Winless Giants search for answers
Lions roll to 24-10 win to spoil home opener, Odell Beckham return as Big Blue falls to 0-2
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. » Not even Odell Beckham Jr. could save the New York Giants on Monday night. Not with Eli Manning working behind a porous offensive line.
Beckham returned from an ankle injury, but Manning was sacked five times and the Giants lost 24-10 to the Detroit Lions.
New York also committed a couple of costly penalties while dropping into last place in the NFC East all by itself at 0-2. It doesn’t get any easier for the Giants, either, not with road games against Philadelphia and Tampa Bay in the next two weeks.
Beckham had four catches for 36 yards in limited action. The dynamic wide receiver sprained his left ankle in a preseason game on Aug. 21 and then missed New York’s season-opening loss at Dallas last weekend.
“I just wanted to come out and see what I could do,” Beckham said. “It felt good to be able to play again. It’s been a long time. Just trying to get my feet wet.”
The Giants finished with 270 yards against the Lions after they managed just 233 yards in their 19-3 loss to the Cowboys in Week 1.
Manning faced heavy pres-
sure for most of the night. Ezekiel Ansah had three sacks, with offensive tackle Ereck Flowers struggling to slow him down.
“We tried to give him some help as the game went on,” Giants coach Ben McAdoo said. “Initially, we were focusing on the other side. We had our left guard playing right tackle. He ended up holding up and doing a nice job. Then we decided to get the ball out quick.”
Manning finished 22 for 32 for 239 yards with a touchdown and an interception. “They’re a good front four,” Manning said. “Their
best players on their defense are on their front four so we knew we had to get the ball out quickly at times.”
Hurt by the blocking problems and other issues on offense, the Giants were 4 of 12 on third down.
“We’re not going in the right direction enough,” Manning said. “We’re going backward. We’re not converting on third downs enough.”
The defense forced a fumble in the second quarter, but Manning threw an interception on the next play.
Trailing 17-7 in the third quarter, the Giants drove to the 1, but penalties drove them back and they were forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Aldrick Rosas.