The New York Giants look to continue their winning ways this Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Lions started the season slowly, but have begun to show signs of life the last two weeks with wins over the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
The Giants are in the thick of a postseason run, and there are six keys to getting the win on Sunday to keep those hopes alive.
Stop the big play
The Lions’ offensive bread and butter is Jared Goff finding Amon-Ra St. Brown down the field. St. Brown averages over 10 yards per reception, his longest being 49 yards, and 15 of the Lions’ 26 touchdowns are through the air.
While the Lions accomplish a lot through the air, the Giants also can’t forget about Jamaal Williams, who has nine rushing touchdowns and 604 yards on the ground this season.
The focus needs to be getting the secondary ready for the passes that will come on Sunday.
Controlling the clock is imperative
It’s not a secret that poor clock management can cost you the game. There are a few head coaches out there who are known to mismanage timeouts and struggle to win because of it.
It’s not just about timeouts, though; it’s about making sure the team takes advantage of when they have the ball.
Running effective plays, getting out of bounds, throwing the ball away if necessary, using time outs appropriately, and making sure the Lions’ time of possession is less than the Giants’ are all major factors in who wins this game.
No more drops
Kenny Golladay and Sterling Shepard are responsible for 62.5% of the team’s drops. Two players. Two players who are talented enough to catch the ball when it’s thrown to them; two players who have been in the league for long enough to know they can’t afford to drop the ball.
Shepard, of course, is out with a torn ACL. Golladay is expected to play despite a hamstring injury.
Wan’Dale Robinson’s drops bring the amount to 70% but given that he’s a rookie, we’ll cut him a little slack. For now.
The offense cannot rely entirely on Saquon Barkley, especially with injuries taking their toll. Receivers have to step up and hang on to the ball when it’s thrown their way.
Run, run, run
The Lions have the third-worst rush defense in the NFL. They allow over 5.0 yards per carry and over 160 rushing yards per game. Whether it’s Barkley, Daniel Jones or someone else, the ground game will play a major factor in the Giants’ ability to win on Sunday.
Get to Goff
This is going to be a tough task for an injury-riddled defense against a Lions offensive line that has largely protected Jared Goff this season.
Of the 94 times Goff has been blitzed and the 21 times he’s been hurried this season, he’s been sacked 15 times, hit 25 times, and scrambled 10 times.
It’s not something he’s used to and getting that kind of pressure on him will force him to make mistakes.
Keep a spy on St. Brown, Williams
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jamaal Williams are the Lions’ top offensive producers.
The Giants won’t stop them completely (because that’s impossible for any team) but putting a spy on one or the other will go a long way toward containing their production. Keeping those two in check and limiting their production will help with clock management by getting the Lions off the field.
