Week 12 Staff Predictions – Giants at Lions

Sigh. Gambling Dan showed up against the Eagles and left the Lions on the outside looking in the Playoff standings once the dust settled. The Liosn were the better team on paper and even on the field Sunday night, but the Offense underwhelmed as a slew of old issues popped up again leading to a 16-9 loss.

Next stop is Week 12 and back to the comfy confines of Ford Field with the struggling 2-9 NY Giants coming to town. They fired their coach; they have a QB quandary with youngsters and veterans, and they have a roster that isn't quite good enough to compete in the NFC East. They did put a scare in the Packers last week, but the Packers are NOT the same team that beat the Lions in Week 1 and are struggling mightily with injuries and having an identity crisis right now.

Everyone laid an egg last week and took an ‘L’, so nothing changed except the tie-breaker points. With the Lions only putting up 9, Brent (7-3; -80), Dan (6-4; -35), Chris (5-5; 9) and Mike (5-5; 13) are still evenly spaced out. Again, everyone is still on the Lions bandwagon, so only the tiebreaker will be impacted for the standings this week.

Mike

Week 12 has the Detroit Lions (6-4) back home to play the NY Football Giants (2-9). The Giants come in with one of the NFL's worst defenses; they rank 29th overall, give up an average of 375 yards per game and have allowed 35 TD's this year to date. To compare the Lions Offense comes in at No 5 average 366 yds per game and have scored 36 offensive TD's. The Lions STILL have a very potent offense. They Rank 7th in Rushing at 130 ypg and 8th in Passing at 237 ypg. I feel last week was a perfect storm of chaos on Offense, not a norm. However, the Lions do need to figure some things out on the OL for the stretch run. And the Giants will provide a good test with their DL which is very good.

The Giants are mid-pack on Offense and have been rushing the ball effectively this year coming in at 124 ypg, and 209 ypg passing. However, the dynamic rookie Jaxon Dart is coming off concussion protocol, and they are without their No. 1 WR Malik Nabers. Things might be hard slogging against a very stout Lions Defense. The Lions bring the #5 overall rated Defense to the field on Sunday. The Lions are 8th against both the Run and the Pass. The Lions give up less than 100 ypg on the ground and 192 ypg in the pass game.

Again, Special Teams will play a key here. Of late the ST's have not been up to par. This needs to turn around quick.

Coming home, playing a team that is below average and the Lions looking to get back on track bodes well for the Lions to have a very good game. The Lions are 10.5-point favorites. I normally shy away from a bet with a spread that large, however I think we see the opposite perfect storm this week and the Lions win going away.

Lions: 31, Giants: 14

Brent

The Lions are licking their wounds over the poor offensive performance in Philadelphia. The NY Giants are not the Eagles. Jarod Goff is determined to make amends for the worst performance of his career. Expect a high scoring Lions offense with Jamo, Gibbs, and Amon Ra having huge days. The Lions defense continues to play well despite having three reserve players starting in the secondary. Expect the defense to continue to shine.

Lions 45 Giants 17

Chris

The formula for a Lions win is simple: run the ball, control the clock, cruise to victory. Against a Giants defense ranking bottom three in every run defense metric, Detroit should feast.

New York's front seven can't stop the run, and their offense lacks the weapons to keep pace. No Malik Nabers, shaky quarterback play, and a one-dimensional attack spell disaster against a Lions team that excels at neutralizing running backs in the passing game.

This is one of those Ford Field beatdowns where Detroit reminds everyone, they're legitimate contenders. Famous Jameis gets a late garbage TD (after throwing 3 picks).

Lions 37, Giants 17

Dan

Dome sweet dome. The Liosn went to Philly lasty week and were beaten by a team that simply wasn't better, due mostly to uncharacteristic issues with the offense. This week, the hop is that Campbell recaptures the magic form two weeks ago against Washington, and the Lions absolutely Light up the Giants.

Just like last week, this is a mismatch on paper, as the Giants aren’t good at...well.... anything on offense other than running the ball. A good portion of that rushing has been by Jaxson Dart runs, as he has averaged about 50 yards a game against bad defenses, but he didn't clear concussion protocol, so they will rely on Tracy and SIngelton to carry the load. I expect the Lions to focus on keeping the QB (either Wilson or Winston) in the pocket, and let the pass rush get home, as the Giants have given up the 7th most sacks (33) in the NFL this year, including 12 of those in the four games that Winston or Wilson have started. The Lions, though, are better at even that, but the Giants get more Rushing TDs and more YPG, completely offset by their middle of the pack passing game. The bottom line comes down to points scored, and the Lions score 8 more- points per game than the Giants, and that is playing significantly harder defenses.

As for Defense, this is where the Giants really suck. Not a single key defensive metric is higher than 19th in the NFL after 11 weeks. The Lions, conversely, are Top 10 in almost every defensive metric and have repeatedly shut down pretty good offenses all season, despite the injuries that have piled up. This week should see the return of Malcolm Rodriguez, even though several other key contributors like DJ Reed, Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joesph won't likely be back until Thanksgiving against the Packers.

Bottom line, the Lions will not only win but crush the Giants now that the euphoria of a playing their first game under their interim head coach has waned. Much like the Commanders, with a team coming in with a wounded defense that isn't playing well, and the rookie Dart coming off a concussion, the Lions should freely move the ball at will and Jack Fox will be getting on the field primarily to hold for PATs and FGs.

Lions 38, Giants 17