The New York Giants (2-9) head to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions (6-4) at Ford Field this Sunday afternoon.
Here are six things to know before the Week 12 matchup.
The series
Sunday will mark the 48th meeting between the Lions and Giants, dating back to 1930. Detroit leads the series, 24-21-1, which does not include their one postseason meeting — the 1935 NFL Championship won by the Lions, 26-7, at the University of Detroit Stadium.
The Lions have won four of the last five meetings, including the latest, a 31-18 Giants’ loss at MetLife Stadium in 2022. The Giants’ last win in the series was a 17-6 victory at MetLife Stadium in 2016.
The latest
The Giants lost their first straight game and for the fifth time out of their last six games on Sunday, when they fell to the Green Bay Packers at home, 27-20.
The Lions lost, 16-9, at home on Sunday night to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was their second loss in three games (and third in five).
What’s at stake
For the Giants, nothing, except to escape further indignity. A loss (and one of three other results) would eliminate the Giants from postseason contention. It would be their earliest exit since 1976, the first year they played their home games in New Jersey. That’s a lot of bad football ago.
The Lions, at 6-4, are currently in a logjam in the NFC North, sitting one game behind Chicago and a half-game behind Green Bay. The Lions are ranked 8th in the NFC, which means if the postseason began today, they’d be out.
Dart’s status up in the air
Dart missed last week’s game versus the Packers with a concussion. As of Tuesday, his status had not changed, and head coach Mike Kafka had no update other than that the team was following the protocol.
Early reports suggest Dart will return to practice on at least a limited basis on Wednesday.
Should Dart not be able to go on Sunday, the Giants will turn to 10-year veteran Jameis Winston, who saw his first action under center with the Giants last week.
Call him Mr. Gibbs
Lions third-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs is headed towards another Pro Bowl season. He is fourth in the NFL wth 10 touchdowns and is seventh in yards from scrimmage (1,066). Gibbs has posted 145-plus scrimmage yards in three of his past four games.
The Giants have been awful this season when it comes to containing running backs (30th), and have allowed almost 150 yards per game on the ground this year.
Burns in a tight race for sack lead
Brian Burns had two sacks against the Packers, bringing his total to 13 on the season. That is a personal high for him, and there are still five games remaining.
Unfortunately, Burns lost the sack lead despite having another dominating game. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett recorded four sacks last Sunday versus Baltimore, raising his total to 15.0 on the season.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: New York Giants vs. Detroit Lions: 6 things to know about Week 12
