Winning for Giants was worth the cost of losing control of the No. 1 overall draft pick

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — This isn't the year for New York Giants fans to be upset about losing control of the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.

There may not be a franchise quarterback waiting to be selected on April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

It's possible there's no Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Andrew Luck or Matthew Stafford available to turn this franchise into a winner.

Beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-33 on Sunday and ending a franchise-record 10-game losing streak wasn't the equivalent of turning a win into a loss.

All it did was drop the Giants (3-13) from the No. 1 pick in a draft top heavy with good defensive players to No. 4 overall behind New England, Tennessee and Cleveland heading into the final week of the season.

The Giants are still likely going to get a good young player and he doesn't have to be a quarterback. While they need a quarterback, it's better to pick one at the right spot than take a chance and come up with one who isn't ready yet.

Caleb Williams of the Bears and Bryce Young of the Panthers, are the past two No. 1 overall picks, and neither as of yet has wowed everyone like Jayden Daniels of the Commanders, the No. 2 overall pick in 2024.

Giants coach Brian Daboll on Monday sidestepped the question of whether the Giants lost by winning.

“We can control what we can control,” he said. “We come in, we do everything we can to prepare for the week and go out there to play as good as we can play, coach as good as we can play, and that’s where our focus is.”

Daboll also didn't want to say whether the NFL should start using a draft lottery among the non-playoff teams like the NBA and NHL to determine the No. 1 pick.

Outside linebacker Brian Burns, who came to the Giants in the offseason in a trade with the Panthers, experienced a lot of losing in Carolina as well.

“That’s more of an upstairs thing,” he said of losing control of the top pick. “They’ll figure out however they want to play those cards.”

What’s working

For the first time this season, the offense worked to perfection. It scored five touchdowns, generated 389 yards, was 7 of 13 on third down and had six explosive plays of 30 or more yards, with three going for touchdowns. That's not counting the 100-yard kickoff return for a TD by Ihmir Smith-Marsette to open the second half.

What needs help

The secondary. The young secondary gave up six plays of 19 yards or more, with the longest being a 49-yard pass from Joe Flacco to Alec Pierce. The positive was safety Dane Belton and rookie cornerback Dru Phillips had interceptions, giving the Giants five for the season.

Stock up

Drew Lock. After throwing two pick-6s against the Falcons, he completed 17 of 23 for 309 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a career-high passer rating of 155.3. He also scored on a 5-yard run. Daniel Jones was the previous Giants quarterback to throw four TDs, doing it in 2019. Eli Manning was previous Giants quarterback to throw for four scores and run for one in 2014.

Stock down

Deonte Banks. The 2023 first-round draft pick has not lived up to expectations after a good rookie season. He was flagged for pass interference twice against the Colts, costing the Giants 63 yards. He has five penalties for 111 yards this season, including four pass interference calls.

Injuries

Defensive lineman Armon Watts hurt his knee in the first half and left the game. Center John Michael Schmitz (ankle) and inside linebacker Micah McFadden (neck) missed the game with an ankle injury.

Key number

45 — The most points the Giants have scored since a 52-49 loss to the New Orleans Saints in 2015.

Next steps

The Giants' disappointing season ends in Philadelphia Sunday. The final lowlight would be seeing former teammate Saquon Barkley breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley needs 101 yards to do it.

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