The New York Giants gave the Philadelphia Eagles all they could handle in the second half of their Christmas Day matchup. Trailing 20-3 at halftime, many presumed the Giants would just continue getting steamrolled in the third and fourth quarters, but they flipped the script.
New York would outscore Philadelphia 15-0 in the third quarter, making it a one-score game heading into the final stanza. The Eagles were able to hold them off, winning 33-25, but it certainly wasn’t the cakewalk many were expecting.
In a surprise turn of events, it was veteran Tyrod Taylor who helped facilitate the comeback in the second half. He replaced Tommy DeVito at quarterback, who completed 9-of-16 passes for 55 yards in the first half, unable to consistently get the offense moving.
NFL News & Rumors: Tommy DeVito, Tyrod Taylor, Brian Daboll New York Giants Updates
Taylor completed 7-of-16 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown and one interception, which came on the final play of the game. While the completion percentage was worse, some of those incompletions were spikes at the end of the game to stop the clock.
After the game, head coach Brian Daboll explained why he opted to make a change at quarterback. “Just tried to spark the team,” according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
DeVito handled the change well, as he was hoping his teammates would pull off the comeback victory. He admitted that it felt like a bit of a roller coaster for him personally, but he knows at the end of the day, the NFL is a business.
NFL News & Rumors: Tommy DeVito, Tyrod Taylor, Brian Daboll New York Giants Updates
Part of being in that business is always remaining ready. DeVito, an undrafted rookie free agent, never expected to get onto the field for this amount of playing time but he did what he could to remain ready for when his number was called. He found the most success of anyone under center for the Giants this season, putting together a three-game winning streak.
But, another change could be on the horizon. Daboll opted not to reveal any of the team’s plans for the starting quarterback spot in Week 17 when the Giants face the Los Angeles Rams. With their playoff hopes officially dashed, it will be interesting to see what Daboll opts for in a game with very little meaning outside of draft positioning.
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