EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The uncertainty at quarterback that has been such a prominent feature of the Giants' 2024 season remained today as they turned their attention to their road game Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Tommy DeVito is in the NFL concussion protocol after he was injured in the 35-14 loss yesterday to the Baltimore Ravens. Drew Lock had started the previous two games but was in uniform as the emergency third quarterback because of the heel injury he suffered last week against New Orleans.

The Giants won't practice until Wednesday, but said today it is possible that the starter will be Tim Boyle, who played the second half yesterday.

"It depends on how these other guys are health-wise, too," coach Brian Daboll said.

If Boyle does get the call, this will be the first non-strike season since 1950 in which the Giants will start four different quarterbacks, joining Daniel Jones, DeVito and Lock. The Giants did start four quarterbacks in 1987, but that season will forever be asterisked because of a players strike that forced the cancelation of one game and three more played primarily by strike replacement players. The quarterbacks that season were Phil Simms (nine starts), Jeff Rutledge (four), and strike stand-ins Jim Crocicchia and Mike Busch (one apiece).

Daboll hopes DeVito and/or Lock will be ready to face the Falcons.

"(Devito's) in the protocol, so we'll see where he's at," Daboll said on a Zoom call with reporters today. "Again, it's only a day away from where Drew was, so we'll see how Drew is. We could potentially do that, but we'll see where these guys are at each day, and Wednesday hopefully they'll be ready to go."

In his first game action with the Giants, Boyle completed 12 of 24 passes for 123 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers and a late interception by safety Ar'Darius Washington. Daboll said his play-calling didn't dramatically change with Boyle in the game.

"Say you have 100 plays," Daboll said. "You don't take those plays out; you just try to call the plays that quarterback feels most comfortable with. Boyle has been a good to work with because he's picked up everything. Whether it's the extra meetings or going through the call sheet and understanding the things that we were trying to get done, he's put a lot of time and effort into it. He's a really good pro in that regard. Theres not much that one guy likes that the other guy doesn't like. He's done a good job since he's been here of picking up the information and being able to apply it."

The Giants' three longest plays in the game were Boyle passes – a 25-yarder to Wan'Dale Robinson, Nabers' touchdown, and a 17-yarder to tight end Daniel Bellinger. Not bad for a quarterback who prior to the game had worked solely with the scout team and had not taken a single practice snap with the Giants' offense.

"What you saw today was my first time playing with those guys," Boyle said after the game. "So, definitely a cool learning experience. Feeling the speed, the O-line, I think they really did a good job today. The O-line did a good job. The Ravens presented a lot of tough looks, especially on third down. I think our guys up front handled it really well. So, kudos to our guys up front."

Boyle impressed his head coach and teammates.

"I thought he made some nice throws," Daboll said. "He was decisive with the football. He was ready to go. He was prepared. He's worked extremely hard since he's been here. He made the most of his opportunity, the chance he got to be in there."

"It looked like he knew the offense just as a first-string quarterback," Nabers said. "For him to toss the ball around, give us chances on footballs, try to do the best of his ability to get another win, I think he played a great game."

In his six NFL seasons, Boyle has personified the term "journeyman quarterback." He has been cut six times, including by the Giants nine days ago.

Boyle entered the league as rookie free agent with the Green Bay Packers in 2019, from Eastern Kentucky. After throwing four passes in two seasons, Boyle played for Detroit in 2021, Chicago in 2022, the Jets in 2023, and Miami and the Giants this season. He has played in 23 regular-season games with five starts (three with the Lions, two with the Jets) and completed 141 of 233 passes (60.5%) for 1,210, five touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

This season, he played in two games for the Dolphins before being released on Oct. 26. The Giants signed him to their practice squad on Nov. 19, to the active roster on Nov. 23, waived him on Dec. 7, re-signed him to the practice squad three days later, and back to the active roster on Saturday.

And yesterday, he was called on to play against one of the NFL's best teams.

"It's kind of one of those weird things," Boyle said. "As a backup, you have to go into the game knowing you're going to play and if you don't play, it's one of those, all right, you came out clean. But I've been around long enough now, kind of back in my Green Bay days where I'd go into a game and it kind of jumped on me a little bit. I wasn't really ready for the moment. But as I progressed as a backup in this league, you have to just be ready to play.

"I prepared all week knowing that there was a chance for me to go play in this game, and I had to go play well. The moment when it came, there was no heart pounding, there was no dry mouth, I just kind of went out there and played ball and got in the huddle. It was really good to play football again. It's been kind of a weird year for me. I've been on three teams over the past, I don't know, five, six months. So just getting back in the huddle and playing ball, throwing a touchdown pass, it was all very nice for it to come full circle."

Depending on what happens to DeVito and Lock, that circle could continue turning in Atlanta.