The (2-8) New York Giants welcome a new starting quarterback along with the (4-6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 12. With the big change at the top of the depth chart for the Giants, there’s a lot of uncertainty around the future of this team. Can they break their five game losing streak in this game? Let’s take a look at the key players for this matchup.
Key Players For The Giants
After over a year of speculation, it finally came to pass – the Giants have officially benched Daniel Jones. Not only did they bench him, but they cut him at his request. This is a bit surprising yet understandable from his perspective, given that he was relegated to playing safety in practice and wouldn’t even be the QB3 on gameday (that designation goes to Tim Boyle). The benching is largely due to his contract, which has guarantees for injury going into next year that the Giants don’t want to be on the hook for. If he plays, he runs the risk of injury which could cause a cap hit problem. Jones officially won’t be on the roster for the Giants ever again.
The current starter is none other than Tommy Devito, known for his Italian heritage and his flashy agent from his 2023 days as the starter. As for why Drew Lock was passed over, it’s not completely clear, but it could be because they want to test out if Devito is a good backup to keep on the roster in 2025. It could also be that the organization truly believes Devito is better than Lock. Either way, we’ll see what he has this Sunday.
The Bucs rank 30th in passing yards allowed on the course of the season, so attacking them through the air is a good strategy. To help Devito out in the passing game, he’ll have Malik Nabers, their rookie star receiver to throw to. Nabers hasn’t been as explosive as the first few games before his concussion. He averaged 13 targets and 96.5 yards per game before his injury, compared to 10.5 targets and 55.25 yards per game afterwards. Regardless, he remains the team’s top target and could have a big play at any point.
Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson will get their share too, as they both are utilized to spread the ball around and have their roles. Robinson is the underneath receiver and Slayton is more used for intermediate throws when Nabers isn’t getting the ball.
The Bucs rank 16th when it comes to rushing yards allowed, which puts them right in the middle of the pack. We expect the Giants to rely on Tyrone Tracy Jr. for their ground game, as he’s been electric on the ground and blowing away all expectations that come with a 5th round RB. He’s averaging 5.1 YPC on the ground, and to top it off is a dual threat back that can catch passes and take advantage of the Bucs already stated weak passing defense.
On the other side of the ball, the Giants defense has been statistically really good in certain areas, even though that’s been overshadowed by their 2-8 record. They are allowing the 4th fewest passing yards per game, are tied for 5th in red zone TD rate efficiency with the Eagles, are 6th in 3rd down conversion rate allowed, and have the second most total sacks in the league. Their pass rush is one of the better ones in the league led by Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux (who’s looking like he’ll return Sunday). Where they struggle is their rushing defense, which allows the 4th most rushing yards per game.
We’ll see how their defense stacks up against the Bucs high powered offense, who are getting their top receiver back for this matchup.
Key Players For The Buccaneers
We can’t start this list without mentioning their star quarterback Baker Mayfield. He’s been electric this year and is on pace for 4300 passing yards, 40 TDs, and 15 INTs. He has a 70 percent completion percentage this season, which is elite. Unfortunately, their record doesn’t show how well he’s played given that they sit at under 500 currently and have been on a 4 game losing streak. The team has lost Chris Godwin for the season and has been without Mike Evans for a few weeks, but luckily they finally got some good news for this matchup.
Evans will finally make his return after suffering a bad hamstring injury in their game against the Ravens, and Mayfield will need him in this game, given the already mentioned Giants good passing defense and Godwin’s absence for the season.
The Bucs like utilizing their tight end Cade Otton as he’s been an integral player in the absence of the team’s top targets. He’s been averaging almost 10 targets a game since week 7. Expect him to be a key player in this game as well, since the ball can’t go to Evans on every single play.
The Giants rushing defense is their clearest weakness, which means Rachaad White and Bucky Irving are key players in this matchup and are in line to have good games.
White’s stats on the ground aren’t elite with 3.8 YPC and only 1 rushing touchdown, but he gets plenty of targets and has added 4 receiving touchdowns to his total. Irving’s stats have been better on the ground, with 5.1 YPC and 4 rushing touchdowns. He is also utilized in the passing game, albeit not as much as White. They will both be keeping the Giants defense busy.
The Bucs defense is middle of the pack against the run at 16th in yards allowed per game, led by Vita Vea as the biggest star on that side of the ball. It’s fortunate for them that they face a mediocre OL and a backup quarterback who hasn’t started since last year in this game. We’ll see how the Giants fare against the Bucs DL, and if they are able to rattle the Giants they have a solid chance at winning the game.
Their passing defense is bottom of the league sitting at 30th in yards allowed per game. We’ll see how they do against Devito and the Giants receivers. We know that Nabers can keep them busy with Slayton and Robinson helping spread the ball around, but a backup QB adds uncertainty as to what the Giants will succeed at.
Keys To A Giants Victory
There’s a lot of uncertainty around the Giants as we’ve already pointed out with the change in quarterback, so there’s a chance they can pull off the win but they are up against it. We know that the Bucs offense is high powered and they just got their top receiver back, so they will be able to put up points. The Giants will need to be able to run up the score to keep up, and being that the Bucs defense is susceptible to the pass, they need to lean into their passing game.
Devito will need to utilize Nabers explosiveness, shiftiness, and route running ability to move the ball down field. If he can successfully do that, along with spreading the ball out to Slayton and Robinson, they have a shot at getting the W.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. is also a key player in this game, as he’s been one of the better offensive weapons that the Giants have had all season. His 5.1 YPC on the ground is great, and with his pass catching ability being a converted wide receiver he’s a key player in this matchup. Get Tracy the ball and watch as he creates yardage with his skillset and take pressure off of Devito.
The defense has been solid at limiting the passing game of opposing teams, so the objective must be to limit Mike Evans as much as possible. He can take over a game on his own, and keeping him in check will be a huge boon for the Giants. They will have to also worry about Cade Otton, but they will most likely need to pick their poison.
The Giants defense has been susceptible to the run, and will have the difficult task of keeping Rachaad White and Bucky Irving in check. On the bright side, they’ve been good in the red zone, tying for 5th in red zone efficiency keeping teams from scoring touchdowns. If they can keep the running backs out of the end zone then they have a shot at winning the game. Same goes for the receiver and tight end corps.
The Bucs also have been on a losing streak with 4 in a row, so they’ll be looking to break that streak as well as keep their playoff hopes alive. Can the Giants overcome the odds against them? We’ll find out this Sunday.
Evan Solomon
Evan is originally from Queens, NY and grew up on Long Island, and grew to love The New York Giants being surrounded by Giants fans. He's a social media marketer and content creator by day, which is what led him to joining The League Winners creating content about something he loves - football. Keep an eye out for his fantasy content and NFL team breakdowns.