All the great things the Giants crammed into their surprising and resurgent season didn’t make it to the sphere Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Perhaps the primary cold burst of impending winter blew all of it away.
Or, perhaps, the Giants were resulting from have a stinker.
They completed little on offense, as Saquon Barkley was stuffed, repeatedly, forcing Daniel Jones to fling it within the wind. Jones went six consecutive games without throwing an interception but that streak got here to a crashing end. On defense, that they had to soak up the lack of Adoree’ Jackson, their best cornerback, who went down with a knee injury while returning a punt. The special teams’ units were shaky.
All of it combined to supply the worst performance of the season by the Giants under Brian Daboll, their first-year head coach. They led, briefly, within the second quarter but couldn’t sustain quality play on their side of the ball in a dreadful 31-18 loss to the Lions that inflicted a heavy physical toll.
Along with Jackson, the Giants lost 4 other starting players to injury: Right tackle Tyre Phillips (neck), center Jon Feliciano (neck), wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) and cornerback Fabian Moreau (ribs). This doesn’t bode well for what comes next, because the Giants have a brief turnaround this week before facing the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, on Thanksgiving Day.
At 7-3, the Giants haven’t lost back-to-back games all season, but they will probably be undermanned going right into a key NFC East matchup.
Barkley got here into the sport because the NFL’s leading rusher and the Lions were the league’s Thirty first-ranked rushing defense. Form didn’t hold, as Barkley was completely shut down, carrying the ball 15 times to achieve only 22 yards. His longest run of the day was 4 yards. Jones threw two interceptions and receiver Isaiah Hodgins lost a fumble. For a team with little margin for error, the three turnovers gave the Giants no probability.
This was ugly. The Giants were down 17-6 at halftime and 24-6 after three quarters. The Lions (4-6) won their third straight game. Jamaal Williams ran for 3 touchdowns.
A sack ended a fast three-and-out on the Giants’ first offensive possession and it was immediately clear the Lions were selling out to contain Barkley. There was a fast adjustment and the second series looked significantly better. Jones went 4 for 4 for 58 yards, rolling out of the pocket to create passing lanes, before easing into the tip zone from three yards out to present the Giants a 6-3 lead, with Graham Gano’s extra point deflected wide right.
The Giants needed to take care of a major in-game loss, as Jackson hurt his knee returning a punt for 3 yards early within the second quarter. Jackson was quickly ruled out. The defense forced a three-and-out without Jackson on the sphere and the Lions were struggling to seek out a rhythm on offense. That’s when the Giants made the critical error they’ve mostly been in a position to avoid.
Jones’ highest quality this season has been his ball security and the tip of his interception-less streak got here at a rough time. He got the streak as much as 153 consecutive passes, probably the most within the NFL this season, but he did not see rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson dropping in coverage. Jones searched for Darius Slayton over the center but as a substitute found Hutchinson, who reached as much as secure the ball and returned it 19 yards to the Giants’ 18-yard line. Three plays later, Williams scored from three yards out and it was 10-6.
A poorly-hit punt by Jamie Gillan floated only 25 yards to set the Lions up on their 32-yard line and a Goff 32-yard completion to wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown put the Lions on the move. Williams notched his second rushing touchdown and the Giants were down 17-6. After a poorly-run offensive series with 44 seconds left, Jones was sacked on the ultimate play and the Giants left the sphere at halftime to a chorus of boos.
With Barkley limited to only 18 yards on 10 rushing attempts, the Giants threw it more often than they ran it in the primary half, generating yards but few points.
It never got any higher within the second half. The Lions took the opening kickoff of the quarter and had no trouble moving 56 yards on nine plays against a depleted Giants defensive backfield that had Rodarius Williams and Cor’Dale Flott in at cornerback. Williams’ third rushing touchdown put the Giants in a 24-6 hole early within the third quarter.
Jones’ second interception was an overthrow to tight end Lawrence Cager that was picked off by safety Kerby Joseph. Jones finished 27 of 44 for 341 yards.
