When the 2023 NFL season began, Aaron Rodgers’ entrance to New York was the top story in town.
Now, with Rodgers recovering from a potential season-ending surgery, the top story has taken a backseat to one of the craziest stretches in New York football history.
Fresh off the New York Giants’ 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, the legend of backup quarterback Tommy DeVito has grown to a fever pitch in New York. The undrafted free agent from Livingston, New Jersey combined for over 200 yards of offense both through the air and rushing. He added a touchdown pass to go with a game-winning field-goal-winning drive to move the G-Men back into the playoff picture in an open NFC.
Despite the media frenzy that “Tommy Cutlets” has brought to the Giants, Rodgers, as he’s done before, has tempered expectations for any young quarterback.
“The recipe is not too complicated,” Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee show Tuesday afternoon. “It’s opportunistic. It’s making good decisions, and taking care of the football. When you have a little moxy with that, it helps.”
Rodgers has been lost for the majority of the season with the Jets since his Achilles tear four plays into his debut. While the quarterback has consistently defended the criticism that some young quarterbacks deal with in their early years of the NFL, he has appreciated the kind of excitement that DeVito has brought to the city of two NFL teams with losing records.
“You watched the game last night, he was very efficient. He only had a few incompletions, no turnovers, no sacks…didn’t seem there was a ton of real turnover-worthy plays so that’s the key to success.”
The NFL can humble anyone in any given week though. For DeVito and the Giants, getting back into the playoff hunt after a nightmare 2-8 start.
Big Blue’s current three-game winning streak, though, can easily change right back later on.
“I think a lot of this shit is overblown,” Rodgers explained. “When you win, then there’s a little momentum. The narrative changes so quickly in a week. Look at our team. The Giants have won a few in a row. Every week there’s overreactions, there’s crowning, trashing, and it all gets reset.”
Despite Rodgers’ clear warning to fans of the Giants to temper expectations with their young quarterback, New York is back in the playoff race despite having a tough road to end their season.
We have updated odds for the playoffs below:
Updated New York Giants playoff odds (Courtesy of DraftKings)
DraftKings odds: TBD
DVOA playoff odds: TBD
ESPN FPI: 0.4%
NY Times odds: 2%
