Giants show more fire in locker room than during another humiliating loss: ‘We played soft’

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants coach Brian Daboll turned to third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito to provide a “spark.” Instead, Daboll got a five-alarm blaze that will be difficult to extinguish.

The Giants were destroyed 30-7 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in the first game after the benching of quarterback Daniel Jones. That decision Monday led to an extended week of drama, with Jones relegated to fourth-string quarterback in practice Wednesday, giving a farewell news conference Thursday before being granted his release Friday by co-owner John Mara.

The decision to bench Jones was justified based on his performance and the $23 million guarantee in his contract. But it was incumbent upon Daboll to get his players to buy into the decision.

There were undercurrents throughout the week that players weren’t fully on board. Star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who has become the face of the team, said he was confused by Jones’ benching and didn’t like it because “To me, (he’s) the best quarterback on the team.”

Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen created more waves by jumping veteran backup Drew Lock, who had been the No. 2 quarterback all season, for DeVito, who was a fun distraction briefly last year as a local hero.

With all of that as a backdrop, Daboll needed his players to rally around him. He needed them to show they believed in him and would raise their level of play to support him as his seat grows hotter in his third season.

Instead, Daboll got an effort that outside linebacker Brian Burns described as “ass.”

The Giants showed more fire in the locker room after the game than during the 60 minutes they were dominated by the Buccaneers on the field.

“We played soft,” Lawrence said. “And they beat the s— out of us today.”

The unrest was widespread after the Giants’ sixth straight loss to drop to 2-9.

Rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers finished with six catches for 64 yards but didn’t have a target in the first half as the Giants dropped into a 23-0 hole. Nabers echoed Lawrence’s “soft” critique while ranting about his lack of involvement early in the game.

“Go out there, first, second quarter, I don’t get the ball,” Nabers said. “Start getting targets at the end. I mean, can’t do nothing. Start getting the ball when it’s 30-0. What can you do?”

Malik Nabers: “I know I’m tired of losing”

Says it’s not the quarterback pic.twitter.com/CA6tH0r87x

— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) November 24, 2024

Left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who left with a quad injury in the first quarter, contradicted Daboll’s insistence the team’s effort level is satisfactory.

“I personally don’t think everyone’s giving 100 percent,” Eluemunor said. “I mean, you’re 2-9. You have to be real with everyone. I’m 29 years old. I’m a vet in this league, and if anyone has a problem with me saying that, they can come see me.”

The continued losing is taking its toll on sixth-year wide receiver Darius Slayton, who didn’t have a catch on two targets.

“We’ve got capable players who don’t play like they’re capable, period,” Slayton said. “That’s why we lose. That’s why we go out there and get beat.”

No players directly called out the coaching staff. But their support was hardly convincing.

“I would like to think that,” Burns said when asked whether the coaches’ message is getting through to players. “The reason I say I would like to think that is because everybody has the right answers, but it’s not showing up where it needs to show up.”

Mara, who gave Schoen and Daboll a public vote of confidence four weeks ago, declined to comment when approached by reporters outside the locker room late in the game. The play on the field spoke volumes. It’s getting harder to find reasons for Mara’s stated support as the losses continue to pile up.

It was less than two weeks ago when Schoen made the baffling claim the Giants aren’t “far off” as they regress dramatically in his third season.

The Giants have the worst offense in the league, averaging 14.8 points per game after Daboll took over as the play caller this season. They tallied a pathetic 45 yards of total offense in the first half Sunday.

Daboll was calling timeouts on the final drive while trailing 30-7, only for DeVito to continue to check the ball down. The Giants reached Tampa’s 14-yard line but weren’t even capable of scoring a garbage-time touchdown.

The Giants are 0-6 at home, where they’re averaging 10 points per game. Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield taunted the hearty souls that attended Sunday’s game by mocking DeVito’s touchdown celebration after scrambling for a score to give Tampa a 23-0 lead in the second quarter.

Baker hit the Tommy DeVito celebration 🤌

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/MNNeSlFN3t

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 24, 2024

The Giants’ point differential is negative 112 points, which is the second worst in the league. It seems impossible, but the Giants haven’t held the lead in any game since their Week 5 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Yet Schoen tried to point to close losses during his bye week news conference as a sign the program is headed in the right direction.

The rookie class has been trumpeted as a major triumph for Schoen, and it has shown promise. But warts are showing more as the season progresses. Nabers hasn’t topped 71 yards in five games since returning from a two-week absence due to a concussion. The first-round pick topped that mark three times in the first four games of the season.

Fifth-round running back Tyrone Tracy has been a revelation, and he again was productive with 42 yards on nine carries and four catches for 28 yards Sunday. But he also fumbled on a first-and-goal run from Tampa’s 5-yard line on the first possession of the second half. It was the third fumble in two games for Tracy, including the one that led to an overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 10.

LAVONTE DAVID WITH THE PEANUT PUNCH 🥊

📺: #TBvsNYG on CBS pic.twitter.com/V9XEQmZOij

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 24, 2024

The rookie struggles can be chalked up as growing pains, and Burns said, “they’re going to be key players for us next year.” It was a bit alarming, however, that Burns was talking about next year with six games remaining in this season. But that’s where things stand for the Giants.

GO DEEPER

2025 NFL Draft: Giants’ next 3 games will go a long way in determining draft spot

The less said about Schoen’s first two draft classes the better.

The pass rush had been the strength of the team, but the Giants didn’t sack Mayfield once despite Tampa’s All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs missing the game with a knee injury and outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux returning from a broken wrist that sidelined him for five games. The Giants have one sack in the past three games.

Stopping the run was a top priority for Schoen and Daboll after Wink Martindale’s messy departure as defensive coordinator. Shane Bowen was hired, with the track record of his run defenses in Tennessee touted by Daboll. The Giants are allowing a league-high 5.3 yards per carry. The Bucs gained 156 yards on 32 carries, with the Giants’ pitiful tackling paving the way to most of those yards.

It’s not as if Sunday’s result came against a juggernaut. The Bucs entered with a 4-6 record and on a four-game losing streak.

Sunday’s performance will lend credence to the theory that turning to DeVito was a move designed to tank to improve the team’s draft stock. What’s sad is that’s not the case. Mara has made it abundantly clear he’ll never endorse tanking and there isn’t even a clear No. 1 quarterback prospect in next year’s draft to tank for. The Giants hold the No. 2 pick.

Daboll said the team “had a good week of practice,” which raises the question of what Sunday’s performance would have looked like after a bad week of practice.

No matter how many national outlets push the narrative that this regime will get a fourth season, Daboll won’t survive if he loses the locker room. Major cracks in Daboll’s hold on his players began to show for the first time Sunday. That was inevitable, and it will likely only get worse with six more games to go in a season that has become completely hopeless.

(Photo of Brian Daboll: Elsa / Getty Images)