Grades: Detroit Lions Avoid Disaster Against Lowly Giants

The Detroit Lions staved off a valiant upset bid from the New York Giants to steal a pivotal win.

On a day where the two teams ahead of them in the NFC North both won to keep separation, the Lions stayed in the race with an overtime win over the Giants after facing 10-point deficits at multiple junctures throughout the game.

Here are grades for each position group based on performance in Sunday's game.

Quarterback: B-

Goff had some issues with pressure in his face, but was steady as ever when his team needed him the most. He led the game-tying drive to get the team just into Jake Bates' range, and avoided any critical mistakes.

The veteran did have an interception, but the pick came on a pass that deflected off a wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown's hands. He was sacked three times, with two coming from Giants rookie Darius Alexander beating left guard Kayode Awosika.

Goff threw short touchdowns to Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and delivered late in the game when his team needed him to.

Running backs: A

If not for the efforts of Jahmyr Gibbs, an entirely different conversation may be in store for a Lions' offense that struggled for most of the afternoon. There's no doubt about Gibbs' status amongst the most explosive players in the league.

He totaled 219 yards on 15 carries, good for an average of 14.6 yards per carry. Among those carries were touchdowns of 49 and 69 yards, the latter coming on the first snap of the overtime period. In addition to his work as a runner, he caught 11 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Gibbs set a new franchise record for running backs with 264 all-purpose yards, and is tied-for-second among all NFL players in touchdowns before their 24th birthday with 44.

David Montgomery had a smaller workload once again on Sunday due to Gibbs being the hot hand. He finished with five carries for 18 yards, and had three receptions for 19 yards.

Wide receivers: B

After being held in check last week, Amon-Ra St. Brown had some ups and downs in Sunday's game. The fifth-year wideout had two drops, including one that resulted in a pick in the Giants' red zone, but also had 149 yards on nine receptions.

St. Brown surpassed 500 career receptions, and set a new franchise record for most games with 100 yards receiving in a player's first five seasons with 22.

Jameson Williams was held without a catch on Sunday, and had a drop on a key third-down on one of his three targets. Kalif Raymond had a nice catch to help set up Bates' field goal before the half, while Isaac TeSlaa couldn't haul in his only target late in the game.

Tight ends: B

Without Sam LaPorta, the Lions have resorted to less two-tight end packages. Brock Wright continues to be the top tight end, and he finished with three catches for 29 yards including a 20-yard gain in the first half.

Wright will continue to get big opportunities as LaPorta is expected to be out for the year, but doesn't have the same consistency in the passing game. Still, he proved valuable once again by making plays when called upon and helping in the run game as a blocker.

Offensive line: C

The Lions' offensive line is banged up and took some lumps against a good Giants defensive line. Dexter Lawrence and Darius Alexander caused trouble on the interior, with Alexander notching two sacks against Kayode Awosika.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches also got to Goff for a sack. The Giants totaled seven quarterback hits, while also notching six tackles for loss. However, Detroit was able to establish the run game throughout the later stages of the game.

With Gibbs averaging 14.6 yards per carry, the performance in the run game offsets some of the pass-protection issues.