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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Matt Verderame

Three Week 11 Plays to Watch Again, Including Tommy DeVito’s Perfect Pass

Tommy DeVito Bryce Young Tyreek Hill DaRon Bland Jonathan Mingo Saquon Barkley NFLPlus Cowboys NFL Jamin Davis

Tommy DeVito making good plays. Bryce Young throwing another pick-six. Tyreek Hill running away from defenders for a touchdown.

One of those things is far from shocking. The other two, had you read them as headlines in the summer, would have likely been jarring. Yet in Week 12, here we are.

Let’s look at an undrafted rookie throwing a perfect wheel route, a No. 1 pick giving more points to the opposing defense and Hill showing why he could be the first receiver in NFL history to post 2,000 yards in a season.

DeVito makes a perfect throw

The Giants have been awful offensively this year, ranking dead last in yards per play (4.1). Yet against the Commanders on Sunday, they benefited from six turnovers and won 31–19. The best play of the afternoon came when DeVito went skyward to Saquon Barkley on a picture-perfect touchdown.

New York had a first-and-10 at Washington’s 24-yard line. The Giants were lined up in 11 personnel (RB, TE, 3 WR). The Commanders were in a combo coverage, with a single-high safety while rushing four.

On the snap, DeVito hangs in the pocket despite being under near-constant duress throughout Sunday, when he was sacked nine times. For once, he had good protection and worked the right side of the field. At the top of his drop, DeVito looked right and saw Barkley matched up against linebacker Jamin Davis (No. 52).

To make the throw, DeVito has to get the ball over Davis’s head but put enough heat on it to get it down before safety Kamren Curl (No. 31) can get over in time.

The result is a phenomenal strike, with Barkley doing an excellent job adjusting to the throw on his inside shoulder. The touchdown toss was one of three for DeVito on the afternoon.

Saquon TD!

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/BObOTvWyMl
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 19, 2023

Young keeps throwing pick-sixes, but he’s not getting help

This has been a tough rookie campaign for Bryce Young. The Panthers have one win, and Young has thrown nine touchdowns against eight interceptions, including a trio of pick-sixes in Carolina’s last two home games.

On Sunday, however, the Cowboys’ house call wasn’t all his fault.

On the play, Carolina was in 11 personnel and ran a run-pass option (RPO). Dallas was in man coverage and got its second level sucked up to the line by the fake. Young decided to keep the ball and throw (correctly), which eventually resulted in a touchdown for Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland.

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At the top of Young’s drop, he saw a great matchup. The Cowboys were disorganized because of the fake, and rookie receiver Jonathan Mingo (No. 15) had a step on Bland while running his shallow cross across the formation. Once Mingo cleared linebacker Damone Clark (No. 33), this should have been a nice play on first and 10.

However, as Young cocked his arm to throw, note where Mingo is on the field. He’s just beyond the 30-yard line. This route calls for the receiver to run straight down the path, because if he drifts upfield, the defender can cut underneath his route.

By the time the ball got to the catch point, Mingo had drifted a yard or two up the field. Bland wisely undercut the route and stepped in front to make the interception and run the ball in for six.

While Young could have put the ball a bit more out in front, it wasn’t a terrible throw. The route was bad, the defender was smart, and the Cowboys got a free touchdown.

THE PICK-6 KING DARON BLAND DOES IT AGAIN.

📺: #DALvsCAR on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jckqnJwdb2 pic.twitter.com/GQhL47ZBnd
— NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2023

Tyreek Hill is the ultimate cheat code

Remember old-school Madden when you could play with Michael Vick? He was impossible to sack. Even a terrible gamer could make magic happen. But with a good gamer? Forget it.

This is what it’s like to have Hill as a receiver.

Need proof? Check out this second-and-10 play from the Raiders’ 38-yard line. The Dolphins were in shotgun with trips right and Jaylen Waddle isolated on the left side. Many times, when a team comes out in a 3x1 set, the isolated receiver is the target. Not this time.

On the snap, Miami has Cedrick Wilson Jr. (No. 11) in motion. The Raiders were playing a Cover 3 look with four underneath zone defenders. Because of the Dolphins’ speed, Las Vegas’s deep defenders were backing up, providing a void between the two levels.

Enter Hill. The NFL’s leading receiver was lined up wide and ran a deep in, bending in front of corner Marcus Peters (No. 24) to create a window for Tua Tagovailoa. While Tagovailoa’s throw was a bit high, it hit Hill in stride, allowing him to reach full speed quickly.

Yet the Raiders were still in good position. They had four defenders around Hill. The problem? Peters was beaten, the duo underneath are chasing and safety Tre’Von Moehrig (No. 25) is flat-footed.