The only thing that could make New York Giants fans even remotely happy this season was hope for a new era in 2025, starting with the first quarterback picked in the NFL Draft. Shedur Sanders even had Giants cleats in his locker during the University of Colorado’s bowl game on Saturday in hopes of being the top pick.
The only thing no one explained was that the Giants actually won the game and ruined all those draft plans.
NFL teams don’t tank. It’s often talked about among fans, but it almost never actually happens. Giants players and coaches don’t care about draft position. The fans in the stands were probably rooting for another loss, but the Giants played their best game in months, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 and eliminating the Colts from the playoffs.
Drew Lock completed 7 of 8 passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. New York returned the first kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. According to the Fox broadcast team, it was the first time since 1949 that the Giants returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. Malik Nabors played a big role, and the Giants held off the Colts, who were still in good shape heading into the upcoming postseason.
The Giants finally picked a great time to play well. It was his first time scoring 40 points since Dec. 22, 2019, and he hadn’t even scored 30 points in a game this season.
A Giants win would change the entire draft outlook. The Giants, who were the only team with just two wins this season, don’t have the inside track for another No. 1 pick. According to Tankasson, the New England Patriots will take the first spot with one week left. The Giants’ win would have removed them from the top two for the foreseeable future, likely pushing them out of position to acquire a top quarterback in the draft, or potentially trading up for an additional pick.
In any case, a reasonable argument could be made that the first choice is worthless. Miami’s Cam Ward and Sanders are the top quarterback draft prospects, but there is skepticism about both of them. Neither is a surefire franchise quarterback. However, the Giants intended to receive at least two picks if they secured the No. 1 spot. It remains to be seen what will happen to the Giants in the future, or who will jump over them in a trade for Ward or Sanders.
It’s hard to have hope without a quarterback. The last time the Giants put a top-10 quarterback on the draft market, they overdrafted Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall. Six seasons were wasted because the Giants wanted Jones to develop into a top-level player. And when the Giants finally threw in the towel on Jones and cut him for the season, the team was back to square one. But until Sunday, the expectation was that it would take months to figure out whether Ward or Sanders was the better quarterback to lead the team over the next few years and hopefully beyond. They are now at the mercy of what happens to the team in front of them. Or maybe they’ll take a little break in Week 18 and climb back up the rankings.
This is just a reminder that teams don’t tank. Players don’t care about getting the best draft pick because that rookie could take their job. As Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce reminded everyone last week, “We’re not doing this for anyone’s draft predictions,” the coaches are all about winning.
The locker room will be a happier place this week because the Giants won. The front office’s sadness may be felt in April.
Here are the remaining winners and losers for Week 17 of the NFL season.
winner
Sam Darnold: Darnold is making money every game on his next contract.
If you were waiting for Darnold to turn into a pumpkin, you’ve been waiting another week. Darnold threw for 377 yards and the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers 27-25. The Vikings will play the Detroit Lions next week for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Darnold was very good, as he has been for most of the season. He scored three touchdowns. Darnold’s contract is for just one year, and with first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy returning from a knee injury, the Vikings will have to make some difficult decisions in the offseason. If Darnold continues to play at this level for the rest of the season, he will be paid handsomely, whether by the Vikings or someone else.
Kenny Pickett: He’s already at a stage in his career where every playing opportunity counts.
The former first-round draft pick is trying to revive his career after his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers came to an unfortunate and abrupt end. The Dallas Cowboys haven’t been the toughest opponent lately, but they’ve been playing pretty well lately. And Pickett was impressive in a 41-7 victory. He left the game in the third quarter with an injury after being hit by Micah Parsons, but by then he had already helped lead the Eagles to a 27-7 lead. He did his job and then some. Saquon Barkley, who surpassed 2,000 yards this season, contributed to the victory. Barkley gained 167 yards on 31 carries, 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. And the Eagles will play Barkley’s old team, the Giants, next week.
