Giants vs Buccaneers: What to watch for in week 12

The Giants are back from their bye week and Daniel Jones has been ousted as the starting quarterback. Wow. I guess a refreshing trip to England was needed for this team.

As the Giants' record falls to a paltry 2-8, Tommy DeVito takes the reigns at quarterback with seven weeks remaining in the season. This feels eerily similar to the 2023 season.

The Buccaneers come into town for a Week 12 matchup that means more for the Giants' draft position than it does for the standings. The Bucs are expected to be healthier in this matchup with the likes of Mike Evans, Jamel Dean and possibly Tristan Wirfs slated to return. The Giants may face an uphill battle all game long, but the Bucs have struggled of late, dropping their last four games.

The line is set at -6 in favor of the Bucs, here are a few things to watch for in this Week 12 matchup.

Tommy DeVito is taking over at QB1

The latter half of this week was a whirlwind of emotion for Giants players and fans as Daniel Jones was benched and released by the team. After 10 weeks of poor quarterback play ending in a loss to the Carolina Panthers at Wembley Stadium, the Giants decided enough was enough and pulled the plug.

Kudos to Daniel Jones for going out with class. He addressed the media on Thursday and had nothing but great things to say about the organization who took him with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 Draft.

This was the best move for all parties involved and now, Tommy DeVito will step in as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. Barring injury or porous play, it is his job to lose and Brian Daboll trusts him to run the offense, so much so that he chose him over Drew Lock. DeVito knows the playbook, has real game experience from 2023, and wants to help the team compete in his second season with an opportunity to perform.

When DeVito runs out on the field against the Bucs, he'll have a different set of offensive personnel out there with him compared to a year ago. The offensive line play has been much better this year and he should have better protection. Three rookies are starting at skill positions with Malik Nabers at WR1, Theo Johnson at TE1 and Tyrone Tracy Jr. at RB1. In my opinion, DeVito has a lot more to work with and his margin for error should be less apparent this year given what is at his disposal. He most likely won't be sacked 37 times in nine games like last year, and will be expected to move the ball down the field. In those nine games in 2023, he threw for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Bucs have allowed teams to throw for 2,835 yards this year, ranking fourth worst in the entire NFL. While on their current four game losing streak, three of those teams scored 30 or more points on their defense. Albeit those teams were the Ravens, Chiefs and 49ers, but that is still a lot to allow to any team. They have also given up 35 plays of 20+ yards, per NFL.com. That ranks as sixth worst in the league and is an area the Giants can try to expose with a fresh face under center. With Daniel Jones leading the offense, they ranked last in the league with 19 plays of 20+ yards.

The chips are in DeVito's hands, he just needs to make the right moves to pull off the upset on Sunday.

Post-bye, the Giants rookie class looks to continue inspiring play

Tyrone Tracy Jr., Malik Nabers, and Theo Johnson on the offensive side of the ball. Tyler Nubin and Dru Phillips on the defensive side. The 2024 draft class is shaping up to be the best of Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll's tenure so far. Aside from Darius Muasau who averages roughly 13 snaps per game on special teams, all of the guys from the 2024 class are making an immediate impact and are getting plenty of run at their respective positions. Nabers and Tracey Jr. are electric, game-changing players that act as focal points in the Giants offense. Theo Johnson is a massive presence - literally - in the run game as a pass blocker and he has recorded 3+ receptions per game, 41 receiving yards and hauled in a touchdown in the Giants past three games.

Tyler Nubin quite literally has played every defensive snap of the season and recorded 12 tackles in week 10 against the Panthers. Check out this play on Chuba Hubbard for a loss in week 10, he fills the box and diagnoses the play as a run post-motion and comes off the edge with authority.

Tyler Nubin tackles Chuba Hubbard for a loss in week 10 matchup // Courtesy NFL Pro

Dru Phillips has been one of the most explosive defensive rookies this season and has flown under the radar as one of the better cornerbacks on the Giants roster. He has racked up 43 tackles and has allowed 23 receptions for a little over 200 yards. As a nickel corner covering quicker players and short areas of the field where big plays can happen, he has held it down.

The Bucs bring with them Mike Evans, Cade Otton and running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving who are dynamic playmakers in an offense led by Baker Mayfield. On defense, Lavonte David, Jamel Dean and Antoine Winfield are big names that can make plays of their own. Although the Bucs defense has been somewhat average this year, they have played solid teams close of late and should not be overlooked. The Giants rookies have a tall task to burn the Bucs defense and slow down their offense. It always takes a team effort, but the 2024 class needs to show up in week 12 for the Giants to have any chance at pulling out a win.

In closing

A lot has happened in Giants land this week, but the noise needs to be left behind. The focus is on Tampa Bay and pulling out what would be an upset win in Tommy DeVito's first start of the 2024 season. For the Giants to have success, they will need a mix of DeVito success and 2024 draft class grit with a little Sexy Dexy sprinkled in to win the day.

There would be no better feeling than the Giants picking up their first win at home and injecting some life into a locker room that is dejected and treading water. At 2-8, the team has nothing to lose and should keep going out trying to win games each and every week. They aren't tanking for a top draft pick and winning football games is still of the utmost importance even at this stage in the season. If this organization wants to be taken seriously, they need to win games and put the league back on notice that the Giants of old can be translated into the Giants of new.

Here we go into a tough week 12 matchup. After this one, they turn right around for a trip to Dallas and a Thanksgiving showdown. Grab a win and head into Dallas with some momentum and see what comes of it.