Giants To Start Quarterback Drew Lock In Week 16 Against Falcons And Michael Penix Jr.

The New York Giants will start quarterback Drew Lock in Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons. It will be their fifth quarterback change since releasing Daniel Jones after their Week 11 bye.

In the past month, New York has alternated between Lock and Tommy DeVito, but neither passer has managed to stay healthy for two games in a row. DeVito sustained an arm injury and more recently a concussion, while Lock is returning from a Week 14 foot injury. If both players become unavailable in the near future, Tim Boyle would have to step back in, a move that doomed the team to a 35-14 beating against the Ravens last weekend.

With a 2-12 record and three games remaining, the Giants are tied for dead last in the entire NFL. With a premium draft pick in next year’s draft, New York is almost certain to draft a quarterback, widely speculated to be either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. With an army of teams plummeting through the standings late in the season, the Giants may have to keep losing to ensure an early pick, but that hasn’t been an issue to this point.

Even with Jones returning from injury at the start of the 2024 season, very few people expected anything from the Giants. They’ve lived up to every expectation in this context, never proving to be a serious competitor at any point. Playmakers like Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy have proved themselves as young talents, but they’ve struggled to produce consistently as the team shuffles between quarterbacks.

As December wears on, New York must simply march to its certain end, and hopefully a brighter future. That future may or may not include head coach Brian Daboll, who led the team to the playoffs in 2022 before amassing a dreadful 8-23 record over the last two seasons. It’s hard to blame the upstart head coach for the team’s passing-related struggles, but it may be hard to justify his stay as the team starts anew in 2025.

In Week 16, this doomed Giants team will face the Falcons, who haven’t managed to do much better this year despite much higher expectations. New York will face rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in his first NFL start, replacing Kirk Cousins well ahead of schedule. His performance could be educational for the Giants in a number of ways, potentially providing a hopeful message or stark warning for betting on young passers.

Article by Patrick Moquin