It is now 12 weeks until the first 2024 airing of Monday Night Football, by which point the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have already played their first game of the regular season. As those dates rapidly approach, we're taking a look at each team Tampa Bay is going to face during the regular season. From how those teams fared last year, to what they've done with the roster since, to some as-yet-unanswered questions – we want to get a better feel for what the Bucs will be up against this fall. Today we look at the team the Buccaneers will play immediately after their Week 11 bye, the New York Giants.
2023 Results
After breaking a five-year playoff drought and even winning a postseason contest in 2022, the Giants took a step back in 2023, falling to 6-11 and tying for the sixth worst record in the NFL. They were a streaky team last year, at one point winning three in a row but also suffering three different runs of three or more losses.
New York stumbled out of the gate, both in terms of their opening game and the first third of the season overall. Following tradition, the NFL put their home game against the archrival Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week One, and it was all Dallas all evening. Tony Pollard ran for two touchdowns and the Cowboys also scored on a pick-six by DaRon Bland and a 58-yard return of a blocked field goal by Noah Igbinoghene in a 40-0 decision that marked the first time the Giants had been shut out in five years. That ignominious loss kicked off a 1-5 start to the season that included four losses by 15 or more points.
After nipping Arizona, 31-28, in Week Two, the Giants got their second win in Week 7, beating Washington 14-7 with Tyrod Taylor filling in for injured starting quarterback Daniel Jones and throwing touchdown passes to Darren Waller and Saquon Barkley. Taylor started three games while Jones dealt with a neck injury, but the other two were low-scoring losses to Buffalo and the Jets. Jones returned in Week Nine but the Giants were promptly hammered by the Raiders, 30-6, Jones was knocked out by a knee injury after just nine passes. He would not play again in 2023, landing on injured reserve on November 8 due to a torn ACL.
With Taylor also hurt, the Giants brought Tommy DeVito up from the practice squad and started him against the Cowboys, who delivered another beating to the tune of a 49-17 final. This time, Dallas scored in more conventional ways, but they did it a lot, with Dak Prescott throwing touchdown passes to four different players. DeVito threw for just 86 yards on 27 passes but did find the end zone twice. After that game, however, the saga of "Tommy Cutlets" began, as DeVito started the next five games, including three straight wins over the Commanders, Patriots and Packers. DeVito threw five touchdown passes and no interceptions in those three contests, topping 103 in passer rating in each of them. Most impressive was a 24-22 win over playoff-bound Green Bay, which Randy Bullock won with a 37-yard field goal as time expired after DeVito got him in position with a 32-yard completion to Wan'Dale Robinson.
DeVito and the Giants couldn't sustain the magic, however, and lost the next three games to the Saints, Eagles and Rams. Taylor returned to the starting lineup in Week 17 against Los Angeles and gave the Giants a 20-16 third-quarter lead with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton, but the Rams rallied for a 26-25 victory. The Giants and Eagles met again in Week 18 and Barkley auditioned for his 2024 team by running for two scores as New York finished the season on a high note in a 27-10 win at home.
2024 Arrivals
The Giants landed the sixth pick in the 2024 draft but elected not to get in on the historic run of six quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks. They did add some potential competition for Jones, however, by signing former Seahawks passer Drew Lock. After the draft, the Giants also claimed quarterback Nathan Rourke off waivers after he was let go by the Patriots.
With quarterbacks taking up the first three spots in the draft, the Giants were able to fill one of their most pressing needs by nabbing LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers. Desperate for some size and dynamic playmaking ability in their pass-catching corps, the Giants got a receiver who racked up 1,569 yards and 14 touchdowns last season and averaged 18.0 yards per catch.
New York's biggest move outside the draft could produce one of the best edge-rushing tandems in the league. After the Panthers put their franchise tag on Pro Bowl outside linebacker Brian Burns, the Giants acquired him in a trade, giving up a second-round pick and swapping fifth-rounders. Burns had 46.0 sacks in five seasons in Carolina and will now be paired with third-year man Kayvon Thibodeaux, who exploded with 11.5 sacks of his own in 2023.
After the Giants gave up an astonishing 85 sacks last year and finished dead last in sacks per pass play rate (16.4%), they could have as many as three newcomers on their starting O-Line in 2024. New York handed a three-year, $30 million contract to former Packers guard Jon Runyan and a two-year, $14 million deal to former Raiders tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. Runyan is sure to start at right guard while Eluemunor may unseat disappointing 2022 first-round pick Evan Neal at right tackle. Aaron Stinnie, signed away from the Buccaneers may also grab the left guard spot, while former Viking Austin Schlottmann provides good depth.
In the 2024 offseason running back carousel that sent Barkley to Philadelphia, the Giants landed on Devin Singletary, who spent last season in Houston after four years with the Bills. Singletary, who got a three-year deal from the Giants, has been remarkably consistent across that span, with these seasonal yards from scrimmage totals, in chronological order: 969, 956, 1,098, 1,099 and 1,091. New York also addressed the position in the draft, grabbing Purdue's Tyrone Tracy in the fifth round.
The defensive front could have two new starters after the Giants landed former Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on a one-year deal. Other newcomers on one-year contracts include Broncos tight end Chris Manhertz and Patriots safety Jalen Mills, and the Giants snapped up veteran wideout Allen Robinson after he was cut by Pittsburgh in May.
The secondary will likely have two rookie starters in 2024 after the Giants used their two Day Two picks on Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin in the second round and Kentucky cornerback Dru Phillips in the third. Fourth-round tight end Theo Johnson out of Penn State will pair with Daniel Bellinger to fill the hole if and when Darren Waller retires, as widely expected.
