Indianapolis, IN
NY Giants vs Indianapolis Colts predictions: Our Week 17 expert picks for MetLife finale
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Following another blowout loss in a 34-7 defeat against the Falcons (8-7) on Sunday, the Giants (2-13) made history for all the wrong reasons — losing 10 consecutive games for the first time in their centennial season as an NFL franchise.
If the Giants were to lose their final two games, they’d put a stamp on their fewest wins and go winless at home for the first time in a half century (2-12 in 1974) but most importantly, would own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in April.
Facing the Giants in their regular-season finale at MetLife Stadium will be the Colts (7-8), who are fighting for their playoff lives, currently two games back of the No. 7-seed Broncos with two weeks left.
Our prognosticators throughout the season are: Art Stapleton (Giants/NFL writer, NorthJersey.com), Bert Bainbridge (sports betting analyst/columnist, NorthJersey.com), Steve Edelson (columnist, APP.com), Vince Mercogliano (Rangers/NHL columnist, lohud.com), Brian Marron (digital producer, NorthJersey.com), Chris Iseman (Rutgers writer, NorthJersey.com), Bob Jordan (sports editor, Asbury Park Press/APP.com), and Dave Rivera (sports editor, USA TODAY Northeast/NorthJersey.com).
Our staff standings entering NFL Week 17
Dave Rivera: 12-3
Steve Edelson: 10-3
Vincent Mercogliano: 9-3
Art Stapleton: 10-5
Chris Iseman: 9-5
Bert Bainbridge, Brian Marron: 9-6
Bob Jordan: 5-10
Here are our staff picks and predictions for Giants vs. Colts in Week 17:
Art Stapleton
The pick: Colts 28, Giants 17
Here’s why: You can’t turn the ball over three times at quarterback and expect to win. Drew Lock threw a pair of Pick 6s in Atlanta, and while one of them was in part the result of the offensive line caving in, those kind of turnovers are impossible to overcome. The Giants would love to avoid becoming the first team in NFL history to lose all nine of its games at home since the league added a 17th game to the schedule. The Giants were last winless at home in 1974 when they played in the Yale Bowl in Connecticut, finishing 0-7. The Colts are still alive in the hunt for an AFC playoff spot, but they need a lot of help.
Bert Bainbridge
The pick: Colts 27, Giants 23
Here’s why: The Giants have only put up 20 points once since their bye in Week 11. Starting QB Drew Lock has more pick-sixes (3) than touchdown passes (1) and total wins the G-Men have on the season (2). Even still, the Colts just surrendered 30 points to a Mason Rudolph-led Titans team at home.
Big Blue will scare fans that desperately want the No. 1 overall pick, but ultimately Indianapolis is able to hold off the Giants, sending them to an 0-9 record at home in what’s been another lost season for the Giants.
Steve Edelson
The pick: Colts 22, Giants 6
Here’s why: The Giants are in the midst of an historic season, for all the wrong reasons. But if going winless at home helps them get the No. 1 pick in the draft, then so be it.
Bob Jordan
The pick: Colts 30, Giants 10
Here’s why: The 1988 Dallas Cowboys and the 2008 St. Louis Rams share the NFL record for the longest losing streak of regular season home games at 14 straight games. The Giants still have to lose this week and drop their first five games at Met Lifeless next season to get to 14 but there’s hope.
Dave Rivera
The pick: Colts 23, Giants 16
Here’s why: Nobody wants to go winless at home, but nobody benefits by winning this game either. Not that the Giants aren’t trying, but utter lack of talent and ability is keeping this team down.
Chris Iseman
The pick: Colts 27, Giants 7
Here’s why: The Giants are a bad football team. That’s not changing against the Colts. Or at all this season.
BetMGM is the premier destination for sportsbook odds throughout the year.
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ATLANTA (WISH) — Tyler Goodson, who played for the Indianapolis Colts the past three seasons, is joining a new team.
The Atlanta Falcons announced on Thursday that they have signed the free agent running back.
Goodson appeared in 33 games during his time in Indy, rushing for a total of 234 yards. He had one rushing touchdown back in 2024.
The rushing touchdown came during the Colts’ win over the Miami Dolphins that season. The rushing touchdown in that matchup was Goodson’s first career NFL touchdown during the regular season.
“For me it was a lot more exciting,” Goodson said following that game. “A moment I’ve been waiting for and it’s just surreal for me to be in this position. And I just thank God for it.”
Goodson also had 103 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown with the Colts. The receiving touchdown also came during the 2024 season, in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The move to the Falcons will be a homecoming of sorts for Goodson, who is a native of Suwanee, Georgia. He also attended North Gwinnett High School.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Butler University Police Department is seeking the public’s help in identifying a group of people who broke into and vandalized Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The incident happened sometime Saturday, according to a post from Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana.
Security camera video of the group – four males and one female – shows them entering the fieldhouse through a side door, entering one at a time before turning and disappearing out of view.
