Monday Night – Detroit Lions at New York Giants

We start the new work week with some high-flying football action at MetLife Stadium between the Lions and Giants. A pair of gunslingers will be on display with Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford at the helm. Not to mention, neither of these teams can run the ball very well, so expect even more pass attempts out of these two. It’s like a showdown at high noon between two wild slingers… except, you know, it’s Monday Night Football in the big city and not the old west.

Keys to the Game

Lions

Detroit would do well to frustrate Odell Beckham Jr. No one takes themselves out of a game better than OBJ. They need to be physical and get him off his game. Draw him into committing stupid penalties and let him get in his own head. Do that and Stafford should have an easy time out-dueling Manning. New York’s defense is much better than it used to be, but there aren’t many secondaries that can totally shut down the Lions’ potent passing attack. Let Eli and OBJ fight it out amongst themselves while the Lions work on team celebrations in the endzone.

Giants

Stay calm and play the game. The Lions are going to put points on the board, there’s no real way around that, but New York needs to keep their cool. Too often, the Giants beat themselves with silly mistakes and by taking themselves out of the game (ahem, Beckham, ahem). New York is the more talented team here and shouldn’t have any problem securing and early season prime time win. Manning and the Giants offense shouldn’t have any trouble dropping 30+ points against Detroit, especially if OBJ and Sterling Shepard can get loose a couple times over the course of the game. Combine that with a couple sacks and maybe a turnover from the defense and New York will stroll to a double digit victory.