All the great things the Giants crammed into their surprising and resurgent season didn’t make it to the sphere Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Perhaps the primary cold burst of impending winter blew all of it away.
Or, perhaps, the Giants were resulting from have a stinker.
They completed little on offense, as Saquon Barkley was stuffed, repeatedly, forcing Daniel Jones to fling it within the wind. Jones went six consecutive games without throwing an interception but that streak got here to a crashing end. On defense, that they had to soak up the lack of Adoree’ Jackson, their best cornerback, who went down with a knee injury while returning a punt. The special teams’ units were shaky.
All of it combined to supply the worst performance of the season by the Giants under Brian Daboll, their first-year head coach. They led, briefly, within the second quarter but couldn’t sustain quality play on their side of the ball in a dreadful 31-18 loss to the Lions that inflicted a heavy physical toll.
Along with Jackson, the Giants lost 4 other starting players to injury: Right tackle Tyre Phillips (neck), center Jon Feliciano (neck), wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (knee) and cornerback Fabian Moreau (ribs). This doesn’t bode well for what comes next, because the Giants have a brief turnaround this week before facing the Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, on Thanksgiving Day.
At 7-3, the Giants haven’t lost back-to-back games all season, but they will probably be undermanned going right into a key NFC East matchup.
Barkley got here into the sport because the NFL’s leading rusher and the Lions were the league’s Thirty first-ranked rushing defense. Form didn’t hold, as Barkley was completely shut down, carrying the ball 15 times to achieve only 22 yards. His longest run of the day was 4 yards. Jones threw two interceptions and receiver Isaiah Hodgins lost a fumble. For a team with little margin for error, the three turnovers gave the Giants no probability.
This was ugly. The Giants were down 17-6 at halftime and 24-6 after three quarters. The Lions (4-6) won their third straight game. Jamaal Williams ran for 3 touchdowns.
A sack ended a fast three-and-out on the Giants’ first offensive possession and it was immediately clear the Lions were selling out to contain Barkley. There was a fast adjustment and the second series looked significantly better. Jones went 4 for 4 for 58 yards, rolling out of the pocket to create passing lanes, before easing into the tip zone from three yards out to present the Giants a 6-3 lead, with Graham Gano’s extra point deflected wide right.
The Giants needed to take care of a major in-game loss, as Jackson hurt his knee returning a punt for 3 yards early within the second quarter. Jackson was quickly ruled out. The defense forced a three-and-out without Jackson on the sphere and the Lions were struggling to seek out a rhythm on offense. That’s when the Giants made the critical error they’ve mostly been in a position to avoid.
Jones’ highest quality this season has been his ball security and the tip of his interception-less streak got here at a rough time. He got the streak as much as 153 consecutive passes, probably the most within the NFL this season, but he did not see rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson dropping in coverage. Jones searched for Darius Slayton over the center but as a substitute found Hutchinson, who reached as much as secure the ball and returned it 19 yards to the Giants’ 18-yard line. Three plays later, Williams scored from three yards out and it was 10-6.
A poorly-hit punt by Jamie Gillan floated only 25 yards to set the Lions up on their 32-yard line and a Goff 32-yard completion to wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown put the Lions on the move. Williams notched his second rushing touchdown and the Giants were down 17-6. After a poorly-run offensive series with 44 seconds left, Jones was sacked on the ultimate play and the Giants left the sphere at halftime to a chorus of boos.
With Barkley limited to only 18 yards on 10 rushing attempts, the Giants threw it more often than they ran it in the primary half, generating yards but few points.
It never got any higher within the second half. The Lions took the opening kickoff of the quarter and had no trouble moving 56 yards on nine plays against a depleted Giants defensive backfield that had Rodarius Williams and Cor’Dale Flott in at cornerback. Williams’ third rushing touchdown put the Giants in a 24-6 hole early within the third quarter.
Jones’ second interception was an overthrow to tight end Lawrence Cager that was picked off by safety Kerby Joseph. Jones finished 27 of 44 for 341 yards.
