The first two drives of the 2014 NFL season were extremely kind to Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson as the fearsome twosome connected on two passing touchdowns to front the Lions a 14-0 lead.
The New York Giants' defense would settle down and take advantage of eight Lions first-half penalties to close the gap to 14-7 on a grind-it-out 13-play drive.
Our Giants/Lions First-Half Recap
After New York's rushing attack was held to just 27 yards in the first 30 minutes, the Giants again tried (and failed) to get RB Rashad Jennings moving in the right direction.
That left Manning out in the cold on the Giants' first drive, who threw a crucial deflected interception to LB DeAndre Levy to set up a 28-yard field goal for Detroit Lions K Nate Freese.
The Giants' running attack would continue to sputter along from there, gaining just five yards on the ground on their first two drives. This would hamper the Giants' aerial game to open the third as the Lions were able to sit back on third and long and blanket New York's recieving corps.
That inability to get their offense clicking along cost the Giants dearly in the middle of the third quarter, as the Lions took advantage of New York's second failed drive with a solid aerial display. Matthew Stafford would sidestep his own struggling running game, hitting on his first three throws to lead the Lions down to the New York 10. That would set up another Freese field goal to extend the Detroit advantage to 20-7.
Eli Manning's command of what amounts to a brand-new offense continued to look shaky on a game-changing interception on the Giants' very next play. Rolling out of pressure, Manning eyed receiver Victor Cruz the whole way through his throwing motion. This allowed safety Grover Quin to read the route the whole way through as he jumped it and picked off Manning's desperation heave.
Eli's second interception of the night led to Matthew Stafford cementing his theme of the night - using surpring mobility on third-and-goal to run it in from five yards out to push the Detroit lead to 27-7. Stafford's legs contributed to all three of Detroit's touchdowns at that juncture, answering criticism early in the season about his percieved weaknesses as an athlete.
The Giants' corps of running backs continued to put Manning in tough situations throughout the third quarter. Gaining just 33 yards over the Giants' first 40 plays (spanning 42-plus minutes), the rushing attack forced Manning to operate primarily out of the shotgun at the end of the third quarter.
To Eli's credit, despite the obstacles placed in front of him, he would lead New York into Detroit territory before the clock hit zero on the first 45 minutes.
Finally allowed some time to work in the pocket at the start of the fourth, Manning hit RB Rashad Jennings on a critical 21-yard outlet pass to set up a one-yard TD rush by the aforementioned halfback. The Josh Brown extra point would give the Giants some life with the scoreline at 27-14.
Tiptoeing around what could be a troubling theme for them in 2014 (how to run out the clock when the running game isn't clicking), Stafford did what usually works best...he threw it up for Calvin Johnson to go up and get it.
Johnson would catch two passes for 33 yards on a game-sealing seven minute-plus drive for Detroit, pushing his totals for the day to seven catches, 164 yards, and two touchdowns - an insanely impressive evening, fantasy football or not.
After Megatron's second catch, RB Joique Bell would finally start to find some release off the line. Carrying the ball three times for 23 yards, Bell would break the plane on a 3-yard rush to give the Lions and insurmountable lead at 35-14 with just four-and-a-half minutes left.
Going 18-for-33 for 163 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs, Manning was hung out to dry for the entire contest by what was supposed to be a team strength - the ground attack. A failed 4th-and-short conversion by RB Andre Williams on 4th-and-short underlined this problem, as the Giants finished with 22 carries for 53 yards (just 2.4 yards per carry).
The Lions would clock the ball out after Williams' failed conversion, sealing a very impressive 34-14 win.
Giants' Player of the Game: TE Larry Donnell (5 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD)
Lions' Player(s) of the Game: QB Matthew Stafford (22-for-32, 346 yards, 2 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD) & WR Calvin Johnson (seven catches, 164 yards, 2 TD)
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