Last Sunday, the New York Giants locker room contingent might have spoken publicly about feeling a new sense of energy in the building after the franchise made a not-so-shocking midseason coaching change from Brian Daboll to Mike Kafka, who is serving as the interim.
On the playing field, however, the sudden shift in power to the team’s offensive coordinator only positively impacted part of the story of their 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11 that extended their losing streak to five games and dropped their home record to 2-3 at MetLife Stadium.
With the Giants sitting at 2-9 overall and with no real chance of contending for the postseason for the eighth season in the last decade, some want New York to tank the rest of the way to ensure they receive the highest possible draft slot.
That is not the same concern for most members of the Giants organization, who face the Detroit Lions.
The Lions enter Week 12 with a 6-4 record, sitting eighth in the NFC and among a slew of teams battling for positioning in the future conference playoff picture.
For a second straight week, that makes a duel with the Giants an important game to take, and it’ll be on Detroit’s home soil of Ford Field, where they have won three of four contests this fall.
It’s also where the Lions have built up one of the highest-performing offenses in the league, ranking third with a +76 point differential in ten games. They boast a unit that can move the football with ease against inferior defenses and create some damage in both phases of the sport.
The Giants’ defense has seen one of its weakest links in its deep secondary coverage. That group will have to dig deep to keep up with a Lions’ huddle that averages a ninth-best 238.6 yards per game in the air and has punched in 22 of their 35 total touchdowns, which ranks among the top five offenses in the NFL this season.
Forcing them over to the rushing game is no easier task for a Giants team that has been hanging around the basement in major run metrics, including 30th in yards allowed and dead last in average yards per carry.
The Lions are led by a two-man backfield of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who have combined for over 1,200 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and flash the intangibles of power and speed that have not mixed well with the Giants’ tackling woes that have been on display in some of their lopsided losses.
Even on the defensive end, the Lions don’t make it easy for anybody to move the football on them, and the Giants will need every yard they can muster up to stick around in this matchup with a high-powered offensive machine on the other side.
Detroit is top-10 in opponent average drive metrics this fall and opponent points scored when they can win the late downs early and get the offense off the field quickly.
They have not boasted the most efficient pressure rate as a team, but have four capable pass rushers, such as Aidan Hutchinson (7.5), who have at least four sacks and can get home to the quarterback on any given Sunday.
The one positive that could help increase the Giants’ chances in this matchup is the potential return of Dart from his brief stint on the concussion protocol.
Dart, who left with an injury in the middle of the Week 10 loss to Chicago, has been progressing through the protocol, but did not receive final clearance to return for Sunday's game.
The Lions’ record might seem modest at this point, but they are always a hungry team that can light up opponents. They’re going to look to pick up the scraps on a struggling New York squad while the Giants are still chasing their first road win of the year.
This week’s contest marks the 48th all-time meeting between the two teams, dating back to the 1930 season before the Lions even moved to the Detroit market.
That includes one postseason faceoff, but it was before the Super Bowl era, when the Giants and Lions met in the 1935 NFL Championship Game and New York left victorious, 14-7.
Looking at the all-time series, Detroit carries a 25-21-1 advantage into Sunday’s matchup and has taken four of the last five games, with the lone exception being the Giants’ 17-6 win in the 2016 season.
The last meeting happened in 2022 when the Lions marched to East Rutherford and dominated the Giants, 31-18, to take their third straight victory over the franchise.
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