Grading the Detroit Lions after the team's 35-14 victory over the New York Giants:

QUARTERBACKS: A

Matthew Stafford was excellent against a quality secondary, not just completing passes at all depths, but showing poise in the pocket and the ability to avoid the rush and extend plays with his feet.

The touch he showed on his second touchdown, a 16-yard pass to Calvin Johnson after squaring up on a rollout, is one of the best throws Stafford has made in recent memory.

RUNNING BACKS: C

The ground game was non-existent for three quarters, but when the Lions needed to milk time in the fourth quarter, Joique Bell put his shoulder down and moved the chains.

And while the backs couldn't find much air when rushing early, they contributed in other ways. Reggie Bush hauled in six passes for 49 yards.

WIDE RECEIVERS: A

Calvin Johnson is still great, putting to rest any concerns that he might be slowing down with age. The All-Pro finished with seven receptions for 164 yards and two scores. Free agent acquisition Golden Tate also delivered in his debut, making six grabs for 93 yards, including a 44-yard reception on third-and-11 on a crucial third-quarter scoring drive.

TIGHT ENDS: D

Rookie Eric Ebron was essentially non-existent. He was targeted three times, one of which was wiped out by a penalty, and finished with zero receptions in his debut. Joseph Fauria delivered the big play for the group, a 26-yard snag that thrust the Lions into the red zone, but it was his only tally on the stat sheet. (He also had a late, two-point conversion). Brandon Pettigrew also had just one catch, going for just nine yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C+

This wasn't the offensive line's worst performance, but it also wasn't their best. As mentioned, there wasn't a lot of air for the running backs for the majority of the game, although when Detroit needed to seal it against eight-man boxes, the line opened up holes.

In the pass game, Stafford absorbed just one sack, but there was some pressure, which the QB expertly avoided.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A

The Giants didn't muster much on the ground, averaging just 2.4 yards on 22 carries and quarterback Eli Manning absorbed nine hits, mainly from the edges where Ezekiel Ansah (four hits) and George Johnson (1.5 sacks) wreaked havoc. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley should get partial credit for an interception in the third quarter when he plowed up the middle of the line and forced Manning into making a poor throw.

LINEBACKERS: A

DeAndre Levy continues to build on his breakout campaign, making 10 stops, including two tackles behind the line of scrimmage and coming down with one of the best interceptions you'll see all season. Stephen Tulloch chipped in eight tackles from the Mike and the entire group contributed to Detroit's stingy run defense.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: B-

It was an up-and-down performance from the defensive backfield, but it was good enough in the win. The Giants picked on Darius Slay a bit, but the second-year man came up three three pass breakups. Safety Glover Quin also came up with a pass defense to go with his third-quarter interception. Not a bad night for a group missing starter James Ihedigbo and losing Bill Bentley early in the contest.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-

There were a lot of good things that happened on special teams. Sam Martin had a great day, averaging 54.5 yards on his punts and nearly netting a touchback on every kickoff. Tahir Whitehead partially blocked a punt. And the Lions limited the damage the Giants did in the return game.

On the other side, rookie Nate Freese badly missed a 43-yard field goal, the first attempt of his career. He did manage to come back and knock down his other two efforts. Also, rookie Jerome Couplin got tagged for a running into the punter penalty. That gave the Giants a first down and ultimately led to a touchdown.

COACHING: B+

It wasn't a perfect game plan, but it's difficult to find much fault in the overall performance. Detroit didn't commit a turnover, forced two on defense, and those eight first-half penalties, well, those were reduced to zero in the second half.

The offense sputtered at times, especially in the second quarter, but you can't score every drive.

End of the day, it was a comfortable win with plenty of room for improvement. That's a good place to be at after the opening week.

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