Giants’ Drew Lock throws game away with three dreadful turnovers
ATLANTA — Drew Lock stood in front of his locker after Falcons 34, Giants 7 and looked sick to his stomach.
The Giants quarterback literally threw the game away Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium, dropping the team to 2-13 with a franchise-record 10th consecutive loss.
Lock engineered a crisp eight-minute scoring drive to give the Giants a 7-0 lead, then proceeded to throw two pick-sixes that completely changed the game.
Drew Lock throws a pass during the Giants-Falcons game on Dec. 22, 2024. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
The first pick sucked the life out of the momentum the Giants had created.
Lock tried to rush a pass to receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and Atlanta safety Jesse Bates III jumped the route, picked it off and ran 55 yards for a 10-7 Falcons lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The second one came on the Giants’ second play of the first possession of the second half when his pass was batted by Zach Harrison at the line of scrimmage and into the arms of Matthew Judon, who jogged 27 yards into the end zone for a 24-7 lead.
Lock beat himself up, particularly over the first INT.
“We had momentum after that first touchdown and that next drive broke the play … can’t make it worse,’’ Lock said. “Keep it in your hands. Don’t put it in theirs. Scoring points to their team is never good, so just can’t have that happen.’’
Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who looked livid with Lock after the first pick, lamented the giveaways.
Drew Lock is sacked during the Giants-Falcons game on Dec. 22, 2024. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“We had to do a better job of taking care of the ball,’’ he said. “To give up 14 points on the offensive side of the ball, it’s hard to win any game. You can’t [win] a game when you throw two interceptions for touchdowns, have another turnover, lose the turnover ratio.’’
Lock turned it over three times.
He said the first pick was a “broken play.’’
“Tried to get Malik [Nabers] over, thought we could maybe try to get a snap before the clock ran out (and) just didn’t get out of the huddle fast enough,’’ Lock said. “Wan’Dale was my shortest route. Tried to get the ball out to him before the safety could cut it, and he got it.
“Can’t make a bad play worse. I just got to be smarter and keep that ball in my hands.”
Asked about Daboll’s animated interactions with him on the sideline, Lock said, “Just obviously telling me I can’t do that. Everything he said to me was the same thing I was feeling in my head. We weren’t on two different planets on what he was saying.
“Just obviously a little disappointed in that first turnover. The second one, batted ball over my head into the D-lineman’s arms. Sometimes those things happen. You just wish that first one didn’t happen before the second one.”
Daboll said he did not consider replacing Lock with backup Tommy DeVito.
“I let Drew battle through it,’’ Daboll said. “See if we can make some improvements. At the end of the day, it’s hard to win a game when you turn the ball over three times.”
Drew Lock throws a pass during the Giants-Falcons game on Dec. 22, 2024. USA TODAY Sports
When Daboll was asked if he might turn to DeVito for Sunday’s game against the Colts, he was noncommittal.
“I’d say we’re just done playing this game,’’ he said. “We’ll go back and watch the tape and make our decisions.”
