The New York Giants (5-8) travel down to The Big Easy to face the New Orleans Saints (6-7) in a suddenly important matchup between two NFC playoff hopefuls on Sunday afternoon.
Here are five storylines to follow in Week 15.
Very much alive in the NFC Playoff picture
The Giants (5-8) are currently ranked 12th in the NFC at the moment and have a shot to move up in the Wild Card standings with a victory over the 11th-ranked Saints (6-7).
The Green Bay Packers (6-7), who the Giants defeated on Monday night, are currently occupying the seventh and there is a glut of 6-7 teams sitting in between the Giants and Packers at the moment with four games remaining — the Rams, Seattle, Atlanta and New Orleans.
Still, the Giants could exit Week 15 controlling the final spot in the NFC Playoffs, but that all must begin with a win.
Tommy DeVito
Pick your story — any story — about underfed rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito, who has become a national phenomenon.
He led the Giants to a third-straight win on Monday night amid a sideshow of friends and family at MetLife Stadium on national television highlighted by his agent’s attire on the sideline.
DeVito was named Pepsi Zero Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. This story is far from over, and will only grow if he leads the Giants to a win on Sunday.
Waller back from IR?
Big ticket tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) was designated to return from injured reserve (IR) this week and expectations are that he’ll be activated by kickoff.
Waller contends that he can ‘do everything’ and intends to play. He may not be in for a full workload, however. He is listed as questionable.
The Giants’ offense, which has been ramping up under DeVito, will certainly stand to benefit from Waller’s return.
Kayvon has 'no ceiling'
Second-year outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux has been playing up his first-round pedigree this season.
Thibodeau has 11.5 sacks this season and should be adding on with four games remaining.
“We’ve talked about it before, and I’ve thought about it even more. I said that the guy has no ceiling,” defensive coordinator Wink Martindale told reporters this week. “You remember me saying that before? The reason why he doesn’t have a ceiling is because he doesn’t allow himself to have a ceiling.”
Wan'Dale ramping up
Second-year wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson is another young player who is coming into his own this season.
Robinson caught six of seven targets for 79 yards on Monday night and made several eye-popping plays in the process.
“He’s steadily gotten better, I’d say physically, which improves your confidence,” head coach Brian Daboll said this week. “In the last few weeks, you can really see explosive quickness, he ran some really good routes again, was open quite a bit. Had the big play in the run, played with toughness, I’d say played competitively. For a smaller guy, too, he was mixing it up pretty good.”
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