Who said you can’t win in a guard week?

The New York Giants, who ended the Daniel Jones era on Monday, actually gained ground in the latest MMQB NFL Power Rankings, moving one place to no. 29 from no. 30 despite not playing a game.

According to ranking compiler Conor Orr, the Giants, while not playing in Week 11, improved this week compared to the three teams below them (Titans, Raiders and Jaguars).

Could the decision to bench Jones, who went 3-13 as a starter last season, have anything to do with the bounce?

Orr didn’t say the rationale in the rankings, but the burning question Giants fans want answered is whether Jones’ tilt will solve the lack of offensive punch the league-worst scoring Giants have had in this season.

Under Jones, the Giants have two wins this season, both (Week 3 vs. Cleveland and Week 5 vs. Seattle) by two or more scores.

Jones has thrown for 2,070 yards, but has eight touchdowns to seven interceptions and only five games in which he has thrown for more than 200 yards, most of which have come in garbage time.

When he switched to Tommy DeVito in place of Drew Lock, Giants head coach Brian Daboll said he was looking for a spark. DeVito, the backup quarterback this season, won three games last season as a starter, two of which came against the Commanders and Patriots, two teams that were arguably worse than the Giants last season, and one game against the Packers in arguably primetime. DeVito’s best game of his rookie season.

DeVito, an undrafted rookie free agent last year who wasn’t even supposed to be on the 53-man roster, let alone start, finished his abbreviated rookie campaign 114-for-178 for 1,101 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

One of the biggest problems with DeVito’s game last year was his tendency to hold the ball too long, a problem Jones was often guilty of. But when DeVito finally made a decision, it was often the right one for the offense.

That being said, DeVito’s announcement as the starter seems to have reinvigorated the Giants fan base somewhat. DeVito has a golden opportunity to convince Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen that he can be a legitimate No. 2 forward.

This would allow Daboll (assuming he is retained after this season) to have a quarterback in the gym with experience in this offense to help any newcomers.