Giants Eliminate Colts from Playoff Contention with 45-33 Win
New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) gets past Indianapolis Colts linebacker E.J. Speed (45) to score a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J.
Snapping a franchise-record 10-game losing streak, winning for the first time at home this season and ending the Indianapolis Colts' slim playoff hopes didn't salvage the season for the New York Giants. The main positive in the 45-33 win was the Giants (3-13) got to walk off the field with smiles for the first time in months after a season of misery that will could lead to major changes.
Giants coach Brian Daboll said, "Those guys put a lot into it. They come out, they grind every day. They have good attitudes. It's never easy when you are losing. But I'm proud of the character and all the people in the building, and I'm mostly happy for them."
Lock threw four touchdown passes and a late TD run to lead the Giants (3-13) to their first win since beating Seattle on Oct. 6. "I've won a lot in my life," said Darius Slayton. "I wouldn't say I ever forget the feeling of winning, but, you know, obviously it's nice to get that feeling back today."
Jonathan Taylor scored on runs of 3 and 26 yards for Indianapolis (7-9), while Joe Flacco threw touchdown passes of 13 yards to Alec Pierce and 7 yards to Michael Pittman. Lock finished 17 of 23 for 309 yards, clinching the game by leading a nine-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a 5-yard run.
"It's kudos to him," said Malik Nabers, who now has 104 catches for 1,140 yards and six touchdowns. "He looked over the film, found some things that he could get better on and did all that through the week, and it showed how good he can be."
The 45 points were the most for New York since putting up 49 in a 52-49 loss to the Saints in 2015. It's the Giants' most in a win since a 45-14 rout against Washington in 2014 and most at home since a 52-27 win against the Saints in 2012.
"That's why we drafted him, where we drafted him," Daboll said of Nabers. "I've been asked about it since training camp and I think the response has been, 'He's a pretty good football player.'"
Flacco was 26 of 38 for 330 yards with two interceptions, while Taylor finished with 125 yards on 32 carries. Pierce had six catches for 122 yards.
"We had something to play for today and obviously we didn't get it done," Flacco said.
"It's hard to explain," said Colts coach Shane Steichen. "We had to play a complete game. We haven't done it all year. We have to be on the same page, and to go out there like that is obviously not good enough."