New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) celebrates after breaking up a pass during a week 9 game between New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

3 Giants Players Lions Must Worry About

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI | By Vito Chirco | Last updated Nov 22, 2025 11:27 AM ET

The Detroit Lions, after playing away from Ford Field two straight weeks, return home Sunday to face the N.Y. Giants.

The Giants are reeling, having lost five in a row, including a 27-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11.

Without further ado, here are three Giants players the Lions must keep a close eye on Sunday.

EDGE Brian Burns

Burns is one of the biggest quarterback disruptors in the game today.

The 27-year-old, now in his second season with the Giants, has already amassed a single-season best 13 sacks and through just 11 games. He’s also produced a staggering 21 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

The EDGE defender is also coming off a two-sack performance against the Green Bay Packers in Week 11.

For his efforts this season, he’s earned a 77.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, including a 75.9 pass-rush mark. That pass-rush grade is good for 23rd-best among 117 qualified players at his position.

Fair to say, he’ll be a handful for Detroit’s offensive tackles to handle Sunday afternoon.

And if the Giants intend on playing spoiler against the Lions, Burns will need to wreak havoc against Detroit signal-caller Jared Goff.

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Tracy is trending in the right direction, with two straight games of 70-plus rushing yards and north of 4.5 yards a carry.

The second-year back is also coming off his best performance of the season. In Week 11 against Green Bay, he accumulated 88 yards on the ground, plus another 51 yards as a receiver. It amounted to a season-best 139 yards from scrimmage for the Purdue product.

The versatile back will pose a threat to Dan Campbell’s eighth-ranked rush defense (99.7 rushing yards allowed/game).

“Offensively, it’s a pretty gritty offensive line. They push on you, a lot of gap-scheme downhill,” Campbell said of the Giants’ ground game. “Like (Tyrone) Tracy, I think he’s a good back. He’s crafty, stronger than he looks, very versatile.”

DT Dexter Lawrence

Lawrence is a force on the interior of the Giants’ defensive line.

He’s one of the league’s best pass-rushers on the interior, presently equipped with the third-best PFF pass-rush mark among all qualified interior linemen (85.0).

A Pro Bowler the last three seasons, Lawrence has generated six quarterback hits and 22 total pressures through 11 games in 2025.

The onus will be on Detroit’s interior offensive linemen to keep the big-bodied defensive tackle in check on Sunday.

“Got a lot of respect for him, the way he plays, big man,” Campbell said of Lawrence earlier this week. “Can cover ground, get edges, push the pocket, shut down the run, good player.”

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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