Giants-Cowboys storylines: Who’s at quarterback, and does it matter?

The 2-7 New York Giants travel to face the 5-3 Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Here are a few storylines for the week.

Who’s at quarterback?

Is undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito, currently the only quarterback on the 53-man roster, going to get the start? If that happens, the Elias Sports Bureau says DeVito would be the 10th undrafted rookie free agent quarterback to start a game since 2010. The others are The others are Anthony Brown, Devlin Hodges, David Blough, Kyle Allen, Connor Shaw, Matt McGloin, Jeff Tuel, Max Hall and Tyson Bagent.

Could the Giants turn to 33-year-old Matt Barkley? He has history with Daboll, and the coach spoke fondly recently of a 2018 game with the Buffalo where Daboll was the offensive coordinator and Barkley went 15 of 25 for 232 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-10 victory over the New York Jets.

[UPDATE: Daboll announced Wednesday that DeVito will get the start].

Avoiding embarrassment

The Giants were embarrassed by Dallas in the season-opener, 40-0. That was a stunning, demoralizing loss for a Giants’ team that was coming off a playoff berth and it set the tone for what has been a terrible season.

There are, of course, no moral victories in the NFL. The Giants, though, could really use a game on Sunday in which they don’t embarrass themselves. That has happened too many times this season.

Considering the circumstances — no Daniel Jones, no Tyrod Taylor, no Darren Waller, Leonard Williams now being a Seattle Seahawk, the game being in Texas, the Giants having been trounced 30-6 by the Raiders last Sunday — the Giants being 16-point underdogs is certainly justifiable.

Can the Giants summon a competitive effort against a 5-3 Dallas team that took the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles to the final seconds before losing on Sunday? I don’t know, but it would certainly be nice.

Evan Neal sidelined again?

The Giants still have a long-term decision to make regarding whether or not 2022 No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal can be their right tackle after this season, or maybe even for the rest of it.

Neal, unfortunately, might be headed to the sideline again. He returned to the lineup Sunday against Las Vegas after missing two weeks with a sprained right ankle. He left that game with a sprained left ankle and his status is in limbo.