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Players to Watch

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Players to Watch in matchup vs. Buccaneers

PLAYERS-TO-WATCH-WEEK-12

Following some time off for the bye, the Giants have returned to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center to prepare for their Week 12 matchup against the Buccaneers.

The Giants enter this game with a 2-8 record after dropping five consecutive games. The Buccaneers, also fresh off their bye, have lost four straight games to fall to 4-6 on the season. Both teams have been playing their opponents close in recent weeks, as each of the last three losses for both clubs have been one-possession games.

"We have a lot of football in front of us," coach Brian Daboll told the media on Monday. "I think we all need to be committed to doing everything we can do to close out the season the right way and just take it one week at a time. That's where our focus is going to be is with Tampa and certainly all the issues that they present defensively, particularly on the offensive side speaking. The only thing we control is our response of this is how the season has been so far. It doesn't dictate where the season is going. We put a lot of time, effort and energy into this and that's what we'll all do."

The Giants will look a little different on offense in the final stretch of the season, as a quarterback change has placed Tommy DeVito in the starting lineup, but more on that later.

Here are five players to watch in Week 12.

QB Tommy DeVito

After ranking as the No. 32 scoring offense through the first 10 weeks of the season, the Giants decided to make a quarterback change following their Week 11 bye. Tommy DeVito has been named the starting quarterback in place of Daniel Jones for this week's matchup against the Buccaneers. Drew Lock will serve as the backup.

"I spoke with all the quarterbacks this morning before our morning meeting and let them know the direction that we're going," Daboll said Monday morning. "Those are never easy conversations. Got a lot of respect for all three of those guys. After evaluating a bunch of things and looking at a lot of tape and being around Tommy last year where he created a little bit of a spark for us, that's the reason why we're going with Tommy. Drew will be the backup. Continue to work with him. He's been nothing but a pro and as was Daniel. It's never an easy conversation to have with the players. But felt like this was a necessary move for us and look forward to working with Tommy and getting him ready to go against Tampa."

DeVito started six games for the Giants last season, leading the team to a 3-3 record. His best outing came against the Commanders in Week 11, when he completed over 69 percent of his passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Overall, DeVito threw for 1,101 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 64 percent of his passes while adding 36 rush attempts for 195 yards (5.4 avg.) and an additional score on the ground across nine games. The second-year quarterback has a positive matchup this week, as the Buccaneers' pass defense ranks 30th in the league after allowing each of the last four quarterbacks they've faced throw for 260 yards or more.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Tyrone Tracy Jr. had a mixed performance in the Giants' Week 10 loss to the Panthers in Munich. The rookie running back rushed for over 100 yards for the third time in his six starts, taking 18 rush attempts for 103 yards, good for an average of 5.7 yards per carry, and a touchdown. However, he did lose a key fumble at the start of overtime which led to Carolina kicking the game-winning field goal.

Tracy's outing against the Panthers marked the fourth time he has topped 100 total yards of offense since taking over as the lead back in Week 5. He is averaging an impressive 5.1 yards per carry on the season, while his 545 rushing yards leads all rookies, despite only playing limited snaps in the first four games. Tracy has proven to be difficult to tackle, as he has forced 20 missed tackles, he is averaging 3.22 yards after contact per attempt, and has 14 runs of 10+ yards. He has also added 18 receptions for 117 yards.

The Buccaneers are coming off one of their best games in terms of its run defense, as they held 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey to just 39 yards on 13 carries in Week 10. However, their previous three opponents averaged 165.7 rushing yards per game against them. On the season, the Buccaneers' 4.8 average yards per attempt allowed ranks 28th in the NFL.

WR Malik Nabers

In his first four games, Malik Nabers averaged 96.5 receiving yards per contest with three touchdowns and no fewer than 66 yards in any game. A concussion suffered at the end of the Week 4 matchup led to him being sidelined for the next two weeks. Since returning in Week 7, the rookie wideout has averaged just 55.3 yards per game with no touchdowns.

Despite the recent dip in production, Nabers still leads the Giants with his 61 receptions for 607 yards and three touchdowns. He is currently tied for seventh in the NFL in receptions and sits just 12 behind Ja'Marr Chase for the league-lead, despite playing in fewer games than everyone above him on the list. In fact, Nabers' 28.9 percent target share and 41.0 percent air yards share are both tied for the fourth-highest in the league. According to Next Gen Stats, he has been particularly effective on non-vertical routes, where he has caught 56 of 72 such targets for 494 yards and two touchdowns.

The Buccaneers have struggled to slow down opponents' wide receivers. During their four-game losing streak, Tampa Bay has allowed five different wide receivers to finish with 70 or more receiving yards, while also allowing five total touchdowns to those select receivers. The last time they took the field, the Buccaneers surrendered seven receptions for 93 yards to Jauan Jennings, four receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown to Ricky Pearsall, and five receptions for 62 yards to Deebo Samuel.

OLB Brian Burns

Going up against his former team in Munich, Brian Burns had perhaps his best game of the season. Burns picked up his sixth sack of the season to go with two tackles for loss and a season-high nine total tackles (four solo). The veteran outside linebacker also finished with seven total pressures, according to NGS, which matched his career-high. He did this on just 25 pass rushes for an impressive 28.0 percent pressure rate. Four of his pressures came in under 2.5 seconds, which gives him 21 quick pressures on the season, tied for the fifth-most in the league.

Burns lined up on the left EDGE on 69.5 percent of his snaps through the first five weeks of the season. But following the injury to Kayvon Thibodeaux in Week 5, Burns has played 82.1 percent of his snaps on the right EDGE. It is still too early to tell if Thibodeaux will be able to return for Sunday's game, but if he doesn't, Burns could be looking at another positive matchup.

Buccaneers three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tristan Wirfs suffered a knee injury in Week 10, which head coach Todd Bowles classified as "week-to-week." If Wirfs is unable to go, Justin Skule will start in his place. Skule has allowed 20 pressures on 170 pass blocking snaps this season, according to NGS. His 11.8 percent pressure rate allowed is the highest of any Buccaneers offensive lineman, while his 4.4 percent sack rate allowed is the highest by any offensive lineman in the NFL with at least 150 pass blocking snaps.

ILB Bobby Okereke

After a somewhat slow start to the season, Bobby Okereke started to pick things up before the bye. In the first seven weeks, the veteran inside linebacker did not top eight total tackles in any game. In the Giants' last three outings, Okereke has nine or more tackles in each game and a total of 34 tackles during that span. The 28-year-old also has a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a half-sack and a tackle for loss during that span.

Okereke leads the team with 75 total tackles on the season, while his two forced fumbles are tied with Dru Phillips for the most on the defense. Additionally, the linebacker has been on the field for 100 percent of the team's defensive snaps in seven of 10 games, and at least 95 percent of the snaps in all but one.

The sixth-year linebacker should play a pivotal role in Sunday's game against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay's offense has been one of the best in the league this season, and its run game has been a big factor in that. The Buccaneers rank 10th in total rushing yards and fifth in rushing yards per attempt, as they've leaned heavily on both Rachaad White and Bucky Irving. While Irving, the second-leading rookie rusher behind Tyrone Tracy with 492 rushing yards, has gotten more action in the run game, White has played a bigger role in the passing game, especially since Chris Godwin was lost for the season. In the three games since Godwin's injury, White has caught 14 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns, and now has 37 receptions for 291 yards and four receiving touchdowns on the season. Okereke and the rest of the Giants' defense should see plenty of both backs on Sunday.

View photos from the all-time series between the Giants and Buccaneers.

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