The Detroit Lions may be 12.5-point favorites over the New York Giants this week, but they better not take them lightly. Despite their 2-9 record, the Giants have been scrappy this year. Not only have both of their wins come against teams currently in playoff spots (Chargers, Eagles), but they’ve played almost everyone close, and even held multi-score leads on several opponents in which they ultimately lost.
“This team has been in a ton of these games, man,” coach Dan Campbell said this week. “And a few of these games, they’ve been up a couple of scores and lost a tight one there a few times. And so they’ve been in most of these games, had a chance to win them, they’re competitive, they play hard. It’s a good unit. I know they made the change (at coach) a week ago, but they had a chance last week again in that game.”
In other words, the Lions will need some elite performances from individuals in order to avoid an upset and stay in the NFC playoff picture.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
Who are the Lions’ key players vs. the Giants?
My answer: On offense, let’s start up front. Containing Brian Burns will be one of the biggest goals for the offense, which is admittedly no easy task. Burns ranks second in the NFL with 13.0 sacks.
So it will be on the Lions’ tackles to be at the top of their game. Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell are playing pretty well, but they’ll need to be at their best, while both continue to fight off lingering injuries. Additionally, with the amount of stunting that the Giants do, it will be on the veteran tackles to ensure they’re communicating properly with the shaky interior linemen.
Defensively, there will be a lot of pressure on Detroit’s second-level defenders. The linebacking corps will be essential in slowing down the Giants’ efficient running game, even with Giants QB Jaxson Dart declared out for this game and Cam Skattebo out for the year. New York has managed to keep a steady run game throughout it all, and they’ll likely try to lean on it to clock-control the game and keep it close.
Luckily, Campbell has been phenomenal this year. He currently ranks third among linebackers in PFF grade (88.4), with outstanding marks against the run (92.7, first in the NFL) and pass rush (75.7, 13th).
Which Lions players do you think are key this week? Share your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of this page.
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