Lions vs. Giants: Preview, score prediction for Week 2

Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants

The Detroit Lions are looking to stay unbeaten as they travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The Lions are fresh off a comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, whereas the Giants are coming off a disappointing 19-3 loss to division rival Dallas Cowboys.

New York looked nothing like the 11-win team of 2016 as they were missing star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham injured his ankle during the preseason and still has not been cleared for Monday as of yet.

This matchup is one of only two Week 2 games in which two teams that made the playoffs in 2016 face off. Both of these teams were Wild Cards in the NFC and are maintaining the belief they’re bound for the playoffs again. However, the Giants will need to score much more than three points if they hope to beat the high-powered passing attack of the Lions and avoid starting the season 0-2.

Keys to Victory

The key to a Giants victory is easy: have Beckham on the field. Since drafting Beckham with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, they are 2-4 without him. Beckham has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, despite missing games in each of his first two seasons. The Giants offense revolves around Beckham and it seems that head coach Ben McAdoo has no backup plan for if the star misses time.

If Beckham is healthy, then the offense should be fine. However, if Beckham is not cleared to play, the Giants need to have a plan in place to cope, something that was sorely missing in their Week 1 game against the Cowboys. The Giants only scored three points against a Cowboys defense that ranked 16th in passing touchdowns allowed in 2016.

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Without Beckham on the field, it becomes vital for the Giants to involve Brandon Marshall in the passing game. Marshall is a six-time Pro Bowler who has had over 1,000 receiving yards in eight of his last 10 seasons. It has also only been two years since Marshall caught 14 touchdowns, which led the league in 2015. However, Marshall only caught a single pass for 10 yards in his debut with Big Blue.

It seems that the biggest key to victory for the Lions is to be down in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Matthew Stafford broke the NFL record for fourth quarter comebacks in a season last year, with eight of Detroit’s nine victories coming in that fashion. Stafford is already continuing the magic this season as Detroit scored 20 of their 35 total points in the final quarter in a comeback over the Cardinals.

In all seriousness, it is important for the Lions to set up an actual run attack to help control the pace of the game. In Week 1, Detroit ran 27 times for 82 yards. However, only 51 of those yards came from their running backs. The Lions either need running back Ameer Abdullah to have more success, as he only averaged two yards per carry in Week 1, or rely more heavily on Dwayne Washington. Theo Riddick also spends time in Detroit’s backfield, yet it seems they are only interested to use him in passing situations as Riddick only had a single rush but six receptions in Week 1.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: New York -3
Moneyline: New York -165, Detroit +145
Over/Under: 43

All odds provided by BookMaker via The Sportsbook Review.

Next: NFL 2017: 20 Bold predictions for Week 2

Score Prediction

So much of this game depends on if Beckham will be ready to go. Manning and the Giants offense looked completely lost with Beckham on the field and, if he misses this game too, I don’t expect that to change. The good news for Giants fans is that Beckham will have an extra day to get healthy as this game is on Monday. However, until official word of Beckham’s availability comes on I have trouble being confident in the Giants. In the end, I believe Detroit wins this game. Even if Beckham plays there is still a chance he lacks his normal speed as his injury fully heals.

Final Score: Detroit Lions: 24, New York Giants: 17