Tommy DeVito, Giants get six Commanders turnovers in matching season high in points

Tommy DeVito got his chicken parm sandwich, then he got his first NFL win.

The undrafted rookie quarterback threw three touchdown passes to help the New York Giants beat the Washington Commanders, 31-19, on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak. Making just his second pro start after injuries to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor, he was 18 of 26 for 246 yards and avoided turning the ball over.

“It means a lot,” DeVito said. “I think it means a lot for the team. Not the season we wanted thus far. To get the result that we wanted in the end, it means a lot.”

DeVito, a 25-year-old still living in his family’s house in Cedar Grove, N.J., was the smiling recipient of a free chicken parm sandwich from a local deli earlier in the week. It might have to become a weekly tradition after his performance in Washington.

With DeVito running the offense, the Giants (3-8) matched their season high with 31 points — the last of which came from Isaiah Simmons’ 54-yard interception return for a touchdown — and won for the first time since Oct. 22, also against the Commanders.

“Winning is good, losing is not,” coach Brian Daboll said. “[DeVito is] improving. Did a lot of good things. Did some stuff we’ll correct. He gave us a chance.”

DeVito obviously got some help from his defense. Sam Howell threw three interceptions among six Commanders turnovers, the Giants’ most takeaways in a game since 2014, and Washington (4-7) lost its seventh in nine games since opening with back-to-back victories.

The Commanders fumbled in nearly every possible way: Logan Thomas after a catch, Byron Pringle on a kickoff return, and Chris Rodriguez Jr. on a run. Inexplicable picks by Howell came in the first and fourth quarters.

The Giants, which host the Patriots next Sunday, dominated despite allowing DeVito to be sacked nine times and rushing for zero yards as a team in the first half. Nick McLeod forced a fumble and made his first interception among the big plays by the defense.

Broncos 21, Vikings 20 — Courtland Sutton outleapt cornerback Mekhi Blackmon on a 15-yard touchdown catch with 1:03 remaining and host Denver (5-5) ended Minnesota’s NFL-best winning streak at five games. The Broncos now own the league’s longest winning streak at four. Danielle Hunter’s tackle of Javonte Williams on the 2-point try kept the Vikings within a point, but the Broncos’ defense — which produced three more takeaways, giving Denver a dozen over its last three games — didn’t allow the Vikings (6-5) to get out of their own side of the field. Joshua Dobbs threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and ran for another, but lost with the Vikings for the first time since they acquired him in an emergency trade with Arizona. Wilson went 27 of 35 for 259 yards without an interception for Denver.

Jaguars 34, Titans 14 — Trevor Lawrence accounted for four touchdowns, including two perfectly thrown passes to Calvin Ridley, as host Jacksonville (7-3) scored on five consecutive possessions and finished with 389 yards in a bounce-back performance after it was embarrassed by San Francisco. Ridley finished with seven catches for 103 yards, and Lawrence also ran for two scores for the first time in his three NFL seasons. Tennessee (3-7) fell to 0-6 away from home; the Titans have yet to top 16 points on the road. Rookie Will Levis connected with DeAndre Hopkins for a 43-yard score in the third quarter and found two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons for a 2-yard score in the fourth, but was sacked twice and lost a fumble.

Texans 21, Cardinals 16 — Standout rookie C.J. Stroud threw for 336 yards with two touchdowns, and host Houston (6-4) overcame his season-high three interceptions to double its win total from last season. It didn’t score after halftime, however, and Arizona (2-9) had a chance to win late: Kyler Murray threw a deep pass on fourth-and-8 that was intended for Marquise Brown, but Steven Nelson batted it down with 35 seconds left. Houston rookie Tank Dell had a season-high 149 yards on eight receptions and set a franchise rookie record with his sixth touchdown catch. Murray threw for 214 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his second game back after recovering from a torn ACL. He also rushed for 51 yards and a score.

Rams 17, Seahawks 16 — In Inglewood, Calif., Lucas Havrisik made a 22-yard field goal with 1:31 to play to put Los Angeles (4-6) ahead, and Jason Myers missed a 55-yard attempt with 3 seconds left for Seattle (6-4), which gave up scoring drives of 68 and 75 yards in the fourth quarter. Matthew Stafford passed for 190 yards in his return from injury and led those drives, which nearly weren’t enough after Geno Smith returned from being sidelined by a hard Aaron Donald hit in the third quarter and led a frantic last-minute drive into field goal range. Seattle appeared to be cruising toward its fourth victory in five games, but Darrell Henderson ran for a 1-yard TD with 7:38 left to trim Seattle’s lead to two points, Derion Kendrick intercepted Seattle backup Drew Lock’s long pass, and Stafford drove the Rams to the Seattle 4.

Lions 31, Bears 26 — David Montgomery’s go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left against his former team lifted Detroit (8-2), which overcame four turnovers, including Jared Goff’s season-high three interceptions, and a 12-point deficit over the last 3:06. Detroit has its best record through 10 games since 1962 after visiting Chicago (3-8) blew chances to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years. Justin Fields mostly played well in his first game in a month, but slightly overthrew Tyler Scott on a deep pass late in the game. He also fumbled on his last snap when Aidan Hutchinson sacked him and the ball went out of the end zone for a safety. Down, 26-14, the Lions cut their deficit on Goff’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams, then drove down the field easily on the winning drive.

Cowboys 33, Panthers 10 — Dak Prescott threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns in Charlotte, N.C., DaRon Bland tied an NFL record with his fourth pick-6 of the season, and Dallas (7-3) sacked Bryce Young seven times in an easy victory. Tony Pollard ran for 61 yards and a touchdown, and CeeDee Lamb found the end zone again in front of a predominantly pro-Cowboys crowd. Young was 16 of 29 for 123 yards, and the No. 1 draft pick threw the third pick-6 of his rookie season and also fumbled. Bland made a diving interception near the sideline in the fourth quarter, got up, and raced 31 yards for a touchdown for a 30-10 lead. He tied a record shared by Philadelphia’s Eric Allen (1993), Kansas City’s Jim Kearney (1972), and Houston’s Ken Houston (1972).

49ers 27, Buccaneers 14 — In Santa Clara, Calif., Brock Purdy threw a 76-yard strike to Brandon Aiyuk for one of his three touchdown passes, and San Francisco (7-3) posted a second straight lopsided victory. Purdy (21 for 25, 333 yards) also threw a 4-yard TD pass to Christian McCaffrey and a 3-yarder to George Kittle, and became the first Niners quarterback ever to post a perfect passer rating in a game with at least 20 attempts. Baker Mayfield threw a TD pass for Tampa Bay (4-6), but the Bucs had no answers defensively against Purdy, failed to score after getting inside the San Francisco 15 twice in the fourth quarter, and lost for the fifth time in six games.

Packers 23, Chargers 20 — Jordan Love threw for 322 yards and found Romeo Doubs for a 24-yard touchdown with 2:33 left for host Green Bay (4-6), becoming the first Packer to throw for more than 300 yards since Aaron Rodgers on Dec. 12, 2021. Love’s other touchdown pass was an 11-yarder to Christian Watson with 4 seconds left in the third quarter. Los Angeles (4-6) suffered a major blow when star edge rusher Joey Bosa was carted off the field with a foot injury on the game’s opening series, then lost another close one after it mustered just six points on its first three trips inside the 10-yard line. Justin Herbert threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keenan Allen on third-and-9 to give the Chargers a 20-16 lead with 5:24 remaining.