Detroit Lions stock watch: Agnew, Ansah, Ameer, oh my!
By Matt Bosko
It was a total team effort by the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football in the team’s 24-10 win over the New York Giants.
The Detroit Lions’ 24-10 victory on the road against the New York Giants this past Monday night was a rare dominant performance on both sides of the ball. Let’s take a closer look at who stood out among the crowd in this week’s stock report.
Stock Up
KR Jamal Agnew
How can we not lead off with this guy? Agnew’s special teams ability caught the eye of Detroit Lions coaches and fans alike early in the preseason, and he certainly was not blinded by the bright lights of Monday Night Football. His dazzling 88-yard punt return touchdown sealed the game for the Lions, and answered any questions about who should handle kick returns in the future.
The Giants left the Lions best pass-rusher all alone against one of their weakest links and certainly paid the price. Ansah totally abused the Giants’ embattled left tackle Ereck Flowers on Monday night, sacking Eli Manning three times en route to tallying six tackles and a forced fumble. Ansah is playing up to his ability through two games, a good sign that the injuries that have plagued him over the last two seasons are no longer a factor.
The Lions running game made a long-awaited appearance against the Giants. Ameer Abdullah’s 17 carry, 86-yard performance may not have fantasy football owners doing cartwheels, but it was a major reason the Lions escaped MetLife Stadium with a win.
Abdullah, another Lion hampered by injuries in the past, displayed the patience and explosiveness Monday night that had long been advertised. His success on the ground allowed the Lions to control both the clock and tempo of the game, and helped distance himself from the team’s second best rusher – Matthew Stafford.
TE Eric Ebron
Aaron Donald. Odell Beckham. Zack Martin. We get it – all of those guys were available when the Lions drafted Eric Ebron tenth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. The truth of the matter is that although Ebron has not been the superstar fans would have liked, he has been a productive part of this offense, a trend that continued this past week. He hauled in all five of his targets – that’s a 0% drop rate for you math wizards out there – for 42 yards and a touchdown. For this week, at least, Ebron was exactly what the Lions needed him to be.
Next: 10 thoughts from Lions' week 2 win over Giants
Stock Down
It was a total team effort from the Lions this week, but we have to pick on someone. Really, Matt Prater? After all of that praise last week, you needed help from the crossbar to nail that 56-yard field goal? Shameful. Expect the Lions to work out kickers in the coming weeks.