Lions and Giants look to stay in the win column; Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants preview
The Detroit Lions took all their frustrations of losing four close games out on the Rams last week with a dominating 44-6 win at home. It was the Lions’ biggest win margin in 15 years. Now they get a New York team that has dominated the line of scrimmage in
the past two weeks and has eliminated the penalties that doomed them in Weeks 2 and 3. The Giants are tied for first in their division at 3-2, while the Lions are a 1-4 team that could have easily been 3-2 or 4-1 by now.
The Lions have played their opponents hard in every game, losing the opener in Chicago 19-14 on the controversial no-catch call, then losing 35-32 to the Michael Vick-led Eagles, with a 24-10 loss in Minnesota then a 28-26 loss in Green Bay. While the Lions
still give up a lot of yards and are struggling to get a running game going, they have kept games close and are clearly an improving bunch.
Shaun Hill has played as well as you can ask for out of a back-up. With Matthew Stafford separating his shoulder in Week 1, Hill has stepped in and given the Lions a solid offensive punch. Detroit is sixth in the league with 25.2 points scored per game. Calvin
Johnson, Jahvid Best and tight end Brandon Pettigrew are giving the Lions the best offence we’ve seen from them for perhaps a whole decade.
Hill will really be tested this week though, as the Giants’ defensive line has dominated opponents the past two games. After ten sacks on Jay Cutler a couple of weeks ago, they shut down Arian Foster and what was once the NFL’s top rushing attack in Houston
last week. Justin Tuck is leading the way and teams are now struggling to figure out the Giants’ defence. The key will be Best, who will have to have a big game on the ground and showcase his abilities as a receiver to help his quarterback. This may be the
toughest defence that the Lions have seen thus far. The Giants are ranked first in the league with the fewest yards allowed per game and the fewest passing yards allowed per game.
The Giants’ offence has lived and died by the running game so far this season. When Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs get going, the offence is fine. When they’re shut down, the Giants have gotten into trouble. The duo should have a big game on Sunday, as the
Lions have struggled to stop the run. They are 26th in the league against the run with 133 yards allowed per game. While the Lions’ defensive line has been very strong, they still lack a fearsome line backing corps and aren’t very deep in the secondary. This
is all part of their re-building plans and meanwhile, New York should take advantage of this glaring weakness.
Eli Manning will have to be a little more dominant. He and Hakeem Nicks have had great chemistry, as Nicks has 33 receptions for 409 yards and six touchdowns. Manning has looked to him in the clutch and Nicks has delivered.
It will be a tough test for the young Lions in New York with the Giants’ pass rush being so dominant. Detroit’s offensive line isn’t among the greatest so the Giants will look to use the formula that has worked so well for them; run the ball and dominate the
line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
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