It's rare that two teams on three-game losing streaks make for interesting theater.
But when the Giants visit Detroit on Sunday to play the Lions, it represents the last chance either team has to remain relevant. Detroit was the story of the young season, jumping out to a 2-0-1 mark, stealing a win from the Eagles at Philadelphia. Now they've dropped a few games they could have won, including a last-minute loss to the mighty Chiefs and a last-second loss — showered with questionable referee calls — to the now 6-1 Packers.
The Giants sunk to 0-2, benched Eli Manning, then surged back to 2-2 behind rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who had charmed football fans from Montauk to the Meadowlands. Though after the Giants' own three-game skid, fans have recovered from the "Danny Dimes" hysteria that had infected the five boroughs and beyond. Especially after getting dominated last Sunday by the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium.
Over his first two dazzling starts, Jones went 2-0, passed for 280.5 yards per game and tossed three touchdowns and two interceptions. In his three starts since, he's 0-3, averaging 188.6 passing yards, posting three touchdowns and five interceptions. Jones' offensive line hasn't helped, as he was sacked five times in the first two games he started, yet 13 times over the next three (including an obscene eight sacks by the Cardinals).
Some of that is poor protection. Some is Jones not developing the spider senses a veteran NFL QB needs. The best signal-callers know when to dip a shoulder, spin away or take off before the pocket collapses. Some of it is coaching. Some of it is the dreadful defense that made Arizona backup running back Chase Edmonds into a Week 7 star.
Indeed, there isn't a corner of Big Blue's coaching or slice of their roster that hasn't had some hand in their three-game implosion. Coach Pat Shurmur was shredded for his curious calls in the final moments of the Cardinals game. He eschewed a punt on fourth-and-15 from the Giants' 30-yard line, despite having two timeouts and the two-minute warning, while trailing by just three points. The move bombed, Jones was sacked, and Arizona kicked a field goal to stretch the final lead to 27-21.
As much as any move or scheme, Giants fans want to see the passion that fueled them to wins over the Buccaneers and Redskins, not the sagging indifference that got them clobbered by the Vikings, or pushed around by the Cardinals. (Fans can live with losing to the Patriots, in Foxborough, no matter the score.) Even the understated Bob Papa, who calls Big Blue's games on WFAN, was alarmed by the offensively open holes through which Edmonds ran the ball on his way to three touchdowns.
Detroit will play without starting running back Kerryon Johnson, who's on the injured reserve after knee surgery. But the suspect Giants secondary will have their hands full with wide receiver Marvin Jones, who scored four touchdowns last week against the muscular Vikings defense. Jones is paired up with an equally dangerous wideout, Kenny Golladay. Indeed, the Lions have the sixth-best passing game in the NFL, led by QB Matt Stafford, who averages 277.2 yards per game.
But the Lions also hemorrhage passing yards, allowing 289.7 yards through the air, third-worst in the league. And the Giants should be good on skill players, with Saquon Barkley and Evan Engram back in the fold, and Golden Tate making an immediate impact since returning from a suspension. Only Sterling Shepard expects to miss the game, still toiling in concussion protocol.
More than strategy or tactic, or any nuance that nudges an NFL team to a win, the Giants need to show the desperate effort that got them to 2-2. A win on Sunday would make them 3-5, with a home game against the Dallas Cowboys next on their schedule. Since the Jets beat the Cowboys at MetLife, so can the Giants. But it won't matter much if they can't beat the Lions.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel.
