Not much goes right anywhere for Giants in ugly loss to Lions
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is sacked by Lions linebacker Austin Bryant during the second half of an NFL game on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP/John Munson
The Giants’ dream season was interrupted on Sunday by a nightmarish wake-up call — a 31-18 loss to the Lions at MetLife Stadium that was made even worse by a series of injuries to key players.
“Nothing was good enough,” coach Brian Daboll said after his team fell to 7-3 in advance of a visit to the Cowboys on Thursday. “I’d say nothing was up to standard.”
The list of substandard play was long on a blustery afternoon in the Meadowlands.
Daniel Jones threw two interceptions. Saquon Barkley rushed 15 times for 22 yards. The Lions ran for 160 yards, including three rushing touchdowns by Jamaal Williams.
Detroit entered the game with the worst defense in the NFL statistically and with a 3-6 record, but the Lions have won three in a row under former Giants tight end Dan Campbell.
Given how well they have played this season, the Giants mostly were able to stay philosophical about the loss — particularly with another big game coming up so soon.
“Sometimes you’re going to get got,” defensive end Jihad Ward said of life in the NFL.
Said Barkley, “At the end of the day, it’s the NFL. Every team is a great team. They came out here and played great.
“We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to waver at all. That’s for you [reporters] to go out there and say what you want to say about us.”
But the injuries sustained on Sunday could complicate things.
The Giants lost both starting cornerbacks (Adoree’ Jackson and Fabian Moreau), two offensive linemen (Tyre Phillips and Jon Feliciano) and receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who left after securing nine catches for 100 yards.
Jones rushed seven times for 50 yards — more than half the Giants’ rushing total — and was 27-for-44 passing for 341 yards and a touchdown. But the two picks ruined his day.
He had not thrown an interception since Sept. 26.
“If you have three turnovers and the other team has zero, you’re probably going to lose every game,” Daboll said.
The Giants took a 6-3 lead with 2:41 left in the first quarter on a 3-yard run by Jones. (Graham Gano’s extra-point try was partially blocked and sailed wide right.)
Then, midway through the second quarter, the Lions made the biggest play of the game.
Jones tried to find Darius Slayton but was intercepted by the Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson, who returned the ball to the Giants’ 18-yard line.
Hutchinson, a defensive end who was the second overall pick in the 2022 draft, had dropped into coverage on the play.
“He caught me by surprise,” Slayton said. “I saw the linebackers vacate, probably as DJ did, and thought it was wide open, but he jumped back and made a great play.
“That’s not easy to do for a defensive end, to reach up and grab it like that. So kudos to him.”
Said Jones, “Yeah, didn’t see him there. [I’ve] got to see it, bad decision there. Good play by him. Can’t afford to do that.”
Williams made the Giants pay with a 4-yard scoring run, giving the Lions a 10-6 lead 4:38 before halftime.
The Lions soon were marching down the field again, taking advantage of a short punt by Jamie Gillan. Williams ran it in from the 1-yard line, and it was 17-6 with 54 seconds left in the second quarter.
Williams again ran it in from the 1-yard line for his third touchdown with 10:10 left in the third, and it was 24-6.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff later called Williams “automatic” in the red zone.
“It makes me all bubbly [to hear that],” Williams said. “It makes me want to get him a little steak dinner. It’s just great.”
Matt Breida’s 3-yard touchdown run with 13:21 left in the final quarter got the Giants within 24-12, after which Gano hit the right upright on the extra-point try.
But the Lions never seemed to be in real danger. They added a field goal after recovering a fumble by the Giants’ Isaiah Hodgins.
Jones found Richie James for a 9-yard scoring pass that was far too little and far too late.
With the Eagles improving to 9-1 on Sunday, the Giants fell two games behind in the NFC East race — tied with the Cowboys — and now face four consecutive divisional games.
Things are about to get more serious than ever for one of the NFL’s surprise teams.
“The good thing about it being a short week is you don’t have a lot of time to dwell on this,” Slayton said.
Said safety Julian Love, “This is a crucial stretch, not only because we’re playing division games, but this is when football is important in general.”
On Thursday afternoon, the Giants will have a chance on national television to show America — and more importantly themselves — that those first nine games were the real thing and that Sunday was a mere detour to the snooze button.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
