For the first time in head coach Brian Daboll’s three years at the helm, the New York Giants eclipsed the 40-point mark Sunday as they defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 45-33.
It was their first home victory of the 2024 season and snapped a 10-game losing streak, while also eliminating the Colts from the AFC wild-card race. The win had another ripple effect: dropping the Giants from the top spot in the first-round order for the 2025 NFL draft.
After Sunday’s late-afternoon games, the Giants are now slotted with the third pick in the draft. The New England Patriots are in line for the No. 1 pick, while the Tennessee Titans would pick second and the Cleveland Browns third. All four teams will enter the final week of the regular season with 3-13 records, with strength of schedule serving as a tiebreaker.
The most consequential changes that took place Sunday afternoon – the Titans fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a battle of 3-12 squads and the Giants won (New England lost Saturday to the Los Angeles Chargers) – led to a rise in draft order interest that temporarily slowed down Tankathon.com, a website that tracks the draft order in real time.
Asked after the game what he would tell fans who wanted the Giants’ ‘tank’ to roll on with another loss, rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers said ‘the draft is going to be the draft.’
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‘I don’t got nothing to really say about that,’ he said.
Fellow wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson added that players weren’t interested in hearing about the effect the win would have on the team’s draft positioning.
‘Not one bit,’ Robinson said, according to ESPN. ‘That’s not talked about with us. … Guys are out here playing for their livelihoods. This is their job. A lot of guys, they might not be on this team next year.’
The Giants scored the most points since a 41-point effort (an overtime victory against Washington) in 2019. Quarterback Drew Lock, making his fourth start of the season, threw for 309 yards and completed 17 of 23 passes.
‘The fans deserved it, the locker room deserved it, everyone that is a part of this organization deserved it,’ Lock said. ‘We knew we had it in us.’
Two of Lock’s four touchdowns went to Nabers, who had seven catches for 171 yards and reached the 1,000-yard mark on the season.
‘That’s how the offense needs to play,’ Daboll said.
The game had a paid attendance of 73,164, although the actual crowd size was a fraction of that number. The Giants wanted to give those on hand their money’s worth.
‘It felt good to go out there with my brothers and get a win for all the fans that came out,’ said Nabers, the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft.
Defensively, the Giants intercepted Joe Flacco – starting for the injured Anthony Richardson – twice. They also received a special teams contribution with Ihmir Smith-Marsette returning the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for a touchdown.
‘It’s a tough season,’ Daboll said. ‘But we got a lot of good people, a lot of good-character people on our football team. They work every day. It’s good to see results. It’s good to see smiles on their faces. I’m happy for the players and the coaches that put a lot into it.’