New York Giants Team Grades vs Detroit Lions

Passing Defense Grade: A-

The Giants pass defense was great once again. They caught a bit of a break with Matthew Stafford suffering an injury to his throwing hand last week, but that didn’t seem to impact him negatively throughout the game.

Stafford dropped a couple of very nice passes throughout the afternoon, but the Giants pass defense was up for the task. Eli Apple made a great play defending Golden Tate on what looked like a sure touchdown to keep momentum on the Giants’ side. The rookie has continued to improve as the season as gone on and become a strong contributor for the Giants.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie also had a solid game. He was beaten once by Tate in what looked to be a blown zone coverage, but he chased him down to stop him from scoring. It was a big play as the Giants would force a turnover later on in the drive.

All in all, Tate finished the game with eight receptions for 122 yards as he was the only player to get anything going on the Lions offense. Stafford finished the game 24-for-39 for 273 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception by Rodgers-Cromartie to help seal the game.

The pressure on Stafford was not as intense as last week against the Cowboys, as they sacked him only once and hit him four times. But, they were able to rush him enough and get him off his spot to have a shaky afternoon.

The pass defense did suffer a huge blow with the injury to Janoris Jenkins. He was kneed by a teammate in the first half and is undergoing tests for internal injuries. He is a huge loss if he is forced to miss time.