3 Takeaways from Giants' Week 9 Loss vs. Raiders
The New York Giants suffered their seventh loss of the 2023 season on Sunday, and the 30-6 defeat was particularly humbling.
Early in the week, the Las Vegas Raiders fired both head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. Interim Raiders coach Antonio Pierce then benched starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for rookie Aidan O'Connell.
This was a game New York had to win if it had any hope of getting back into the playoff race. Instead, the Giants were outplayed in virtually every phase and again lost quarterback Daniel Jones to an injury.
The season is all but over for Big Blue. Here's what else we learned during the Giants' Week 9 loss to the Raiders.
It's Time to Target a Quarterback in the 2024 Draft
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Jones returned after missing three games with a neck injury. He attempted only nine passes before going down with a non-contact knee injury and quickly being ruled out. According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, it's believed to be a serious injury, possibly a torn ACL.
With backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor (ribs) and star tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) both on injured reserve, it's hard to see the Giants pushing into the playoff picture this season. It's now officially time to focus on the 2024 draft and talented quarterback prospects like Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.
New York gave Jones a four-year, $160 million extension after he helped them reach the playoffs in 2022. Moving on from that contract—which the Giants can do in 2025 by eating $22.2 million in dead money—will hurt, but it has to be done.
Even when he's been healthy, Jones hasn't played like an above-average quarterback this season. The Giants shouldn't be striving for just "above average" anyway.
After watching Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud set a rookie record with 470 passing yards and five touchdowns on Sunday, how can the Giants not want a young signal-caller with that much potential?
There are no "sure things" in the NFL draft, but the potential of finding a special quarterback is there. The Giants don't have one currently, but at 2-7, they do have the potential to land a top-five draft selection.
New York Needs Defensive Help in the Offseason
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Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale oversaw some terrific units during his time with the Baltimore Ravens. He has yet to establish much consistency in New York, but we've seen in recent weeks that Martindale's schemes can work when everything is clicking.
In the three games leading into Sunday, New York allowed an average of just 274 yards and 11.3 points. However, Sunday marked the fifth time this season that the Giants have allowed 28 or more points.
The Giants surrendered 24 first-half points, 334 yards and 5.7 yards per play to the Raiders. Their defense did hold Las Vegas to 5-of-15 on third and fourth downs, but they allowed too many big plays early to ever have a chance in this game.
In Baltimore, Martindale benefited from deep and talented defenses, something he simply doesn't have in New York. Last year's unit ranked 31st in yards per rush allowed, 25th in yards allowed, 26th in interceptions and 17th in points allowed.
Aside from using a first-round pick on cornerback Deonte Banks, the Giants did surprisingly little in the offseason to improve their defense. Fixing the quarterback position must be priority No. 1 next offseason, but New York must use some of its $38.7 million in projected cap space to significantly upgrade the other side of the ball too.
Tommy DeVito Has Up-and-Down Afternoon
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With Jones potentially done for the year and Taylor still on injured reserve, the Giants are likely to lean on third-stringer Tommy DeVito for the immediate future. He had a rough outing against the Raiders, but it wasn't all negative.
DeVito threw a pair of interceptions and showed some very poor pocket awareness—he was sacked six times by a defense that had 16 sacks coming into Sunday. However, he did show some good mobility and threw a few crisp downfield passes—including a fourth-quarter touchdown strike to Wan'Dale Robinson.
During last week's overtime loss to the New York Jets, the Giants barely allowed DeVito to throw beyond the line of scrimmage. He at least provided some semblance of a passing attack against Las Vegas.
DeVito finished 15-of-20 for 175 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. With 17 yards, he was the team's second-leading rusher behind Saquon Barkley.
Ideally, DeVito can build on his Week 9 positives because the free-agent quarterback market is headlined by the likes of Carson Wentz and Joe Flacco.
*Cap and contract information via Spotrac.
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