New faces, same result for the New York Giants in Week 1. Coming off a disappointing campaign in 2013, Big Blue opened their new season with a 35-14 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions on the road. They trailed for the entire game, and put together a lackluster, pitiful performance that gives fans and pundits alike a negative vibe about the upcoming season. Here’s how it all went down at Ford Field.
The Lions began with the ball, and with a bang. On third down of the opening series, Matt Stafford was pressured heavily by the Giants pass rush. He was able to outmaneuver Damontre Moore, and launch a 67 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson Jr., who was absolutely wide open. Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie collided while covering the Lions superstar, and Johnson took full advantage. The Giants started ignominiously on offense, going three and out. Quarterback Eli Manning was nearly intercepted on his third throw of the game, a misplaced slant to Jerrel Jernigan.
On the next drive, Stafford drove the ball down the field again, scrambling and finding Johnson-yet again- in the end zone for a 16 yard touchdown, to put the Lions up 14-0. It took the Giants another series to respond, when Manning manufactured an impressive 13 play drive that resulted in a 1 yard touchdown pass to Larry Donnell on 4th and goal. The end of the drive was infuriating from a Giants standpoint- two end zone fades on the first two plays, both unsuccessful. If Donnell hadn’t caught the touchdown pass, fans would be calling for offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s head already. The half ended with the score at 14-7 Detroit– a manageable situation for Manning, who has become known for his ability to lead 4th quarter comebacks.
The Giants fell behind 20-7 in the third quarter, following a couple of field goals, and then it started to get ugly. Manning was picked off by Glover Quin, and the Lions capitalized off the turnover, as Stafford punched the ball into the end zone from 5 yards out. The Giants responded with another long drive, this one 14 plays, and use proper red zone play calling, as Rashad Jennings scored his first Giants touchdown from a yard out. That gave the Giants hope, with nearly 12 minutes left, if they could get a stop on defense, but they simply couldn’t hold up. Stafford marched the Lions right down the field, and Joique Bell scored his first touchdown of the season to finish the Giants off. Detroit converted a two-point try to make it 35-14.
It was a disappointing game for the Giants on both sides of the ball. The defense played rather well against the run, giving up only 76 yards on the ground, but surrendered 346 in the air, along with two touchdowns. They were outmatched by Johnson, which isn’t shameful by any means, but were also hurt by Golden Tate and Reggie Bush, who each had six catches. Offensively, Manning looked out of sync. He threw two interceptions to just one touchdown, a poor ratio, yet one Giants fans are used to at this point.
The most infuriating pick was when Manning threw a seam route to Larry Donnell, who wasn’t aware that the ball was coming his way. He only turned when the ball caromed off his foot, and by then, it was in the hands of DeAndre Levy. Manning was only sacked twice, but was under constant pressure up the middle all night. Rashad Jennings couldn’t get going on the ground, only mustering 2.9 yards per carry. The Giants two go-to wide receivers, Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle, played pretty poorly as well. Cruz had only 2 catches for 24 yards, while Randle had 2 catches for 1 yard.
STUD OF THE GAME – Calvin Johnson Jr. The Lions superstar wide receiver is the leagues best, and he proved it with a dominant showing Monday night. He was actually penalized on the games second play, and had a 24 yard gain negated, but that didn’t deter his confidence whatsoever. He had 7 catches for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. From a Giants recap, Stevie Brown was strong in his first game back from knee surgery, recording 9 tackles, the highest amount on the Giants and the second highest total.
DUD OF THE GAME – Randle and Cruz. If Manning is going to rebound this year, he’ll need support from his two favorite targets. Randle and Cruz combined for 4 catches and 25 yards. Third string tight end Joseph Fauria of the Lions had 26 yards receiving, which was one more than Cruz and Randle combined. If not for Donnell and Jernigan’s surprise production, it could have been a lot worse for Eli.
LOOKING AHEAD – The road doesn’t get any easier for the Giants, who host the Arizona Cardinals in their home opener next Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time. The Cardinals are coming off a slim 18-17 victory over San Diego, a 2013 playoff team. The Cardinals went 10-6 a year ago, under new head coach Bruce Arians, and are clearly a better football team. They have a stout defense, an improved offense, and Larry Fitzgerald, who is just a notch under Calvin Johnson. The Giants will be hard-pressed to exit the Meadowlands with a win next weekend.
New York Sports Hub 