It feels like Groundhog Day again here in Detroit. The Detroit Lions are coming off their fourth loss of the season, this time to the Philadelphia Eagles on “Sunday Night Football.” This loss didn’t feel like the one to the Green Bay Packers or Minnesota Vikings, where the team looked awful all around; it felt more like the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the year. The defense did all it could as the offense sputtered, and it all came crashing down in the end.
Thankfully, the Lions have three straight home games, two of them against teams with a below .500 record. It starts with a chance for them to have another bounce-back performance, something that is becoming too common this season. The Lions host the New York Giants, who are a complete mess this season. Their roster has undergone numerous injuries, changes to starters, and even the coaching staff saw a shake-up.
Let me tell you all about the Giants in my Week 12 scouting report.
New York Giants
2025 season thus far (2-9)
Week 1: Lost to the Washington Commanders 21-6
Week 2: Lost to the Dallas Cowboys 40-37 (OT)
Week 3: Lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 22-9
Week 4: Defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 21-18
Week 5: Lost to the New Orleans Saints 26-14
Week 6: Defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 34-17
Week 7: Lost to the Denver Broncos 33-32
Week 8: Lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20
Week 9: Lost to the San Francisco 49ers 34-24
Week 10: Lost to the Chicago Bears 24-20
Week 11: Lost to the Green Bay Packers 27-20
Stats:
- 23rd in points scored, 29th in points allowed
- 24th in DVOA
- 22nd in offensive DVOA (21st in pass DVOA, 16th in run DVOA)
- 28th in defensive DVOA (20th pass DVOA, 32nd in run DVOA)
- 12th in special teams DVOA
The expectations for the Giants in 2025 were above average, signing quarterback Russell Wilson to be their starting quarterback, as well as drafting Jaxson Dart in the first round to prepare them for the future. Quickly, the season saw changes after a 0-3 start. Giants head coach Brian Daboll pulled the plug on Wilson and inserted Dart as the starter. Dart came in and gave the offense a pulse, winning two out of the next three games with an upset over the Eagles in Week 6.
Since then, the Giants haven’t been the same.
They are on a five-game losing streak, and a lot has happened. First, Dart has been evaluated for a concussion, including the preseason, four times so far this year. He’s been doing well when healthy, throwing for 1,417 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. He’s been damaging with his legs, too, rushing for 317 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and leading the team in rushing touchdowns with seven. With Dart missing the game last week, the Giants opted to go with third-stringer Jameis Winston as the starter, and he did fair until he threw an interception in the end zone that ended the game for New York.
While the passing game has seen three different starters, so has the running game. The Giants started with Tyrone Tracy Jr. early on in the season, but were taken over by rookie Cam Skattebo, who quickly became a big part of the offense. Skattebo leads the team in rushing with 410 yards, 4.1 yards per carry, and has five touchdowns, but his season was cut short as he suffered a gruesome leg injury in Week 8. Devin Singletary has gotten a start, but neither he nor Tracy has replicated the same kind of success Skattebo had.
The receiver room has also been struck with bad injury luck, as star wide receiver Malik Nabers tore his ACL back in September, ending his season. Currently, the leader on the team is Wan’Dale Robinson with 57 catches for 638 yards and two touchdowns. An emerging favorite target of any of the quarterbacks has been tight end Theo Johnson, who has 36 catches for 350 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.
Flipping to the defensive side, they’ve also had to deal with a rash of injuries, but they still have some bright spots despite that. EDGE Brian Burns continues to be a top pass rusher in the NFL, with 13 sacks, only two behind Cleveland Browns EDGE Myles Garrett for most sacks in the league, and he leads the team in forced fumbles with two. They also still have the other pass rushers in EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux and rookie linebacker Abdul Carter. While their numbers aren’t as eye-popping, they still have a defensive line that can get to opposing quarterbacks.
So, with changes at multiple positions and injuries riddling the team, it wasn’t a big enough excuse for the Giants front office as they fired Daboll before their Week 11 game. The Giants have had three straight 2-8 starts, and the front office had had enough of the failures that the 2022 NFL Head Coach of the Year kept producing. He was replaced by offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, and the team almost pulled off the upset over the Packers in Week 11 before failing on their final drive. With the Giants now 2-9 and a losing season confirmed again, they are hitting the reset button and appear to be preparing for 2026, when they can get their star players back from injury and with a new head coach to provide a better direction. For now, they have six more games to play to try some things out and see what works and what doesn’t.
