EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn put it best earlier in the week, calling belief a powerful drug.
After a dreadful start to the season, the Lions' surging confidence was evident Sunday at MetLife Stadium as they dismantled the New York Giants, 31-18, earning a third consecutive win for the first time in five years, to go with back-to-back victories on the road after snapping a 13-game winless streak away from Ford Field a week earlier.
In blustery conditions, the Lions rode a wave of three consecutive touchdown drives between the second and third quarters. Defensively, the Lions shut down running back Saquon Barkley, who entered the day as the NFL's leading rusher. Swarmed every time he touched the ball, he finished with a season-low 22 yards on 15 carries.
The Lions defense came to play from the start, forcing the Giants into a three-and-out on the game's opening possession. Defensive end John Cominsky, making his first start of the season, dropped Barkley for a loss on the opening play, while Alim McNeill came up with a sack on third down, his first of the season, to force a punt.
Aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty when Giants linebacker OShane Ximines struck quarterback Jared Goff on the head on third down, the Lions were able to put points on the board on the ensuing series. After working into the red zone, the Giants defense held, forcing the Lions to settle for a 24-yard Michael Badgley field goal.
New York was able to grab the lead with their next possession, driving 75 yards on 11 plays into the end zone. A fourth-down conversion on a jet sweep and a 16-yard pass from Daniel Jones to running back Matt Breida on third down kept the drive afloat. Jones put a bow on it with a 4-yard run around the right edge of his formation. A missed extra point, after Cominsky got a hand on it, held the Giants' lead at three.
The teams traded punts into the second quarter when rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson dropped into coverage and into Jones' passing lane, leading to a leaping interception he returned 19 yards to the Giants' 18-yard line. Two plays later, running back Jamaal Williams punched it in from 4 yards out for the first of his three touchdowns on the day.
After forcing the Giants into another punt, the Lions extended their lead to 11 at the half with a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 32-yard gain out of play-action into Giants territory. A 14-yard catch by St. Brown in the red zone helped negate an earlier block in the back penalty, and Goff found tight end Brock Wright for a third-down conversion down to the 1-yard line. That left Williams to deliver the finishing blow, extending the ball across the goal line for his second touchdown with under a minute remaining in the second quarter.
The Lions managed to keep the foot on the gas coming out of the locker room with a third consecutive touchdown drive. Utilizing a balanced attack after a good kickoff return by Justin Jackson, it was Williams finding the end zone once again, punching it in from a yard out to put the Lions up 24-6 early in the third quarter.
The touchdown was Williams 12th on the ground this season, the most since Barry Sanders set the franchise record with 16 in 1991. Only Sanders (three times) and Billy Sims (twice) have rushed for more than 12 touchdowns in a season in team history.
Attempting to stop the bleeding, the Giants worked into Lions territory, but found themselves facing fourth-and-five from Detroit's 40. Looking to push the ball downfield, Jones overthrew his intended target and was intercepted by safety Kerby Joseph.
That was the third interception of the season for Joseph and marked the first time Jones has been intercepted twice in a game since Week 11 last season. He came into the day with a league-low two interceptions, having not thrown one for six games. At the time of Hutchinson's pick in the second quarter, Jones' streak of 153 consecutive passes without an interception was the longest in the NFL.
The teams played the field position game through the remainder of the third quarter, with each team pinning the other inside the 10-yard line with punts, but Detroit’s three-score advantage held heading into the final frame.
The Giants managed to cut into the lead early in the fourth, a continuation of a drive that started the previous quarter and Jones extended with a zone-read keeper to convert a fourth down. The dual-threat quarterback used his arm and feet to gain another 40 yards on the first four plays of the fourth quarter, setting up Breida for a 3-yard touchdown run on first-and-goal. Another missed extra point left the Giants down 12 with 13:21 remaining.
Detroit proved unable to counter the score, but managed to milk nearly five minutes off the clock with a drive that reached Giants territory before ending in a punt.
Four plays into the possession, Detroit's defense came up with its third takeaway of the afternoon. After receiver Isaiah Hodgins caught a short pass across the middle, slot cornerback Will Harris delivered a hit that jarred the ball loose and Hutchinson was able to secure the fumble, giving the offense the ball back at New York's 33-yard line.
Keeping the ball on the ground, the Lions quickly capitalized on the Giants' miscue. Jackson broke a tackle, bouncing outside for a 27-yard gain and teammate D'Andre Swift capped the short drive with a 4-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 31-12.
With time working against them, the Giants needed only 1:50 to respond with a touchdown. Jones completed five-of-six during the series for 70 yards, finding receiver Darius Slayton from 9 yards out for the score. A two-point try failed, as did an ensuing onside kick, giving the Lions a short field with a 30-18 lead.
With the win, the Lions move to 4-6 on the season and into second place of the NFC North. The Giants, losing for just the second time in seven games, fell to 7-3 on the year. The Lions return home to face the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving.
