Can the NY Giants Tame the Lions?

There's plenty of uncertainty on both sidelines, given the health of these two teams, and that's the most significant variable in how the New York Giants approach their visit to Detroit.

The Lions, when at their best, are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. However, they have several key players dealing with injuries, and they have been more inconsistent than expected on offense. 

The defense? Well, this side of the ball certainly has done its share to keep its lofty expectations alive. And that's a bit of an issue for the Giants, who would be best served by slowing down the game with a sustained rushing attack against the NFL's eighth-rated rush defense (100 yards per game).

Defensive end Aiden Hutchinson's strong pass rush grabs most of the unit's headlines, but Giants offensive coordinator Tim Kelly understands that the rest of his teammates cause even bigger problems.

"Aggressive," Kelly said. "In the schemes that they play, the techniques that they use ... there's a lot of press coverage when you look at it. If you look at their backers, [Jack] Campbell, [Alex] Anzalone, [Derrick] Barnes, all those guys are aggressive in terms of how they attack the ball carrier and different blocks. 

“They're aggressive in how they attack the football with the punch-outs, and there's a definite mindset there for them to go and attack the ball. So, I would say aggressive is probably the best way to describe it."

Tyrone Tracy's resurgence may keep the Giants' wheels turning on the ground, and will be even more key with quarterback Jaxson Dart having not cleared the concussion protocol for this week’s game.   

The Giants' rushing attack has 311 yards over the last two games, with just 66 of those yards accounted for by Dart in the game against Chicago.

So there is a degree of hope that, despite not having Dart for this weekend's matchup, Tracy and fellow running back Devin Singletary might be able to continue building on what they've done since Dart's absence, though, again, it's not going to be easy against a stout Lions run defense.

How can the Giants create favorable matchups versus the aggressive Lions defense? We sort through that and discuss the most important aspects of what the Giants must do to pull off a win in the latest edition of the Big Blue Breakdown podcast, available in the video above and wherever you get your podcasts.