The New York Giants turned in their best home performance of the season on Sunday, beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 to earn their first victory in New Jersey in 11 months.
Except the victory couldn’t have come at a worse time.
While the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots both lost in Week 17, the Giants’ win moved them from the first to third pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
New York, the Titans and the Patriots are all 3-13 heading 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 Buffalo Bills 13-3 in Week 18.
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Quarterback Drew Lock, starting for the fourth time with 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 near-perfect passer rating of 155.3. He also ran to score points.
Lock was particularly effective in the fourth quarter. Twice, Indianapolis cut New York’s lead to two points in the final 15 minutes. And each time, Lock led 70-yard touchdown drives to cut New York’s lead to two scores.
The second was capped by Lock’s 5-yard run on third-and-goal.
While it was an exciting matchup, 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.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
