Blogging The Boys
It is going to be interesting to say the least to watch the Cowboys and Giants on Thanksgiving Day.
Next week’s Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and Giants was uninspiring at best; two of the league’s worst teams in a nonepic struggle. But New York decided to throw a little seasoning on the matchup with a big move, announcing that QB Daniel Jones will be benched in favor of Tommy DeVito.
Jones’ struggles in 2024, his sixth season, are no secret. Of the top 32 quarterbacks in passing attempts, he ranks 30th in passer rating over just DeShaun Watson and Anthony Richardson. In games where the Giants looked competitive enough to win, it’s often been Jones who’s held them back. New York’s lost four games this year by seven points or less, and Jones has had turnovers in three of them.
The sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Jones has never been what New York hoped for with such a highly-regarded prospect. He’s been able to hurt teams at times with a fearless mentality and good running ability, but inaccuracy and poor judgment have often undermined the good. Things were looking up after a strong year in 2022, which earned him a new contract, but the last two years have been rough with an ACL injury in 2023 and poor play in general.
The Giants now turn to DeVito, who went 3-3 as a starter last year following Jones’ injury and an injury to backup Tyrod Taylor. He became a short-lived sensation, losing his first start to Dallas but then winning three in a row. Once DeVito started looking like an undrafted rookie again, New York turned back to Taylor.
New York’s decision to go to DeVito now is interesting. They’re bypassing veteran Drew Lock, who joined the team as a free agent last March and has been the primary backup all season. If they’re focused on their 2025 draft pick, you’d think they just stick with Jones as part of a tanking strategy. But due to injury clauses in the veteran’s big contract, the Giants are avoiding any further financial entanglement while also doing their best to lose games.
The Cowboys won’t make that goal easy. Getting beaten by even wider margins this year than the Giants, and now without Dak Prescott, Dallas won’t be favored in many games the rest of the season. They’ll probably get token odds next Thursday as the home team, especially with both using backup QBs now, but it will really be a toss-up between two franchises who just want to get to the other end of the tunnel.
With this last QB move for New York, last September’s game between the Giants and Cowboys may well be the last time Dallas sees Daniel Jones with a division rival. New York can release him for over $19 million in cap relief next year and appear to be protecting their ability to do that by not risking injury now. Jones will still be just...
