The New York Giants had their best home performance of the season Sunday, beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 for their first win in New Jersey in 11 months.
Except the victory couldn’t have come at a worse time.
With the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots both losing in Week 17, the Giants’ win dropped them from the first pick to the third in the upcoming NFL draft.
New York, the Titans and the Patriots are all 3-13 headed into the final week of the season. New England controls its own destiny and can clinch the No. 1 overall pick with a loss to the 13-3 Buffalo Bills in Week 18.
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Quarterback Drew Lock, starting for the fourth time for the Giants this season, had one of the best games of his career.
Lock completed 17 of 23 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns for a nearly perfect 155.3 passer rating. He also ran for a score.
Lock was especially clutch in the fourth quarter. Twice, Indianapolis cut New York’s lead to two points in the final 15 minutes. And both times, Lock led 70-yard touchdown drives to push New York’s lead back to two scores.
The second one was capped by a 5-yard run by Lock on third-and-goal.
While it was an exciting game, it could prove costly for the Giants, who are expected to target a quarterback in the first round of April’s draft.
With Tennessee — also likely to be in the market for a new signal caller — now ahead of New York in the draft order, the Giants may have to settle for their second option on draft day.