Crime Stoppers says the group vandalized a concession stand, stole alcoholic drinks, and then stole a $12,000 headset. Butler PD estimates the stolen communication equipment is valued at around $15,000.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Crime Stoppers. Officials say a reward of up to $1,000 will be offered for details leading to any arrests.
Indianapolis, IN
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin, MLB’s No. 1 prospect, opens season in Indy with Indians
INDIANAPOLIS — For the second time in three years, the biggest draw in minor league baseball has landed at Victory Field.
Konnor Griffin, MLB’s No. 1 prospect, nearly made Pittsburgh’s Opening-Day roster at the tender age of 19 years old, sparking the imagination of Pirates fans when he launched two home runs in the same Grapefruit League game in late February.
By all accounts, Pittsburgh considered bypassing the Triple-A level with Griffin altogether, keeping the young shortstop in major league camp until the final weekend of spring training.
But the Pirates ultimately decided Griffin needed to open the season with the Indians when they take on St. Paul at 6:35 p.m. Friday at Victory Field, turning Pittsburgh’s loss into a big gain for Indianapolis for the second time in three seasons.
Two years ago, the Pirates decided to ramp up superstar pitching prospect Paul Skenes slowly, a decision that gave fans in Indianapolis seven starts to see a pitcher who would almost immediately turn into one of the best pitchers in the game.
For longtime Indians broadcaster Howard Kellman, the chance to see Skenes and Griffin in Indianapolis uniforms in a span of three short years brought to mind the 1989 season, when future Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Larry Walker played on the same Indians roster.
Griffin and Skenes obviously won’t play in Indianapolis together.
Their presence leaves an impact.
“That means a great deal,” legendary Indians broadcaster Howard Kellman said. “You’re looking at the stars of tomorrow.”
Griffin’s path to Indianapolis wasn’t like the one Skenes took to Victory Field.
Skenes was already battle-tested, a star who’d made his name pitching LSU to a College World Series title and a pitcher everybody knew was ready for the big leagues. The Pirates sent Skenes to Triple-A as part of an effort to ramp him up slowly, limiting the young pitcher’s innings in his rookie year.
Griffin still has something to prove.
Drafted out of high school with the No. 9 pick in 2024, Griffin shot up the prospect rankings by batting .333 and slugging .527 while going from Low-A Bradenton to High-A Greensboro to 21 games with Double-A Altoona to end the 2025 season.
The raw tools are undeniable. The power that got the baseball world talking in February is accompanied with speed, good defense at shortstop and every other tool a team could want.
“Tremendous young man, very mature for his age, goes about his work the right way, goes about the game the right way, great with his teammates,” Indians manager Eric Patterson said.
But Griffin still has to improve his pitch recognition. Frustrated by the insane amounts of spin that big-league pitchers put on the baseball, Griffin hit .148 with 11 strikeouts in his final 10 games, 27 at-bats in total.
He wanted to make the big-league team, and he probably pressed a little.
“I’m at my best when I’m playing freely, playing fun, having a good time,” Griffin said. “I’m trying to get back to that, not worrying too much about the pressure outside.”
Griffin is also adjusting to life as baseball’s top prospect, a level of attention that essentially changed overnight. While he was obviously a top-10 pick in 2024, there were eight players taken ahead of him, including Oakland’s Nick Kurtz, who won the American League Rookie of the Year award.
A high school pick like Griffin is supposed to take a couple of years to develop into a top prospect, attention building along the way.
Griffin essentially went from a relative unknown to carrying the weight of Pittsburgh’s expectations in a span of about six months, although he’s adamant that the increased attention doesn’t affect him.
“It’s definitely internal,” Griffin said. “I don’t worry too much about the outside noise. I have high expectations for myself.”
Whatever the reason for Griffin’s slide in the final two weeks of spring training, he knows what he needs to change.
“Being thrown into the fire, facing those big-league arms, that was a good experience for me,” Griffin said.
Big-league pitchers are going to take advantage of a hitter who chases too many offerings outside the strike zone, and Griffin was swinging too much, uncharacteristic of a player whose on-base percentage was .415 across three levels last season.
“Take your walks, get on base, affect the game,” Griffin said. “Being patient, getting the right pitches to hit, not trying to do too much every time I go up to the plate.”
The paths Skenes and Griffin took to get to Indianapolis are different.
The goal, now that they’re here, is the same. Skenes was called up to the big leagues on May 8; Griffin wants to force the Pirates to bring him up to Pittsburgh as soon as possible.
“For all of these guys, you’re an injury away from the big leagues, you’re a sneeze off the field away from the big leagues,” Patterson said. “It’s about preparing these guys for when they get the call.”
The entire baseball world thought Griffin would get the call before his 20th birthday.
And there’s still time. Griffin doesn’t turn 20 until April 24th.
Better get out to Victory Field to catch a glimpse of baseball’s No. 1 prospect while he’s still here.
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