2024 Departures
The Giants had one very significant defection on each side of the ball in the first blush of free agency. First, Barkley took a three-year, $38 million deal to join the rival Eagles after piling up 7,311 yards from scrimmage and 47 total touchdowns in six years in New York. A day later, safety Xavier McKinney struck gold with a four-year, $67 million commitment from the Packers. A second-round pick in 2020, McKinney had 116 tackles and three interceptions in 2023.
The Giants also saw Taylor switch MetLife Stadium locker rooms, signing a two-year pact with the Jets. Defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson, who started 13 games in his lone season with the Giants, moved on to Carolina on a three-year, $23 million deal. Ben Bredeson, who started 16 games at guard for new York last season, found a new home in Tampa, while defensive end Jihad Ward took a one-year deal in Minnesota. Later in the offseason, wideout Sterling Shepard, who ranks fifth in Giants history in receptions, followed Bredeson to Tampa to reunite with his former Oklahoma teammate Baker Mayfield.
Other Noteworthy Developments
The Giants have a new defensive coordinator in 2024 after mutually parting ways with Don "Wink" Martindale, a decision apparently prompted by the dismissals of outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins. The coordinator job went to Shane Bowen, who had filled the same position for the Titans under Mike Vrabel the past three seasons. Bowen is likely to dial up significantly fewer blitzes than the extremely aggressive Martindale. Charlie Bullen and Zak Kuhr were hired to fill the open linebacker and assistant positions, respectively.
Mike Kafka, who has been the Giants' offensive coordinator under Head Coach Brian Daboll for the past two seasons, had assistant head coach added to his title in 2024. In addition, quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney is now the team's offensive passing game coordinator. On the defensive staff, defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson is now the defensive passing game coordinator.
Following the rough season up front on offense, the Giants not only reloaded with veteran linemen but also made a change on the coaching staff, firing O-Line Coach Bobby Johnson and bringing in former Raiders coach Carmen Bricillo.
After trading for former Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons last August, the Giants kept him around for at least another season with a new one-year contract. New York also retained potential defensive free agents Darnay Holmes, an option in the slot, and linebacker Carter Coughlin. Wide receivers Gunner Olszewski and Isaiah Hodgins also stuck around on one-year deals.
The Giants have not, to this point, re-signed cornerbacks Adoree' Jackson or Keion Crossing, as well as linebacker Jarrad Davis. Kicker Randy Bullock, who came in and played in six games after Graham Gano went on injured reserve before also hitting I.R., has not been re-signed. Guard Mark Glowinski and running back Matt Breida also remain unsigned free agents.
Pressing Questions
Can Daniel Jones still extend his tenure as the Giants' long-term franchise quarterback?
Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft, had the best season of his career so far in 2022, throwing for 3,205 yards and just five interceptions in 16 games, rushing for another 708 yards and leading the Giants to the playoffs. The Giants responded in the following offseason by signing Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract with $92 million guaranteed. He is due to make $35.5 million in 2024, and with a potential dead cap hit of $69.3 million, the Giants were never likely to release him before 2025. As noted, the Giants also did not draft a quarterback in April, and newcomer Drew Lock has made it clear he is coming in as Jones's backup.
Jones's first season under his new deal did not go particularly well, with two touchdown passes, six picks and 70.5 passer rating in six starts, but his pair of injuries made it harder to judge his performance. The Giants can reasonably point to 2022 as a baseline for what they can expect from him in a healthier season.
However, Jones' contract becomes less onerous after this season, and the Giants would incur just a $22.2 million dead cap hit if they released him in 2025, compared to a $41.6 million cap hit if they kept him. That makes 2024 look very much like a final prove-it opportunity for Jones, and if the season goes poorly and New York is again picking high in the first round, the franchise could choose to start fresh at quarterback.
Of course, not all of the responsibility for proving it will be on Jones. He took 30 of those 85 sacks the Giants allowed, or exactly five per game in his six starts. If the Giants have succeeded in their broad efforts to piece together a more effective front line, Jones will have a far better opportunity to show what he is capable of producing.
Can the Giants get better results on defense with Brian Burns and a new coordinator added to the mix?
As noted, the Giants broke a five-year playoff drought in 2022, but they still haven't ranked higher than 21st on the defensive side of the ball since 2020. Last year, the Martindale-directed crew finished 27th in yards allowed, 28th in yards per play, 29th against the run, 19th against the pass, 25th in the red zone and 26th in points allowed. In addition, despite Thibodeaux's breakout campaign, the Giants were just 30th in sacks generated per pass play.
However, New York is not lacking in talent on defense. The addition of Burns could make a huge difference, as he has generated at least 7.5 sacks in each of his five seasons and is definitely a threat to hit double digits in that category in 2024. Burns also has 95 quarterback hits during his career so far.
With Burns in the mix, the Giants could have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Thibodeaux, the fifth-overall pick in the 2023 draft, looks like a rising star and Dexter Lawrence is one of the best nose tackles in the league, earning second-team AP All-Pro status last year.
The secondary has been boosted by rookies Nubin and Phillips and linebacker Bobby Okereke can fill out a stat sheet (149 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, two interceptions, 10 passes defensed and four forced fumbles in 2023). Starting cornerback Deonte Banks is a former first-round pick.
How these pieces come together will be up to Bowen, whose Titans defense ranked 18th in yards allowed and 16th in points allowed last year. As noted, Bowen's schemes should be a significant departure from the blitz-happy stylings of Martindale. If the Giants reloaded front can produce pressure with four-man rushes and the young players in the secondary can step up, the defense could take a big step forward in 2024.
