EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Colts were eliminated from the playoffs with a 45-33 Week 17 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The Colts (7-9) needed a win over the Giants (3-13) to have a shot at making the playoffs in Week 18. On Saturday, the Colts got the help they needed with the Denver Broncos losing to the Cincinnati Bengals; on Sunday, they were not able to capitalize on it.

The Giants stormed to an early advantage behind an explosive first half. On New York's second possession, running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. ripped off a 40-yard rush, which set up a 31-yard touchdown from quarterback Drew Lock to wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Lock found wide receiver Darius Slayton for a 32-yard touchdown and wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson for a five-yard score in the second quarter. All three of the Giants' touchdowns came on third down; the first two came on third-and-14 and third-and-eight, respectively.

The Giants had four plays of 30 or more yards in the first half; they had nine such plays in their prior 15 games.

Flacco was intercepted on the Colts' opening drive. The Colts were left to settle for short Matt Gay field goals on their first two trips to the red zone before running back Jonathan Taylor punched in a three-yard touchdown just before halftime, drawing the score to 21-13 after 30 minutes.

The Giants quickly got those points back, though, when wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette returned the opening kickoff of the second half 100 yards for a touchdown, putting the Colts behind by 15 points.

Taylor responded with a 26-yard touchdown run to cap a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive, which again pulled the Colts within eight.

After getting their first defensive stop since the game's opening possession, the Colts' offense again drove into Giants territory. However, Taylor was stopped short of the line to gain on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 rushing attempts, resulting in a turnover on downs at the Giants' 22-yard line with about four and a half minutes left in the third quarter.

The Colts' defense got a fourth down stop of their own, though, with cornerback Jaylon Jones and linebacker E.J. Speed stopping Tracy short on fourth and 1 from the Giants' 41-yard line.

That stop set the Colts up for a critical fourth quarter down by eight points, and with possession in Giants territory. The Colts were not able to convert a third-and-11, though, leading to a Rigoberto Sanchez punt.

The Colts then got in the end zone with wide receiver Alec Pierce making a physical 13-yard snag over safety Jason Pinnock, setting up a game-tying two-point conversion attempt.

Flacco completed a pass to Pittman behind the line of scrimmage, who lateraled to Taylor – though Taylor dropped the lateral, keeping the Colts down by two points with just under 11 minutes left.

The Giants then delivered a haymaker, with Nabers shedding several tackles and dashing 59 yards for a touchdown. It was New York's longest touchdown of the season; more importantly, Nabers' touchdown put the Giants up by two scores with just over eight and a half minutes to go.

A 49-yard heave from Flacco to Pierce gave the Colts a chance, and Flacco connected with Pittman for a touchdown with about six and a half minutes left.

The Colts' defense was unable to get a stop on third-and-8 at midfield, though, with Lock finding Robinson open over the middle of the field, and Robinson running after the catch to the Colts' nine-yard line for a gain of 35.

Lock then slipped his way into the end zone for a five-yard touchdown rush, putting the Giants up again by two scores with under three minutes left. New York tacked on a late field goal after Flacco was picked off on the ensuing drive.

The 45 points scored by the Giants was the franchise's highest total since Week 16 of the 2019 season.