It’s another victory Sunday for the Detroit Lions. The team went into New York and thoroughly beat the favored Giants, 31-18, for the Lions’ third win in a row.
This was one of the best team efforts of the Dan Campbell coaching era. All three units–offense, defense and special teams–proved superior to their New York counterparts. Campbell’s staff won the coaching chess match, too. With the win, the Lions improve to 4-6 while the Giants drop to 7-3.
Here are some quick takeaways from watching the Lions beat the Giants in real-time.
Never much doubt
It’s been a long time since the Lions won a game convincingly. Even the Week 2 win over Washington, a game Detroit won 36-27, had some late drama as a one-score game in the final minutes.
Not this one.
After a fairly even first quarter, Detroit seized control of the game over the middle periods and never really relented. All three units played well and in concert with one another. The Lions led 17-6 at the half and pushed it to 24-6 entering the fourth quarter. Every time it felt like the Giants might push to make it a game, Detroit came up with a timely big play to vanquish the threat.
It’s been a long time since a Lions QB could go into victory formation at the 2:00 warning, but that’s exactly what Jared Goff did to end the 31-18 game. No fingernail biting or anxious pacing necessary.
The youngsters on defense really stepped up
Aaron Glenn’s defense sure took some lumps early in the season. But this win over New York came on the backs of a rapidly improving defense, keyed by several young Lions stepping up.
Aidan Hutchinson recorded the first multi-takeaway game of his career. The rookie DE picked off Giants QB Daniel Jones with a great zone drop. Later, he recovered a fumble off a crushing hit by CB Will Harris.
Fellow rookie Kerby Joseph notched the third interception of his career, leaping in front of a Jones pass early in the game. Both he and Hutchinson finished with three tackles in the game.
It wasn’t just the rookies. Nose tackle Alim McNeill had the game of his life. The second-year DT McNeill racked up four tackles, a sack, three tackles for loss (all on RB Saquon Barkley) and seven QB pressures, per Next Gen Stats on the FOX broadcast. The Giants had injury issues on the interior OL and McNeill made them pay dearly.
Second-year CB Jerry Jacobs recorded six tackles and a pass breakup while providing solid, physical coverage. The one completion he cleanly allowed came late in the game with the outcome already decided. Another second-year player, LB Derrick Barnes, spearheaded the strong run defense that held Barkley to 22 yards on 15 carries.
Injuries abounded for both teams
Playing on the hard artificial turf with temperatures well below freezing took a toll on both teams. The game featured several delays due to players needing medical attention from the action.
The Lions lost CB Jeff Okudah to a brain injury in the first half, and the team’s top outside corner will not play against Buffalo on Thanksgiving as a result. RG Evan Brown left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and he did not return. CB Jerry Jacobs, S Kerby Joseph, DE Aidan Hutchinson and LB Derrick Barnes all had to exit for injuries, though fortunately all returned.
New York had serious problems on the injury front, too. Starting CB Adoree Jackson was lost early to a knee injury suffered on a punt return. Safety Jason Pinnock left with a facial injury and also did not return. Two starters on the offensive line, right tackle Tyre Phillips and center Jon Feliciano, also left the game with injuries and were unable to get back. Impressive rookie WR Wan’Dale Robinson was lost to a knee injury as well.
Quick hits
–The special teams under coordinator Dave Fipp deserve some mention. John Cominsky blocked an extra point. The coverage units allowed 10 yards on two punt returns. Jack Fox averaged over 48 yards net on six punts. Kicker Michael Badgley remains perfect on the season on a day where his counterpart, Graham Gano, missed one extra point and had the other blocked.
–The focus on stopping Saquon Barkley worked very well. Barkley finished with 22 yards on 15 carries and was tackled behind the line five times. His longest run netted four yards.
–Daniel Jones created problems with his legs at QB. Even when the DEs did a responsible job in containing the edge, Jones still torched the LBs too easily. This was handily the worst game of rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez’s Lions career.
–Will Harris continues to play relatively well in the slot CB role. He was very adept at controlling the releases off the line against quick rookie WR Wan’Dale Robinson.
–Jamaal Williams and Justin Jackson formed a great 1-2 punch at RB. Jackson’s physicality in hitting the hole at full speed on the outside worked very well. Williams continues to gobble up yards between the tackles and prove he’s the best red zone RB in the league in 2022.
–I continue to like the more patiently aggressive Jared Goff at QB. After a nice start to the season, Goff had regressed into being too fast to check down or take what the defense wanted him to do. For the second week in a row, Goff stuck with his guns on longer-developing routes and it worked. The stats (17-of-26 for 165 yards) understate Goff’s impressive day.
–The game was not well-officiated, but the crew missed enough calls both ways that neither side should complain in this one.
–Kayvon Thibodeaux, a player many Lions fans wanted over Hutchinson at the No. 2 pick, managed two tackles and zero QB pressures on the day. He also missed a tackle.
–Here’s hoping D’Andre Swift’s late TD run gets him some confidence back in his game. Swift had clearly fallen behind Jackson in the RB pecking order with several soft runs and poor efforts. Maybe the nice finish to his Sunday can lift him back up the depth chart.
