Giants-Colts highlights: 5 plays that made a difference

Also, a photo gallery of Sunday’s only home victory of the season

The New York Giants destroyed the Indianapolis Colts at home on Sunday, earning a 45-33 victory against a team still in the playoff hunt. The game was reminiscent of 2022 when the Giants secured their playoff berth with a 38-10 win at MetLife Stadium…only, you know, with the polar opposite circumstances.

The Colts are now eliminated from the playoffs and the Giants do not control the fate of the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Drew Lock had a career day, passing for 309 yards with five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing). The fate of the Giants remains uncertain post-2024; still, they secured this victory and look to establish a winning streak against the Eagles in Week 18.

Play 1: Malik Nabers is on the board

The Giants establishing a lead is a rare occurrence, so the first touchdown of the game had to make this edition of five plays:

The rookie scored his fifth touchdown of the season on this third-and-14 screen pass from Drew Lock. The Giants did a good job driving the field on just five plays. New York had two explosive plays; Tyrone Tracy Jr. positioned the Giants to score this Nabers’ touchdown:

Nabers and Tracy Jr. became the third rookie duo of all-time to earn 1,000 scrimmage yards in their first seasons. Both players earned their 1,000th scrimmage yard on this five-play, 70-yard drive. Sometimes we have to enjoy the little things and hope they continue to develop.

Play 2: Darius Slayton for six

It took the Giants another five plays to find another touchdown — a 32-yard strike on a slant/flat to Darius Slayton:

The Slayton touchdown was on third-and-8, which marked the second long third-down touchdown pass from Lock. The Giants ran the football efficiently and Lock was calm early in the pocket, completing four of his first five passes for 95 yards with two touchdowns. Indianapolis started the game sloppy. They dropped several passes and seemed out of sync for through much of the first half.

Play(s) 3: A third touchdown!

The Giants averaged a league-low 14.3 points per game prior to their Week 17 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Drew Lock had THREE first-half touchdowns — imagine the odds one could have got on that line! Despite sloppy penalties down in the red zone (chop block and false start), New York was still able to punch the rock into the end zone:

Wan’Dale Robinson catches the touchdown, but it was Malik Nabers who helped the Giants get the football deep into Colts’ territory.

Nabers secured 34 and 19-yard catches on the drive. He continues his sensational rookie season. The Giants played spirited football and Lock continued his improved play by finishing this third touchdown drive seven of eight passing for 153 yards with three touchdowns with four minutes left in the first half.

Play 4: Ihmir Smith-Marsette!

Ihmir Smith-Marsette had tied the franchise record with a 100-yard kick-off return for a touchdown to start the second half:

The Giants regained a two-score lead with this kickoff return. This was the Giants first kick-off return touchdown since Dwayne Harris’ in 2015. It could NOT have come at a better time, right?!

Play(s) 5: The Colts’ comeback?

The Giants defense forced two field goals in the first half. The defense stiffened up again on third-and-four after Brian Burns tackled Jonathan Taylor for a loss of one. Shane Steichen decided to forgo a field goal attempt to try and reestablish momentum:

Jonathan Taylor was able to score two plays later on this left-side run through the injured Giants’ defense:

This Colts’ touchdown made it an eight point — one score — game. Rare would best describe an instance where the Giants held a lead at halftime. The last time the Giants held a lead at halftime was in Week three against the Cleveland Browns, which was one of the Giants two wins. Still, this Taylor touchdown may have encouraged the Colts to regain the lead, lest their playoff hopes become extinguished; the Giants, however, were the firefighter to the Colts’ playoff dreams and to the prospects of holding the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Colts applied massive pressure in the second half; Jonathan Taylor rushed for a second touchdown that cut the score to 28-20. Joe Flacco then led the Colts down the field to the Giants’ 23 yard line. Jonathan Taylor ran out of bounds on third-and-one before the sticks, setting a fourth-and-one where Taylor was stuffed by the Giants’ defense.

The Giants’ offense returned the favor on the ensuing drive, as the Colts’ stuffed Tyrone Tracy Jr. on fourth-and-one. Daboll opted to roll the dice from the Giants’ 41-yard line. What else do the Giants have to lose? Oh, yeah…that!

Nabers again!

The Colts battled back into the game, cutting the Giants’ lead to just two points (28-26), with about ten minutes left in the game. It appeared like the momentum was swinging back toward the Colts, but Nabers had something else in mind:

Nabers caught a short pass and took it 59 yards for a touchdown and a nine-point lead. The star receiver finished the game with seven catches for 171 yards with two touchdowns; it was his season high in yards and tied for his season high in touchdowns in a game.

The Colts were not done! Flacco quickly responded with a 49-yard connection to Alec Pierce that quickly turned into a Michael Pittman Jr. touchdown:

The Colts kept their playoff hopes alive and made the score 35-33. Tensions were high, some fans were ambivalent — many were not — but Lock capped off his career day with a touchdown rush to secure the Giants’ victory:

The Giants earned their first home victory of the season — the third on the year — and their guaranteed grasp on the number one overall pick was lost.