Tommy DeVito is just three weeks removed from a third straight win that got the surging Giants back into the playoff picture, albeit briefly and earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
At the time, following the Dec. 11 win over Green Bay on Monday night at the Meadowlands, the Giants were 5-8, with a seemingly winnable game on the schedule coming up at New Orleans.
But DeVito and the Giants struggled in a lopsided loss to the Saints and the rookie quarterback was benched during the following game, another defeat to the Eagles.
Now, heading into the Giants’ season finale on Sunday against Philadelphia, DeVito will find himself starting the game on the bench again, behind Tyrod Taylor, with his first NFL offseason soon to follow.
“It’s been a roller coaster, this whole season,’’ DeVito said. “There’s been a lot of good in there and that’s what I focus on.”
The good includes his rise from practice-squad player to starter by Week 10.
Mixed in was his first appearance in the Oct. 29 loss to the Jets, when DeVito was barely allowed to throw the ball, and another rough performance two weeks later in a blowout loss against the Cowboys.
But DeVito recovered to rattle off those three consecutive victories over Washington, New England and Green Bay, a streak that gave rise to Tommy Cutlets and comparisons to Jeremy Lin’s Linsanity with the Knicks.
DeVito said he’ll reflect on all that once the season is over, but even then, he’ll have more important priorities, like turning his attention to getting ready for next year.
The Giants will have plenty of questions to answer surrounding the quarterback position, with Daniel Jones out at least part of next season with a torn right ACL suffered in November, Taylor a free agent and a potential top-five pick in the upcoming NFL draft — depending on how the final weekend of the regular season shakes out — to perhaps add to the quarterback mix.
It’s clearly an equation DeVito wants to be a part of.
“I’m not sure what I’m gonna do when the season is over,’’ DeVito said. “That’s something I’ll think more about next week and the weeks after, but I’ve already talked to some of the older guys about how to go about it.”
Last year, DeVito went undrafted before signing with the Giants as a free agent in April following his senior season at Illinois after transferring from Syracuse.
“I’ve talked to [Jones] and Tyrod about what the offseason process is like,’’ DeVito said. “Stuff like how long to take off from throwing. I’ve always taken time off, but now it’s your job. In college, it’s more structured. Now, I’ll literally be on my own till OTAs. You have to have a plan and that’s what I’m going to get from the older guys.”
In the meantime, he’s trying to make the best out of being on the wrong end of the roller coaster to end his first season in the NFL.
“I know I’ve grown a tremendous amount from the first game to my last,’’ DeVito said. “A lot of that is due to the fact I was playing a lot and that’s so much different than practice.”
But he added he’s made the best of being on the sidelines as the season winds down.
“I’m still trying to learn as much as I can, whether it’s in the film room, practice, [or on the] sideline,’’ DeVito said. “Ty’s been in the league 13 or 14 years, so I pick his brain whenever I can.”
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