Our final game of Week Two should be a solid Monday Night Football telecast. Matthew Stafford brings his comeback magic and the Detroit Lions (1-0) east to face the New York Giants (0-1) at MetLife Stadium. The game is on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. and I’ll be live blogging it right here at Get More Sports.
The Game: Detroit Lions at New York Giants (-3)
The History
The rivalry between the Lions and Giants dates all the way back to 1930, but once the NFL expanded in the 1950s, they didn’t meet up every year. Because of that, they’ve only played 44 games total in 87 years with Detroit holding the edge at 22-21-1.
The two teams have met just one time in the playoffs, back on December, 14, 1935. The Lions won that game 26-7.
The longest Detroit win streak got to five games from October, 1964 to November, 1974. The Giants won four in a row from October, 1988 to November, 1990.
The Giants have won four of their last five contests with the Lions, including a 17-6 victory at MetLife last season.
DETROIT LIONS (1-0)
Last season Matthew Stafford led the Lions to eight come from behind victories. For a team that won seven games, that’s a pretty significant stat. A week ago against the Arizona Cardinals he basically picked up where he left off, dragging the Lions across the goal line with 20 points in the fourth quarter. He finished 29 of 41 for 292 yards, four touchdowns and a pick and shut everybody up that was complaining about his new, monster contract.
Regardless of Stafford’s heroics, there’s plenty to be concerned about with this Detroit offense. They couldn’t run the ball at all against the Cardinals and the Giants have a much better defensive front. Ameer Abdullah averaged all of two yards per carry, which basically means he got the ball and just fell down.
The hero of the game was rookie wideout Kenny Golladay who proved his epic preseason wasn’t a fluke with four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Expect to see him more involved in Monday night’s game.
Defensively, Detroit picked Carson Palmer off three times, but that’s what Carson Palmer does. Will Eli Manning be as generous? Not unless the Lions put up a significantly improved pass rush.
NEW YORK GIANTS (0-1)
To say the Giants looked like shit last week is an insult to shit. Shit serves a purpose in nature, it helps enrich the soil and for many scavenging animals and types of bacteria, it’s a cheap source of sustenance. No, New York was worse than shit last Sunday night.
But, look, the NFL scheduling gurus have tossed the Giants a bone with another prime time game and an extra day to prepare for it. Did it do any good for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.? He’s still listed as questionable for the game, but I think he plays. How effective he’ll be is another matter. Hell, here’s an idea. What if Brandon Marshall caught an effing pass?
New York’s defense was pushed around last week by the Dallas Cowboys, but the Lions don’t have that kind of offensive line and definitely have nothing near Dallas’ run game. They need some serious pressure from Jason Pierre-Paul and Olivier Vernon to disrupt Stafford and Janoris Jenkins will likely have to move around and, really, I’d think about putting him on Golladay whenever that kid is on the field.
The Pick
I can already see the text from E.J. when this one blows up in my face, but I see a bounce back game for the Giants defense under the lights at home. This would be an excellent game to get the run game going for New York and if Paul Perkins can’t do it, I wouldn’t be afraid to let Wayne Gallman take over. I’m the only person on the site who likes Eli Manning and I think he’ll do some solid work tonight. Giants 27, Lions 24
This week
Straight up: 11-4
Against the spread: 8-7
Season
Straight up: 21-9
Against the spread: 16-14
To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.
