- keyed by a 32-yard heave to Wan’Dale Robinson -- to set up Randy Bullock's 37-yard game-winner with zeroes on the clock.
"I was standing next to Dabs," DeVito said of Bullock's field goal, which the QB celebrated arm and arm with his head coach. "I don't know if he would want me saying this, but at first, he wasn't going to look. And then he was like, 'I'm going to look.' I was like, 'Alright.' So, we stood right next to each other, and as soon as we saw it go in, it was pure excitement. I grabbed him, hugged him, told him I loved him and celebrated with my teammates."
In his thrilling prime-time performance, DeVito was a pinpoint 17-of-21 passing for 158 yards and a touchdown to go with 71 yards on the ground. Playing opposite another quarterback in Love who was trending upward as of late, it was "Tommy Cutlets" who kept cooking, while Love went cold.
With starter Daniel Jones and second-stringer Tyrod Taylor lost to injuries, the 6-foot-2 DeVito was the last Giants quarterback left standing when he made his NFL debut in Week 8. He threw seven passes as the offense was clearly managed to avoid putting the game in DeVito's hands during an eventual 13-10 loss.
He came on in relief again the following week when a returning Jones was lost for the season with an ACL tear. DeVito was 15 of 20 for 175 yards and a touchdown in a 30-6 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders.
With little choice other than to trust a free-agent QB off the streets, the Giants decided to start the rookie off his parents' couch.
DeVito showed some fight, but the Giants' dreary season continued with a 49-17 beatdown at the hands of the hated Dallas Cowboys.
Then it all turned around against the Commanders. With DeVito tossing a trio of TD passes, New York beat Washington, 31-19. A week after that, DeVito and Co. came away with a 10-7 win over New England.
Then came Monday night, plenty of fanfare, a host of family members rooting him on and a finish that was prognosticated all the way back in the 1988 comedy classic Coming to America.
DeVito captained a pair of scoring drives capped by Saquon Barkley touchdown runs. Then he found Isaiah Hodgins after a sprinting scramble to his right before launching a beauty of a pass into the back of the end zone for a stellar Hodgins TD catch.
Despite the Packers' late heroics, though, Monday night belonged to DeVito and the Giants.
"I think he's a young player that's doing the right things," Daboll said. "Making the most of his opportunity. Earned the right to play today, and he earned the right to play the next week. Kid's done a good job."
At 5-8, the Giants sit in third in the NFC East and 12th in the conference. They're a long shot at best to return to the playoffs. After last year's postseason run, the Giants have fallen well short of expectations.
The unknown DeVito has emerged from out of nowhere, however, to become a story and offer a respite from the doldrums the Giants had been submerged in for the first 10 weeks. Right now, that's been plenty good enough for the G-Men.
"I think in every game we've played this year, we showed that we never gave up on any snap, no matter what the score was," DeVito said. "Never looked up at the scoreboard. Just kept on fighting each and every play, each and every game. And it's starting to come to fruition with these games in the past now, and just going to keep trying to go 1-0 each week."
