Tailgaters reveled before the return of Tommy DeVito.
Fans throughout the MetLife Stadium parking lot cooked chicken cutlets on portable grills hours ahead of the Giants’ 1 p.m. kickoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Some came decked out in DeVito jerseys. Others wore shirts reading “Tommy Cutlets.”
One family even flew an Italian flag in a nod to DeVito’s — and their — Italian heritage.
“We’re native New Jerseyans,” said Caroline Cantow, 27, from Mahwah, N.J. “We’ve been Giants fans forever. I think Tommy brings a real spark to the team. He’s from our area. We’re really happy to support him.”
But the good vibes did not last long.
The Giants failed to score until the fourth quarter Sunday in their first game since replacing Daniel Jones with DeVito at quarterback, suffering a humbling 30-7 loss to the Buccaneers to fall to 2-9 this season.
DeVito completed 21-of-31 passes for 189 yards without a touchdown or turnover. He added 32 rushing yards on seven carries.
He was sacked four times and repeatedly took big hits, including one in the fourth quarter that left him writhing in pain and briefly caused him to leave the game.
DeVito received a loud ovation before his first offensive snap, but those hopeful cheers turned to frustrated boos by the time the second-year quarterback took a knee to end the first half with the Giants down, 23-0.
That kneel down immediately followed a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who celebrated by mocking DeVito’s pinched-finger celebration — and doing it with both hands.
DeVito took three sacks on the Giants’ first four drives and completed only 3-of-5 passes for 31 yards before halftime.
Malik Nabers, the Giants’ electric rookie wide receiver and the focal point of their offense, did not receive a target in the first half.
The DeVito-led offense finally showed signs of life on the first drive of the third quarter, when three completions to Nabers helped lead the Giants to Tampa Bay’s five-yard line.
But on 1st and Goal — with DeVito lined up wide right — running back Tyrone Tracy took a direct snap and lost a fumble, extinguishing the scoring opportunity.
Down 30-0, DeVito later led the Giants on a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Devin Singletary at the 11:28 mark of the fourth quarter.
But that was it for the Giants offense.
The lopsided loss was hardly the result the Giants desired when they made the switch to DeVito, whom head coach Brian Daboll had hoped would replicate the “spark” he provided last year when pressed into duty.
The Giants benched Jones on Monday, then agreed to release their onetime franchise quarterback after he was relegated to fourth-string duty during Wednesday’s practice. Jones’ contract included a $23 million injury guarantee for 2025 that would have triggered had he been unable to pass a physical in March.
But rather than start Drew Lock, who operated as Jones’ backup all season, the Giants turned to DeVito in a surprise move.
“We’ve been with Tommy here for a little bit,” Daboll said Monday. “He’s done a nice job throughout practices here, but also you have something to lean on by going back and watching him operate some of our stuff from last year. This is no indication on Drew whatsoever. He’s been excellent for us. It was more about what I felt Tommy gave us.”
DeVito, 26, emerged as an unlikely fan favorite last season, going 3-3 as an undrafted rookie in six starts after Jones suffered a season-ending ACL tear.
Fans dubbed him “Tommy Cutlets” in a reference to his Italian roots and to a revelation that he lived with his parents in Cedar Grove, N.J., and enjoyed eating his mother’s chicken cutlets.
But on Sunday, the Giants failed to cook up nearly enough offense under DeVito. They entered the game averaging an NFL-worst 15.6 points per game but didn’t even score half that amount against Tampa Bay.
It was a rough start to the second act of DeVito-mania.
