The Detroit Lions (7-4) needed overtime to get a win over the New York Giants (2-10), but wins are hard to come by in the NFL, and so it’s important not to dismiss this win too quickly.
On the surface, a win over a team with the Giants’ record would be easily dismissed in the media. But the Giants are a team playing with nothing to lose, and they have a lot of close calls on their resume. They have close losses to the Lions, Broncos (9-2), Bears (8-3), and Packers (7-3-1), and their two wins have come over the Eagles (8-3) and Chargers (7-4).
In this week’s National Power Rankings, we see some writers acknowledge the win for what it is, while others can’t get past the box score. Let’s take a look at how things shook out in this week’s power rankings.
The Ringer: 6 (Previous rank: 7)
Somewhere in Detroit, Jahmyr Gibbs is still running untouched.
I’m choosing to ignore how easily the Giants moved the ball on Detroit’s defense—especially considering how much credit I gave Detroit’s defensive coordinator, Kelvin Sheppard, earlier this season. Instead, I’m going to spend my time watching highlights from Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs’s 264-yard and three-touchdown performance. He did all of that on 26 total touches.
Gibbs’s speed is uncanny and game-breaking, and he holds three of the top five mile-per-hour marks this season, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The way he scored the go-ahead touchdown in overtime on Sunday illustrates why we can never count Detroit out, even though this season hasn’t been as smooth as head coach Dan Campbell would’ve liked.
Sports Illustrated: 6 (Previous rank: 8)
The Lions were briefly trapped in the Jameis Winston vortex, a kind of siren song that has chewed up and spat out strong teams. But true to their character, the team managed to survive and nab the all-too-predictable gutting interception that Winston was going to inevitably lay up. Detroit’s offense takes almost no deep shots despite having a troika of excellent deep ball wide receivers. I think there is still another evolution to this team in 2025.
Yahoo Sports: 8 (Previous rank: 7)
Seeing the defense get torched by Jameis Winston at home wasn’t encouraging. Jahmyr Gibbs saved the Lions from what would have been a terrible loss. It’s getting harder to buy the inconsistent Lions as a title contender. Thursday’s game against the Packers will be telling.
NFL.com: 8 (Previous rank: 8)
The Lions needed a twisting 59-yard field goal from Jake Bates and a 69-yard OT touchdown from Jahmyr Gibbs to survive against the Giants, and it felt more like relief than jubilation at game’s end. Everything has seemingly become more difficult for Detroit, even things we used to take for granted, like Jared Goff’s pass protection and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s ability to catch everything thrown his way. Now that those are no longer givens, it becomes tougher to beat even routine opponents when the defense can’t prevent big plays. This has been a gauntlet of a schedule, so the Lions are allowed a tough game here and there, and they remain strong contenders for both the playoffs and a third straight division title. Still, it’s hard not to be a little antsy about their chances with so many more tough games remaining and some issues seemingly not going away.
The Athletic: 8 (Previous rank: 8)
One big question: Is the offense fixed?
Thursday’s Thanksgiving game should be a ton of fun with this high-powered Lions offense against a good Packers defense. After a dud against the Eagles in Week 11, Jahmyr Gibbs carried the offense, running for 219 yards and two touchdowns and adding another 45 yards and a touchdown through the air.
ESPN: 8 (Previous rank: 8)
From ESPN Staff, excerpt from Eric Woodyard:
Thanksgiving game memory: Lions top Bears 23-20 in 2024
After three straight Thanksgiving losses as coach of the Lions, Dan Campbell finally ended the team’s seven-year holiday drought last season. With the win, the 11-1 Lions also got off to their best start in franchise history. For quarterback Jared Goff, it was a “bucket list” moment, as he enjoyed a turkey leg following 221 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Goff was joined by teammates David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, DJ Reader and Al-Quadin Muhammad in great spirits.
CBS Sports: 8 (Previous rank: 10)
They rallied to beat the Giants at home, but the close game is not a good look against a bad team. They have to be better this week against the Packers.
USA Today: 9 (Previous rank: 10)
RB Jahmyr Gibbs has certainly benefited from Dan Campbell’s play selection − now averaging more than 20 touches, 194 yards from scrimmage and two TDs per game over the past three weeks.
Sporting News: 10 (Previous rank: 10)
The Lions’ defense broke down vs. Jameis Winston and the Giants. They were fortunate that Jahmyr Gibbs was even bigger nightmare for the Giants’ defense for almost five quarters. They needed that rebound with the Packers at home next on a short week.
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