Injury notes
Key players ruled out: RB Cam Skattebo (IR), OT Evan Neal (IR), WR Malik Nabers (IR), LB Darius Muasau (IR), LB Micah McFadden (IR), K Graham Gano (IR), LB Chris Board (IR)
Key players to monitor: CB Paulson Adebo (knee), DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (toe), S Tyler Nubin (neck), EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder), WR Darius Slayton (hamstring), EDGE Chauncey Golston (neck), QB Jaxon Dart (concussion)
As I mentioned earlier, the Giants are battling the injury bug heavily. Joining the IR list this past week was former first-round pick right tackle Evan Neal, who hasn’t played at all this year to begin with. He was dealing with a hamstring injury, and it appears to be a season-ending one. Kicker Graham Gano suffered a neck injury, so the team has signed Younghoe Koo for the time being. The team is also down three contributors in the linebacker core in Micah McFadden, Darius Muasau, and Chris Board.
Moving on to players who could play this week, the biggest one is Dart. Missing last week with the concussion, he will continue to be evaluated, and if he can’t go, expect Winston to get another start. The offense is dealing with another weapon being down in wide receiver Darius Slayton, who didn’t practice last week with a hamstring injury.
While the offense suffered a brunt of the injuries earlier this year, the defense is now taking its toll as defensive linemen Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Chauncey Golston, and Thibodeaux didn’t practice and missed the last game with their injuries. The defensive back room saw safety Tyler Nubin miss practice and the Packers game, while cornerback Paulson Adebo was limited in practice; he also missed the game. Since he was limited in practice, there’s a chance he returns this week.
Biggest strength: Run offense
One thing that the offense can hang its hat on is running the football. The Giants have the eighth most rushing yards (1,372), averaging 4.2 yards per carry, and have the third most rushing touchdowns in the league with 16. While Skattebo was a big part of the success with the running backs, Tracy Jr. is still a serviceable running back for this team. He has 336 yards on 83 carries, averaging four yards a carry, and a touchdown.
Singletary can step in if needed, getting 191 yards on 60 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per carry, and finding the end zone twice. Overall, the running game was heavily carried by Skattebo and Dart, and Dart could miss this week’s game, hurting the Giants’ biggest strength. According to PFF, the Giants have an 85.5 rushing grade, fourth-highest in the league.
That grade is carried by an 81 grade from Winston in his one start, as well as an 81 from Skattebo and 79.9 from Dart. Tracy has a 73.8, while Singletary has 67.4, a noticeable drop. When Dart is on the field, defenses have to worry about plays designed for him to run the ball or him scrambling out of the pocket to run up the field.
Biggest weakness: Run defense
This isn’t the weakness you want to have when facing the Lions. The Giants’ run defense is the worst in the NFL, and the numbers aren’t pretty. The Giants have allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL at 1,649 and the highest yards per carry allowed at 5.5.
Not only are the Giants struggling to stop the run, but they can’t stop runs from turning into explosive plays. They are tied with the Miami Dolphins for the most 20+ rushing yard plays allowed at 12, and are tied for fourth in 40+ rushing yard plays allowed with three. While the Giants’ defensive line can generate pressure and hold up in the passing game, their running game could use a lot of help.
Key matchup: Lions’ offensive line vs. Giants’ defensive line
After getting pushed around by the Eagles last week, the Lions’ offensive line is the biggest group to pay attention to this week. Facing off an elite EDGE rusher in Burns isn’t a fun time, and with both Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell dealing with injuries, it’ll make slowing him down more difficult. While the Giants don’t have much production stat-wise behind Burns, they have the talent if they can stay healthy, as they have the 12th-ranked pass rush according to PFF.
The Lions’ offense is very dependent on the performance of the five men up front. If they can’t give quarterback Jared Goff time to throw or rushing lanes for the running backs, you have seen what the offense looks like in the end. If the Lions can overcome Burns and company, this game shouldn’t be close.
The Giants’ defense outside of the front four is playing poorly and isn’t healthy either. The Lions have a big advantage with their skill players compared to the back seven of New York. If the Giants’ front four can get to Goff, though, this could be an upset. This team has beaten the Eagles earlier in the year, something Detroit couldn’t do the week before.
Vegas line for Sunday: Lions favored by 10.5
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