Emotions were flying at MetLife Stadium this weekend when New York hosted Tampa Bay. After the sacking of Daniel Jones, Tommy DeVito, who hadn’t seen much action since the preseason, took over for the Giants. And as expected, the Baker Mayfield-led Bucs decimated the NFC East team, with the QB making celebrations that continued to make noise even after the game.
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The Giants were down 17 points in the second quarter when Mayfield made an exceptional quarterback play. With just 12 seconds left on the clock, he evaded a handful of defenders and propelled himself into the Giants’ end zone. It was a 10-yard rushing touchdown, and with it, the Bucs QB mimicked DeVito’s signature celebration — quite aggressively too, raising both hands up and down and pinching his fingers together.
When asked about this celebration and how he had reacted to it in the post-game presser, DeVito made it clear that he didn’t even know about it until someone mentioned it in the locker room. He didn’t seem to find anything wrong with it, as the QB expressed that Baker and his team were celebrating after performing well. It’s how it has always been.
“I mean, they were having a good game. They celebrated. It is what it is. It kind of happened last year. I mean, it’s gonna happen, I guess.”
Clearly, DeVito was a good sport about it. But the fans were not. Some went out of their way to berate Mayfield, with one netizen even arguing that Mayfield only hurt DeVito’s career by doing this.
I’ll betcha Devito could kick his little WASP ass in a fight!
— EvilLaf (@Jfc1Ranger) November 24, 2024
Mayfield is a pathetic little POS! What’s the point of doing this? He got a $28 mil bonus & has a $6.9 mil cap hit. Devito is a 3rd stringer just trying to extend his career as long as possible & maybe make some endorsement $ w/his Italian gimmick, maybe some t-shirts, etc 1/
— EvilLaf (@Jfc1Ranger) November 24, 2024
The majority, however, found Mayfield’s celebration funny. They appreciated it even.
Baker Petty I love it
— Cosmo Lanier (@MrTopshotta) November 24, 2024
Baker Mayfield has baked the opponents.
— Chemist Irum (@Chem_786) November 24, 2024
Several others joked that since Mayfield was making an “Italian” gesture, the mafia would be waiting for him outside MetLife. All in good fun, of course.
Baker Mayfield gonna have the Mafia waiting on him in the parking lot pic.twitter.com/mTd8HAhcYu
— Packerfan Total Access- Clayton (@packers_access) November 24, 2024
Baker just mocked Italians in New Jersey I fear he may not make it home
— liz misérables (@lizaboth) November 24, 2024
Even Mayfield addressed the celly after the 30-7 win. When asked how he felt about it, the Bucs quarterback stated, “It wasn’t a disrespectful thing.”
“I met Tommy in Vegas in the Super Bowl last year. He’s got a lot of swag and the fans love him here. So, (I’m) paying a little tribute to him,” Mayfield continued.
The Giants have a tougher road ahead. With a 2-9 record, they are already out of the playoffs, and their situation will likely worsen as they are set to face teams like the Cowboys, Ravens, Falcons, and Eagles in the coming weeks.
