Detroit Lions at New York Giants: Week 2 Game Breakers

The New York Giants will take on the Detroit Lions in their home opener on Monday Night Football at MetLife Stadium.

The New York Giants will close out the NFL’s Week 2 schedule on Monday Night Football as they go up against Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions.

After a frustrating opener against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants will look to bounce back this week. Our Week 1 Game Breakers were Sterling Shepard and Landon Collins, who both had solid games but the offensive line let Big Blue down.

Trying to avoid an 0-2 start, the New York Giants will need the following two players to step up. Here are the offensive and defensive game breakers for Big Blue this week.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – AUGUST 26: Orleans Darkwa (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Offensive Game Breaker: RB Orleans Darkwa

The New York Giants running game was pretty much non-existent in Week 1. Everyone blames the offensive line for the lack of rushing success. Although the offensive line deserves part of the blame, they weren’t as bad as people claim.

According to Pro Football Focus, three of the Giants linemen (Pugh, Jerry, and Hart) had solid run blocking grades against Dallas. There were opportunities but Big Blue’s running backs need to make plays. New York’s rushers forced zero missed tackles on their 12 carries.

A dozen carries are also not enough to constitute a rushing attack. In Week 2, the Giants need to commit to the running game. Hopefully, they won’t be trailing for most of the game and be forced to throw the ball like they were against the Cowboys.

If New York runs the ball more, people would expect Paul Perkins to be the beneficiary. However, I think that in his limited action, Orleans Darkwa looked better in Week 1.

Perkins ran the ball seven times for just 16 yards. Darkwa, on the other hand, picked up 12 yards on his first carry. He would only see two more carries and finish the day with three rushes for 14 yards.

Throughout his Giants career, Darkwa has run well when given the opportunity. He has a career 3.9 yards per carry average. Darkwa also doesn’t appear to be too far behind Perkins in the backfield pecking order. In Week 1, Paul Perkins logged just 17 snaps whereas Orleans Darkwa played eight snaps.

If Perkins struggles again, Darkwa could get more carries. The biggest back on the Giants roster, Orleans Darkwa could run with the opportunity and take over as Big Blue’s starting running back moving forward.

Orleans Darkwa Predicted Stat Line: 8 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – DECEMBER 18: Olivier Vernon (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Defensive Game Breaker: DE Olivier Vernon

The New York Giants need to generate a pass rush in Week 2. Last week against Dallas, Big Blue had just two pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. One of those pressures came from Olivier Vernon when OV took Dak Prescott down for the Giants only sack of the game.

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New York needs to take advantage of a weak Detroit Lions offensive line. After going up against the strong Cowboys unit in Week 1, Oliver Vernon, Jason Pierre-Paul, and the rest of the Giants pass rushers should enjoy more success on Monday night.

Pro Football Focus’ offensive line rankings heading into 2017 ranked Dallas ninth. Detroit, however, is all the way down at 24th on the list.

To make matters worse for the Lions, arguably their best offensive lineman, left tackle Taylor Decker, is out after having offseason shoulder surgery.

Detroit spent this offseason upgrading the right side of their line with the addition of right guard T.J. Lang and right tackle Rick Wagner. However, after the loss of Decker, the Lions starting left tackle is Greg Robinson. Robinson has been largely considered a draft bust after the St. Louis Rams selected him second overall in 2014.

Olivier Vernon is our defensive game breaker because he will be lined up across from Robinson as the Giants right defensive end and have an opportunity to consistently get after Matthew Stafford on Monday.

Next: Three New York Giants Who Need to Improve in Week 2

The New York Giants need to take advantage of the Detroit Lions having their backup left tackle out there. Opponents have been taking advantage of Big Blue’s left tackle situation for the past few years. It’s time for the Giants to flip the script.

Olivier Vernon Predicted Stat Line: 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4+ pressures

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