Stats That Told the Story of the Giants’ 45-33 Win over the Indianapolis Colts

The New York Giants erupted in all three phases to smash the visiting Colts and avoid a winless home record kudos to these select numbers.

Dec 29, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) and head coach Brian Daboll walks off the field after defeating the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

 The New York Giants might not have had the season they hoped to bring to their loyal fanbase in their centennial campaign. Still, they found a way to send them all out of MetLife Stadium for the last time this season with a hurrah and a gigantic 45-33 win over the Indianapolis Colts. 

It was one of the rare offensive masterpieces the franchise has been unfamiliar with for a long time. In Week 8, New York scored 49 points on the New Orleans Saints, its first game with 45 or more points since the 2015 season. 

Quarterback Drew Lock and the Giants offense were electric and put forth one of the gunslinger’s most dominant performances of his NFL career in his fourth start. 

Lock, who had his first game without a turnover this year, completed 17 of his 23 passes for 309 yards and five total touchdowns to power the huddle to a near 400-yard day overall. 

The offense didn’t do it alone; the defense and special teams also made difference-making plays to prevent the Colts from stealing the win from the hungry Giants’ faithful. 

Even when the answers came at them, New York didn’t back down, capping off three straight possessions with points in the second half to lock down the victory. 

Many will focus on how the game impacted the Giants’ standing in the top five of the draft order in April’s festivities. Still, for the players in the locker room, it was about pride and winning for the current group in front of them, no matter what happens in the offseason ahead. 

It took a perfect display of complementary football and grit that had been missing from the team all season amid injuries and off-the-field drama. In the end, the key players stepped up. They produced the winning moments that the entire organization missed for 10 games and needed to take some of the load off arguably the most degrading season of Giants football in recent memory.

There is still one game left to be played in Philadelphia next Sunday before the somber story of 2024 is finished, but for now, the Giants get to leave the field with relieved smiles on their faces again, and it was all due to these big numbers and plays that told the story of a hard-fought third win.

1,000+

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown during a game between New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the Giants, one of the main storylines this week was the possibility of two rookie players crossing the 1,000-yard threshold from scrimmage. Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy had no problems reaching that feat, and it quickly became the main reason New York won the ball game. 

The pair of draft picks entered Week 17 leading the Giants in receiving and rushing production, respectively and needed just 31 yards or less each to become the third rookie duo in NFL history to accomplish 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

Just the 3rd rookie duo EVER to hit 1k apiece 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SsRQI3WReN

— New York Giants (@Giants) December 29, 2024

It took less than two-quarters of action to join the special club, as the Giants and Drew Lock went straight to their two biggest impact players from the start. This got the offense rolling and into a double-digit lead early. 

After Tracy earned his mark on the Giants' first possession of the game with a 13-yard catch, Nabers joined in by hauling in the biggest catch of the team’s second drive. 

The receiver took a short right-side pass from Lock, his 98th catch at the time, and slipped away from the Colts defenders to gallop 31-yards into the endzone for his fifth touchdown of the season and perfectly eclipse the designated receiving number for the 7-3 advantage.

With the contest on the line, after Indianapolis cut the Giants lead down to two points in the fourth quarter, Nabers erupted again with another huge catch that could go down as his toughest grab of the entire season. 

On the fourth play of the drive, Nabers ran a short dig route and then made a few defenders miss to create a wide-open 59-yard running lane to earn his second score of the day and put New York up 35-26. 

In the end, Nabers would finish with the best single performance of his rookie campaign, notching seven catches for 171 yards and the two touchdowns to lead the Giants’ receiving corps and mark his third 100-yard outing and first since Week 4. 

He had 100+ yards in the first half alone, becoming the first player to do so since Darius Slayton, who recorded 154 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in December 2019. 

What’s more is Nabers also became the fifth player in NFL history to surpass 100 catches in his first year in the league, sitting behind Puka Nucua (105) and Brock Bowers (108) with one more game left to be played. 

To think he did all of this with four different quarterbacks this season tells all one needs to know of the immense win the Giants earned with his selection and the sky's the limit with an improved quarterback situation next fall. 

Tracy had a quieter day overall but still led the Giants with 20 carries for 59 yards and a 3.0-yard average. It has been a masterful season for the two budding stars, and their latest historical feat helped create a lasting win that will fuel both to run it back next season.

