Detroit Lions predictions 2017: Week 2 at New York Giants
By Zac Snyder
The Detroit Jock City writers make their predictions for the Detroit Lions’ week two game at the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
Each week, the Detroit Jock City staff will make their picks for that week’s Lions game, with a quick take on the matchup and a final score. It was a mixed bag for the staff with five correctly picking a Lions win while four doubters start the prediction season with a loss.
Here is what the Detroit Jock City writers see for the game ahead.
Zack Caldwell (1-0) – After watching both teams in week one, everything in me is saying the Lions will win this game. The Giants offense looked extremely loss on Sunday night and despite a slow start in the first half, the Lions dominated the Cardinals. Without Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants are not scary. They become bad offensively and put their defense in tough spots. But the Giants defense is legit. I don’t believe Detroit will run the ball well and I am nervous they will shut down Marvin Jones Jr and prevent big plays. My head actually says Detroit but my heart is not in agreement. It will be an ugly game and I’m going with the Giants in a close one. Giants 17, Lions 13
Matt Snyder (0-1) – Benjamin Franklin once posited that “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” The Detroit Lions showed growth and progress in their week one win over the Arizona Cardinals. They showed growth in not folding when a few early mistakes and mishaps staked the visiting side to a 10-0 lead. They showed progress on the defensive side of the ball by stuffing the Cardinals’ running game and disrupting their passing attack. This needs to be a week-by-week effort for the Detroit Lions if organizational improvement is going to be achieved this season. They did it at home in week one. Will they be able to carry that out on the road in week two? Perhaps not. Giants 21, Lions 17
Bruce Walker (1-0) – The Lions overcame glaring special teams errors to take care of business at home against the Arizona Cardinals last week. In years past, those mistakes would have haunted them and left them feeling almost good enough to win. Well, Matthew Stafford’s 26th fourth quarter comeback win (https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/comebacks_career.htm) convincingly lets us know that this is no longer the Lions team of old. Detroit has impressed on defense ( bit.ly/lionsdef ) and on offense. Now, if they can just get that special teams thing figured out! On the road in New York, Detroit will score fewer points than last week but hold the Giants under 15. Final score: Lions 23, Giants 13
Ash Thompson (0-1) – A lot has been made of the Lions success against the Cardinals. While it can not be ignored, it was largely on the backs of some very bad play by a quarterback that looked like they probably should have retired in the off-season. I think the defense is going to do well again. The Giants and Cardinals share a lot of traits. They have offenses that use a single player as the primary driver. They both have old quarterbacks with a history of not dealing with pressure up the middle well. They both have horrendous offensive lines. Odell Beckham junior’s status is the key to the game in my opinion. The Lions do not shadow top receivers with Darus Slay. Quandre Diggs cannot cover Beckham on his worst day.
When the Giants defense was successful against the Cowboys, it was in the middle of the field, they were able to get through Travis Frederick and disrupt the outside run game. Of the Lions keep trying to utilize that style of attack it is difficult to Imagine Travis Swanson being more successful. I think the weakness of this Giants defense is in its linebacker corp and Eli Apple. As a result of that, I expect the Lions leading receivers to be Theo Riddick, Eric Ebron and Marvin Jones this week. I do not think that is going to be a good thing for the offense. Giants 21, Lions 20
Related Story: 10 keys for a Lions win over Giants
Zac Snyder (1-0) – It’s dangerous to form strong opinions about teams one week into the regular season. We’re all prone to over-react to what we see in week one, both in terms of positives and negatives. While the Lions looked good (after the first quarter) in beating the Cardinals, the Giants struggled against the Cowboys in their opener. Unfortunately for the Lions, I think this one between the Lions and Giants more closely resembles what we saw in last year’s meeting than what we saw from the two teams last week. Giants 20, Lions 16
Mike Rizzo (1-0) – The Lions head to the Meadowlands for Monday Night Football to face the Giants. As good as the Lions looked in week 1 the Giants didn’t look good against the Cowboys. With the Giants possibly without Odell Beckham again I feel like their offense struggles again. Lions win a close low scoring game. Lions 20, Giants 10
Colton Wesley (0-1) – The Giants got nothing going offensively against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday, scoring only three points on 355 yards of offense. If Odell Beckham, Jr. misses Monday night’s game, the Giants will need someone to become a consistent target for Eli Manning, especially if the Giants’ running game continues to sputter and also if the Lions’ secondary has another game like they did against the Arizona Cardinals last week.
The Lions’ offense lit up a good Cardinals secondary a week ago and face another talented unit this week. Kenny Golladay already looks like a consistent weapon in the passing game and the Lions have the depth to throw the ball around. The Lions haven’t done well on national night games in recent seasons, but I think they’re the better team in this game. Lions 27, Giants 21
Matt Bosko (0-1) – The Lions will step into the national spotlight on Monday Night by overpowering the Giants on both sides of the ball. The Giants porous offensive line will ultimately neutralize the return of Odell Beckham, as the Lions front four will pressure Manning early and often. Lions 24, Giants 13
Jack Ozark (1-0) – The Lions came out hot in week one. The Giants did not. I think this trend continues and I continue to guzzle down the Lions Kool aid. Odell Beckham Jr isn’t going to be 100% and there’s still a chance he doesn’t play. Either way, I think Darius Slay is going to lock him up.
The Giants have a good defense, but Matthew Stafford showed that he doesn’t care how good a defense is, he’ll destroy it. He’s going to get the team points, but the defense will be the reason the Lions end the week 2-0. Lions 20, Giants 14
Next: Lions 2017 game-by-game predictions
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