ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions opened the season with a win against Arizona. Now they'll try to make it two straight on Monday night against the New York Giants.

As the Lions prepare to hit the practice field Thursday to begin preparations for the game, here are five storylines to watch:

Is the defense for real?

The defense was tough as nails against Arizona. It allowed just three points in the first half, despite all kinds of tomfoolery on offense and special teams. And even those three points were a testament to its sheer brutality -- forcing a three-and-out in their own red zone because of a special teams blunder, and then doing it again because of another.

The defense forced three interceptions, after forcing 10 all last season. They forced four takeaways overall, after forcing 14 all last season. And they held David Johnson, one of the league's premiere backs, to 23 forgettable yards.

Now the question is, is it for real? Or a mirage propped up by the struggles of an aging Carson Palmer? Time will tell -- although that time may not be this week, considering Eli Manning is not exactly, well, his brother, and the Giants haven't scored 20 points in any of their last six games.

A Locke to improve the special teams?

The Lions' special teams were awfully special last year, but just plain awful against the Cardinals. Dwayne Washington backed up the offense with an unconscionable personal foul, which led to Kasey Redfern's travails in the end zone. Then he picked up a kick that had dribbled past him in the end zone, and for God knows why, tried to bring it out.

And that was just the first quarter.

It's impossible to overstate just how foolish the Lions' special teams were in that game, and it led to Redfern suffering a season-ending knee injury. Now the Lions are on to their third punter, signing Jeff Locke this week. He's a veteran, so you'd hope you know what to expect out of a guy like that, although the Monday night stage on national TV can do funny things to a player.

It'll be interesting to see what Detroit does at kick returner as well. Jim Caldwell said don't expect not to see Washington back there again (yes, you read that right). At any rate, another gaffe and it'll be Jamal Agnew time almost assuredly. The rookie has things to learn, but he's fast as rain and seems to have a bright future ahead on special teams.

Hello Quandre, good to see you again

Quandre Diggs was good as a rookie in 2015. He was not so good last year, then suffered a pectoral injury that held him out of Detroit's unsuccessful trip to New Jersey to face the Giants.

That forced Detroit to play some cat named Asa Jackson in the slot, which went about as well as you'd expect. Odell Beckham lines up a lot in the slot too. Perhaps you've heard of him. And he caught six passes for 64 yards and one touchdown in a win against Detroit.

But Diggs is back, and he's been great. After holding off D.J. Hayden's bid for the job in the offseason, Diggs went out there in Week 1 and didn't allow Larry Fitzgerald to catch a single pass when they were matched up in the slot. He allowed just one catch overall, and ProFootballFocus ranked him as the league's No. 1 corner in Week 1.

Obviously Diggs isn't the best corner in the game. But obviously he had a good debut as well, and he seems to have shaken off whatever ailed him in 2016. But with all due respect to Fitzgerald, Beckham is a whole other challenge. He didn't play last week, but is expected to play in this one, and Diggs' ability to neutralize him will be among the matchup's biggest keys.

Outdoor mentality ain't so good

Jim Caldwell likes to fancy his squad an indoor team with an outdoor mentality, and dollars to doughnuts you'll hear him say it again at least once this week. But the fact is Detroit has struggled mightily on the road under him, to the tune of a 10-16 record.

They've also lost five straight outdoor games, and 10 of 12. They're 5-13 overall outdoors under Caldwell.

And they're 18-7 at home.

Getting handsy

While a lot of attention has been paid to the injury at punter, less has been made of Golden Tate's injured mitt even though it has the potential to be far more consequential. He injured the ring finger on his left hand against Arizona, and was seen wearig a spint after the game and a day later.

Tate is as durable as they come -- he hasn't missed a game since signing with Detroit in 2014 -- and he's almost certainly going to be out there on Monday night. But the question is what kind of shape he'll be in. He racked up 10 catches for 107 yards against the Cardinals, but came out of the game a couple times when the finger was bothering him.

The Giants might have their problems offensively, but they still know how to play defense. And outside of Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate is Detroit's best offensive playmaker. So his health will be a closely-watched storyline this week.