3

New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) celebrates after running for a touchdown during a game between New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. / Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s not something that has happened much this season. Still, the Giants powered themselves to the possibility of a win against Indianapolis by sticking it to them with three touchdown drives in the first 30 minutes of play. 

Throughout the year, the Giants have struggled to get off to fast starts offensively and it has been one of the key reasons why they’ve averaged just under 15 points per game prior to Sunday’s win that was good for the worst in the NFL. 

Still, Lock and company turned the tables on that familiar script with their first three-score first half since their Week 3 win in Cleveland. 

What was more impressive was the speed at which the Giants reached payday on a lackadaisical Colts defense. After punting on their opening possession, they had three straight scoring drives, all three coming in under seven plays and 3:31 of game time.

The Giants opened the trio of drives with a five-play march for 70 yards that capped off with the 31-yard snag by Malik Nabers, who cut across the middle of the field and burnt a party of Colts’ defenders to win the race to the endzone. 

It was a drive that sliced the Colts’ preceding drive in hal,f which entailed 10 plays and 50 yards, only to notch a field goal from it. 

A few minutes later, New York got the ball back after another fine defensive stop and repeated the swiftness of their operation. 

They moved the pigskin 56 yards in another five plays before Lock darted one to Darius Slayton who broke a few tackles and sneaked into the endzone for the second touchdown of the game and a 14-3 Giants lead. 

The third touchdown drive of the half would end up being the longest but still the most impressive as it featured a dual-threat attack to tire out the Colts defensive attack. 

The Giants got going early with Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy for 24 yards and then the quarterback connected with Nabers for a 34-yard Randy Moss-style grab and Wan’Dale Robinson for the five-yard play to go up 21-6. 

By amassing their 21 points in the first half, the Giants had nearly doubled their scoring average for the season and had a little taste of every player being involved. In the end, the Giants had 309 yards receiving and had four players average a double-digit catch in the afternoon. 

The Giants also finished with four of their six scoring drives earning points in four plays or less, which brought a rare sparkle to a Brian Daboll system that hasn’t been the apple of anyone’s eye and was going to be one of the reasons the regime was questioned at the season’s end.

1

Dec 15, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (87) fights for yards as Baltimore Ravens linebacker Malik Harrison (40) tackles during the first half at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

When the Giants needed an even bigger spark to light a fire in their bellies to upset the Colts on Sunday, it was ignited in a flash coming out of the halftime break by another rare feat for the team–an incredible opening kickoff return for Ihmir-Smith Marsette. 

The Giants special teams operation hadn’t been anything special throughout the year with Smith-Marsette catching the deep boots. 

Still, it felt like an avenging moment for the unit that had the same situation nearly play out a month earlier against the Saints. In that game, the receiver took a 56-yard punt back to the house until it was called back for a holding penalty to stunt the score. 

New York and their returner wouldn’t have their big moment spoiled this time around, as Smith Marsette, who had to handle just one return all afternoon, turned on the jets and took the football through the gaps in the Colts kickoff stunt to return it 100 yards for the touchdown that put the Giants up 28-13 from the jump of the third quarter. 

With the flashy return to the house, as Smith Marsette labeled it afterwards, the Giants earned their first 100-yard kickoff return since 2015 when Dwyane Harris did it against the Dallas Cowboys. 

It also marked the Giants’ first opening-play return in 75 years, breaking another historical window in a historically bad campaign. 

Smith Marsette was happy that he was a part of a shining reclamation point in Sunday’s surprising performance. 

“Somebody told me that was the first one since 2015,” he said after the game. “By my calculations, that’s nine years–that’s a pretty long time so I’m happy. Hopefully, I can do it again sometime.”

Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial should be pleased, as well, as this season hasn’t been the best for his unit. 

In that same game against New Orleans, he and the Giants had to watch their field goal team get beat over the top and blocked on a potential game-tying boot by Graham Gano, who has been one of a few kickers who’s had to score tough points amid injuries. 

For once, the football gods watched over them, creating an opportunity to shine at a critical point in the back-and-forth contest. The play will surely be played repeatedly as an example of how to win the special teams battle every Sunday as the Giants look to improve that area next year and beyond.

