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An inside look at Sunday’s Giants-Colts Week 17 matchup at MetLife Stadium:
Marquee matchup
Colts DT DeForest Buckner vs. Giants interior offensive line
There is a shift up front for the Giants, with center John Michael Schmitz (ankle) missing his first game this season.
That means Greg Van Roten moves from right guard into the center spot, with backups Aaron Stinnie and rookie Jake Kubas filling the guard spots.
Buckner, 30, has 6.5 sacks this season despite missing five games.
Since he was traded to the Colts in 2020, Buckner has more sacks (39) than any other defensive tackle in the league other than Chris Jones of the Chiefs.
This is the ninth different offensive line combination this season for the Giants, matching the Patriots for the most in the league.
Paul’s pick
The Colts entered the weekend in the hunt for a final playoff spot in the AFC.
The Giants have been outscored 69-21 the past two weeks and it remains to be seen if their depleted and losing-weary roster can muster much in the way of a battle.
If they don’t gang-tackle Jonathan Taylor he will rip them to shreds.
Oh, by the way, Drew Lock gets the start again at quarterback.
Colts 23, Giants 17.
Four downs
Good Nabers: Another week, another loss and further evidence that Malik Nabers is growing throughout his rookie season.
He was asked how tough it has been for him during this 10-game losing streak and the 21-year-old did not separate his anguish from what his teammates are feeling.
“It’s tough on everybody,’’ Nabers said. “It’s not just tough on me. I’m continuing to keep [mentally] strong, continue to move forward, continue to try to better the team, better myself. Lead by example. I feel like that’s really all we can do in this state of mind that we’re going through.’’
Catching on: Tyrone Tracy did not look like a running back last week against the Falcons when he ran a route that took him into the end zone, drifted to the back line to free himself and then leaped for a catch and an impressive one-two toe-tap to stay inbounds for his first NFL touchdown reception.
Tracy looked like a wide receiver on that play, which is not surprising — he was a receiver for three years at Iowa before switching to running back at Purdue.
“That’s right,’’ offensive coordinator Mike Kafka said. “He had that skill set coming out of college, which is why we loved him coming out. You can continue to develop that.’’
Young and the restless: The Giants will be in the quarterback market for the 2025 draft and teams get it wrong more often than they get it right.
At the moment, it is looking more wrong than right with Anthony Richardson and the Colts.
Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick in 2023, was benched for two games to work on his preparation. He is a fantastic athlete but a sub-par passer, completing only 47.7 percent of his passes this season, with eight touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
Richardson is listed as questionable, dealing with foot and back issues but did not practice all week.
It looks more likely that 39-year old Joe Flacco will start for the Colts.
Ratings game: Hello? Is there anyone out there watching?
This comes as no surprise, but local viewership for the Giants is down 30 percent from last year, according to John Ourand of Puck.
This is something, considering the 2023 season (6-11) was not so hot for the Giants, who have been seen in 523,000 homes this season.
For comparison purposes, the Jets are down 29 percent in local viewership from this season to last, averaging 578,000 homes.
The Colts are not exactly must-see-TV for anyone outside of the Indianapolis area.
How microscopic will local viewership be for this tilt?
