North Jersey stand up! Your new favorite son is coming home from Washington with a victory — the New York Giants’ first in nearly a month. Tommy DeVito will arrive home in Cedar Grove, N.J. a hero, and be greeted with a freshly made bed curiosity of Mama DeVito.
On Sunday, the Giants soundly defeated the Washington Commanders, 31-19. It was DeVito’s second start of the season, and his performance was a 180-degree difference from his rough debut against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. He passed for 246 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, averaged 9.5 yards per attempt, and threw only eight incompletions on the day.
DeVito became a viral NFL sensation last week, but not because of his play. It was his quote from a piece written by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. DeVito said that he still lives at his childhood home which is very close to the Giants’ football facilities.
The guy is an undrafted free agent who is only starting because the Giants No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks have suffered significant injuries. In this economy, I would advise any recent college graduate to live at home for a few years and save money.
That being said, for the young adults who are fortunate enough to have parents who can help them avoid the full burden of living expenses, at least clean up after yourself. DeVito became a trending topic, because he revealed that his mother still does his laundry and makes his bed.
I understand that DeVito currently has a demanding job. Being the starting quarterback of the Giants is no 9-5 gig. He has to put in some extra hours. However, washing clothes and putting a fitted sheet on the bed does not take all night. He can take his tablet off of sleep mode and get back to studying the game plan during wash and dry cycles.
After Sunday’s victory, I doubt the Giants and their fans would agree with me. If Mama DeVito handling wash day has anything to do with the sharp passes that her boy threw against the Commanders, the organization might send some equipment staff to her home in order to help ease workload.
DeVito climbed the pocket, bought time with his legs, and launched the ball down the field. He did not dink and dunk his way to 246 passing yards. His first two touchdown passes both traveled more than 20 yards in the air. He threw some darts in the middle of the field as well. In no way did DeVito play timid and was rewarded with a victory.
As well as he played, now is not the time for DeVito to call leasing agents about Manhattan condos. Even if the Giants finish the season strong with most of their difficult matchups out of the way, he did not look like their quarterback of the future. Congratulations to him on a job well done, but the Commanders pass defense has struggled all season, and they traded their two best outside pass rushers. It was certainly not Charles Mann and Dexter Manley who DeVito lined up against in a divisional matchup on the road — although he did get sacked nine times.
But good for the tri-state area kid. Since Aaron Rodgers ran out onto the MetLife stadium field hoisting an American flag, there has not been much good NFL news for New York faithful. At least the locals can enjoy this feel-good story about one of their own playing a damn good game for the hometown team.
I hope some chicken parm with vodka sauce is in his near and immediate future.
