The Lions have the most dangerous offense that the Giants face this season.
John Schmeelk: Fact – I’m going to go with fact here, despite many of the overall offensive efficiency metrics have the Lions behind the Chiefs (yeah, I was surprised too), the 49ers, and even the Cowboys in some instances. The Chiefs can’t, or won’t, run the ball, and they don’t have an elite receiving weapon. The 49ers have swapped quarterbacks due to injury and also have all sorts of injuries. The Cowboys might be the best argument, but their running back, while effective, is not explosive. They also have questions on their offensive line, which mostly have to do with the youth they are playing there every game. The Lions have an explosive back in Jahmyr Gibbs, a top ten receiver in Amon-Ra St. Brown, a speedster wide receiver in Jameson Williams, two good offensive tackles in Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker, and a quarterback that can put the ball anywhere if he is protected in Jared Goff. They check every box that the other teams do not, and it’s what makes them the most dangerous.
Matt Citak: Fact – The Lions’ offense has been in the top five in both points and yards every season dating back to 2022. This year has been no different. Even with tight end Sam LaPorta on injured reserve, Detroit boasts a talented group of playmakers in Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, not to mention one of the league’s top offensive lines. With the Lions coming off a season-low nine-point outing against the Eagles last week, the Giants will have their hands full trying to slow this unit down on Sunday.
Brian Burns vs. Penei Sewell is the matchup to watch on Sunday.
John Schmeelk: Fiction – This is really a toss up between the two offensive tackle – pass rusher matchups. Players on both sides are either All-Pro or Pro Bowl caliber playing near the top of their games, but I will lean Andrew Thomas vs. Aidan Hutchinson. There is an argument to be made for both players that they are the best at their respective positions this season. Hutchinson leads the NFL in the number of overall pressures (62) according to Pro Football Focus, and is third in both their pressure rate and win rate metrics. Meanwhile, Thomas has allowed only 10 pressures, including one sack, all season long.
Matt Citak: Fact – I agree with John, this one could go either way between Burns vs. Sewell and Thomas vs. Hutchinson. Since John went with the latter, I’ll take the former. Burns has already set a new career high with his 13 sacks through the first 11 games of the season. Meanwhile, Sewell has allowed a pressure on just 5.2 percent of his pass sets this season, according to Next Gen Stats, which is the second-lowest among all right tackles and the lowest rate in his five-year career. Any way you look at it, the edge rusher vs. tackle battles on both sides of the ball Sunday should be entertaining.