Pickett, who replaced Jalen Hurts with a concussion, had 133 yards and a passing touchdown in the first half and a rushing touchdown on a tush on the final play of the second quarter. The Eagles needed to keep winning to maintain their lead in the NFC East (which was still undecided going into Week 17) and stay in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Pickett was called Sunday and answered. That’s the kind of performance that can continue to earn Pickett a contract.
Lamar Jackson’s MVP potential: Josh Allen may still lead the MVP race, but he didn’t do anything to pull away either.
Allen had a perfect Week 17. The Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets 40-14. Allen scored two touchdowns, including one off a nice catch by Amari Cooper. The Bills pulled Allen in the fourth quarter, not wanting to inflate his stats in the second half of a blowout loss. He had 182 passing yards and 17 rushing yards. Although the Bills won big, it was Allen’s second straight year of quiet performance on the stat sheet.
There was nothing wrong with Allen’s performance, but when Jackson has been doing well lately, statistics matter. Given that the Bills are one of the best teams in the NFL and are a threat to win the Super Bowl as the No. 2 seed in the AFC, they may not care about Allen’s performance or MVP. They proved it again by crushing the Jets.
There will be two players competing for the MVP award, but it could become three or four if Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals make the playoffs or if Saquon Barkley breaks Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
Allen had a big lead just a few weeks ago. It seems like we’re getting closer to the race with only a week left. And Allen may not play next week, as the Bills clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC with Sunday’s win.
Baker Mayfield: He’s been doing so well with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that Mayfield will likely hand over the head coaching job to the offensive coordinator for the second year in a row.
Mayfield had a great season with play-calling by Liam Cohen and was named to the head coaching list in the offseason, leading to a dominant 48-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. He once again showed good play. Mayfield rushed for 359 yards and five touchdowns. He has 39 touchdown passes with one week left this season.
The Buccaneers have a good chance of winning the NFC South and won’t be easily eliminated in the wild card round. Mayfield, whose career stalled just a few years ago, is now playing like one of the best QBs in the league.
loser
Browns vs. Dolphins fans: Imagine sitting in the rain in Cleveland in late December, watching Dorian Thompson-Robinson face off against Tyler Huntley.
Even if you don’t get those three hours back, those who made it through deserve a pat on the back. The Dolphins won 20-3 and remained in the AFC Wild Card race. The Browns were terrible offensively, but that’s been the case every time Thompson-Robinson started. Huntley played well in Tua Tagovailoa’s place, throwing for 225 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 53 yards and a score.
The Browns fell to 3-13 and were eliminated from playoff contention a long time ago. Their fans will be hoping for better results next season. That won’t happen unless the team finds a more viable option at quarterback.
Tennessee Titans with a silver lining: The Titans have been absolutely terrible throughout December. They haven’t won a game all month. On Sunday, they faced one of the worst teams in football, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and lost 20-13.
But it might work. The Titans continue to climb up the draft position – a Jaguars win would help the Titans’ draft position, so the loss was double-dip for Tennessee – and they need a quarterback. Will Levis is on the bench, and it’s hard to believe Tennessee would be happy entering 2025 with him as a key part of their plans. If the Titans can get high enough in the draft to draft Ward or Sanders, the loss won’t feel so bad.
Overall, nothing that has happened in Brian Callahan’s first season as the Titans’ head coach can be considered good news for the franchise.
New Orleans Saints: There is some hope in the offseason for some teams that ended the season on a disappointing note. Is there much hope for the Saints?
The Saints had a very bad run, losing 25-10 at home to the Las Vegas Raiders, who had won 3-12. New Orleans’ season-ending issues included a shutout loss to Green on Monday night in Week 16. Injuries could be the main reason for the Bay Packers. That doesn’t mean the outlook for next season will be much better.
The Saints aren’t happy at the quarterback position with Derek Carr. They are well over the salary cap again, so some cuts will be made. There is some young talent on the roster, but not enough to have a realistic goal of a rapid recovery in 2025.
Sunday was another bad day for the Saints. There will probably be many more in the future.
