The New York Giants defeated the Detroit Lions 14-3 in their preseason opener on Thursday at MetLife Stadium thanks to a dominant defensive effort. With muggy conditions and many backups in play, points came at a premium.
Highly-touted sixth-overall pick Malik Nabers did start this game for the Giants, despite some reports that he wouldn’t suit up. However, he did not receive any targets. Nabers is the Giants’ highest-picked receiver ever and comes with big expectations to be a top target for quarterback Daniel Jones.
Drew Lock would start for the Giants at quarterback and struggle. After multiple three-and-outs, Lock would throw an interception to safety Brandon Joseph to set Detroit up for their lone points on a 53-yard field goal by Jake Bates.
Second-year quarterback Tommy Devito would take over for the Giants during their last drive of the first quarter after Lock went down with a hip injury. Devito went 3-for-3 as a starter last year, throwing eight touchdowns to three interceptions. On Thursday he would finish with 92 passing yards and no touchdowns.
Veteran Nate Sudfeld would start for the Lions, but was held to just 40 passing yards after one half. He also threw an interception to Tre Herndon when Detroit was driving near the end of the first half. He was sacked three times, including once by inside linebacker Dyontae Johnson, who also had two tackles-for-loss in a strong performance.
Hendon Hooker, a 2023 third-round pick, would play a bit in the second half before leaving with an injury. He finished with 36 passing yards but did add 34 rushing yards to lead the Lions in this one.
Running back Eric Gray would provide a huge spark in the Giants’ backfield, especially when he opened the second quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run to get New York on the board. The second-year back made a dazzling move to evade safety Morice Norris on his way to the endzone.
After stopping a 4th-&-1 quarterback sneak attempt by Detroit, the Giants would amplify their momentum with a 37-yard scoring drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Gray, his second score of the game.
“I’m just being me, last year I felt like I was making the game too much,” Gray said. “At the end of the day, it’s just football.”
Gray looked terrific with 52 yards on four carries, while rookie Tyrone Tacy provided some nice runs of his own, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Those two will backup veteran Devin Singletary for New York this year.
“They came out in the first preseason game and did what we knew they could do,” Singletary said. “We bounce a lot of ideas off of each other, we’re a close-knit group.”
Singletary had 1,097 yards from scrimmage last season with the Texans and will look to lead a backfield that lost former pro-bowler Saquon Barkley in free agency.
The Lions would fail to score in the fourth quarter after a failed fourth down attempt inside the Giants 5-yard-line. New York would ride their monstrous defensive effort and a solid ground game to a victory. Rookie Dante Miller helped seal the game with 63 rushing yards, a majority of which came in the fourth quarter.
“When it comes to the speed of the game, I was prepared,” Miller said. “We had joint practices, training camps, and OTAs so I was a lot more prepared than I thought I would be.”