0

Dec 29, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Fans cheer after the game between the New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Why not give the offensive line credit where it is due? Despite a year marred with relentless injuries and having to reshuffle pieces up front this Sunday, the Giants’ blockers kept Drew Lock upright and gave up zero sacks to the Indianapolis Colts' defense. 

Ahead of the game, the Giants were without a handful of their original starting five linemen including center John Michael Schmitz who missed the contest with an ankle injury. 

The team had to slide Greg Van Roten into the snapping spot and reshuffle three of the other four spots in order to make it work and they sure did with a nearly flawless effort against a hungry pass rush. 

With a clean pocket to maneuver, Lock finished with 74 percent completion percentage marking the highest number of the season and his best since December 10th of 2023 with Seattle when he connected for 71 percent against the 49ers. 

It also marked New York’s first game without any quarterback takedowns all season and their lowest since Week 4 when they allowed one to Dallas. 

The Colts defense was by no means a juggernaut in the landscape of the NFL, but they certainly didn’t play up to snuff to help their offense catch up. Indianapolis entered Sunday with the sixth-best ranking in turnovers forced and third in interceptions collected. 

Still, they could only manage one quarterback hit to join their six tackles for loss that mostly came against the run. 

It probably helped the Giants' case that they were getting the ball out quick and scoring touchdowns quickly to keep the Colts on their heels. Still, it was an impressive achievement for a Giants team that had fallen to the basement in the offensive line power rankings and was sitting at 25th in team pass block win rate. 

This won’t be the same unit the Giants run out in 2025 ,and if injuries stay away, the front showed they can perform at a high level like they did in the first several weeks of the season. 

They were good enough to capture a solid offensive outing against a confusing performance from Indianapolis, and it helps them add quality film no matter where they go forward.

3

Dec 29, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants cornerback Dru Phillips (22) returns an interception as Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann (79) tackles during the second half at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Last but certainly not least, the story of the Giants’ shootout win over the Colts wouldn’t be complete without discussing the defense's heroics, which forced three turnovers on Joe Flacco and company. 

With Anthony Richardson sidelined from the game with foot and back injuries, the Colts were forced to run with Flacco, an 18th year veteran whose mobility has started to work against him. 

As a result, Flacco was more of a sitting duck for the Giants defense to chase after and it led to him making some difficult throws that landed right in the hands of the secondary. 

The turnover woes for Indianapolis started early on their first possession of the afternoon. After moving the ball 41 yards in seven plays to build momentum near the red zone, Flacco tried to thread a deep shot to receiver Mo Alie-Cox to pin the Giants close to their goal line and set up a quick Colts touchdown visit. 

However, the ball was airmailed a little to the outside, and safety Dane Belton ended up laying himself out near the sidelines to make the play and secure the interception. It was Belton’s fifth pick of his three-year career, and he gave New York the ball to begin their first turn at their own six-yard line.

Then, after the team increased their lead over Indianapolis to 42-33 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Flacco gifted the Giants defense another late Christmas present before the Colts could even finish a play. 

A short pass intended for tight end Kylen Granson would be taken away by slot cornerback Dru Phillips at the Colts 42-yard line and returned 25 yards inside the red zone.

Phillips, who has been one of the best rookie man coverage defenders in the entire league this season, earned his first interception since his days as a school-high athlete. 

Four plays later, the Giants would put the icing on the cake of their win with a 30-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano. 

The Giants would cap off the turnover frenzy with one more forced fumble from defensive end Elijah Garcia, who was earning some developmental playing time on the edge. 

Garcia striped Flacco on the Colts' last licks of the day tallied three more sacks and helped New York experience their first victory formation since their Week 5 against the Seahawks. 

It’s been rough sledding for the Giants defensive front as injuries have piled up and taken talent out of the equation that once had the team at the top of the league in total pressures. 

The time had finally come to let the wolves chase after the sheep, and the Giants did that successfully on a weary Colts’ front to force the important turnovers and complement the winning work of the other two phases already carrying their load. 

How sweet it is when the Giants have an all-around game, and it wouldn’t have come to fruition if they didn’t take away some scoring aspirations for Indianapolis with their ball-hawking abilities.

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