Malik Nabers proves he's the future of the Giants, but in the wrong game

All the New York Giants had to do was lose their remaining two games and they would secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Sounds easy enough for New York, who had lost 10 games in a row entering Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Instead, the Giants gave their fans a show one final time in 2024. While rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers showed he is the future of the team, the Giants' 45-33 win moved them from the top pick in the draft to the fourth pick, following losses to the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns.

Quarterback Drew Lock, who is a free agent after this season, said Giants fans deserved the win.

"The fans deserved it, the locker room deserved it, everyone that is a part of this organization deserved it," he said postgame. "We knew we had it in us."

Lock and the aforementioned Nabers were the two reasons why the Giants won Sunday and put an end to their 10-game losing streak.

Nabers had seven receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns including a 59-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Nabers' 171 receiving yards put him over 1,000 yards and gave the Giants a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2018. Drew Lock, who had been pretty awful in his three previous starts this season, threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns and even ran one in.

If there's any silver lining in the win, the Giants clearly see what Nabers can do for them with good quarterback play.

RELATED: Aaron Rodgers becomes the king of taking sacks in Jets' loss to the Bills

The shocking offensive output might have prevented the Giants from getting the No. 1 pick, but it also eliminated the Colts from playoff contention. If Giants fans are mad about the team failing their pursuit of a tank, they can at least be a little happy their team played spoiler.

The win moved the New England Patriots to the top pick in the draft, and if the Patriots lose to the Buffalo Bills next week that will be locked in. In that scenario, the Patriots don't really need the No. 1 pick. They have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye, who has been a bright spot on an otherwise horrible football team. If the Patriots end up with that pick, expect a trade to occur with a team that needs a quarterback, like the Giants, Titans or Las Vegas Raiders.

New England still needs to lose to Buffalo next Sunday and after the Giants stunned the Colts, anything is possible.

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