2-0 start proves Detroit Lions defense is 'for real'

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The biggest challenges are still to come.

Matt Ryan and the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons next week. Cam Newton and the undefeated Carolina Panthers next month. And Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers further down the road. Twice.

But two games into the season, against two teams many figured would be playoff contenders heading into the year, the Detroit Lions look an awful lot like they have one of the best defenses in the NFL.

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They're harassing opposing quarterbacks (they had five sacks Monday). They're forcing turnovers at an astounding rate (five through two games). And maybe most importantly, they believe they're every bit as good as their stats suggest.

"Oh yeah, it’s for real," cornerback Darius Slay said after the Lions thumped the New York Giants, 24-10, on Monday night. "We’re for real. We ain’t no fake, we’re for real."

The Lions are 2-0 for the first time since 2011, and their defense is starting to resemble the 2014 cast that earned them 11 wins and an unexpected wildcard berth.

They sacked Eli Manning five times and intercepted him once on Monday, and they held the struggling Giants to just one field goal in the game's final 44 minutes.

Ziggy Ansah had three sacks, one more than he had all of last year, and the Lions got timely contributions on offense and special teams in a decisive victory on the NFL's biggest stage.

"Almost in every phase we got a huge contribution," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "I just think all across the board the guys played tough and played well against a team that's very, very difficult to beat anywhere, home or away."

The Giants, a wildcard team last season, are in no way an offensive juggernaut, and last week's opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, might be even worse.

But the Lions did what good teams are supposed to do Monday when they stifled the Giants at every turn.

"They made a huge statement," Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones said. "They made like, we’re-the-No.-1-defense-in-the-league statement. And it’s fun to watch. You rarely see anybody sitting down on the sideline when the defense is up just because they’ve been playing so lights out. They’ve been helping us a lot and today it was a team win but you have to give it up to those guys."

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Playing against a Giants team that lost right tackle Bobby Hart to injury in the first quarter and used top wide receiver Odell Beckham sporadically in his return from an ankle injury, the Lions opened up a 10-point first-half lead thanks to big plays by their defense and put the game away with a late touchdown by their special teams.

Matthew Stafford took advantage of favorable field position to throw two first-half touchdowns to Marvin Jones and Eric Ebron, the second coming five plays after a Tahir Whitehead interception.

Matt Prater banked a 56-yard field goal in off the upright just before halftime to give the Lions a 17-7 lead, and after the Lions forced a Giants field goal with a red-zone stand (aided by a holding penalty on first-and-goal at the 1), Jamal Agnew delivered the game's knock out punch.

Agnew fielded a Brad Wing punt at his own 12-yard line, sidestepped the first Giants defender down in coverage then split two more as he raced down the sideline.

The rookie spun off a would-be tackler around the 28-yard line, and sidestepped Wing a few yards later for a clear path to the end zone.

"That was the biggest turning point in the game in my opinion," guard T.J. Lang said. "It kind of deflated them a little bit, so yeah, hell of a job."

The Giants drove into Lions territory on their next two possessions, but were stopped on fourth down both times.

Quandre Diggs tackled Shane Vareen inches short of a first down just beyond midfield with 10 minutes left in the game, and Beckham dropped a fourth-down pass the next time the Giants had the ball.

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Beckham, who sat out the Giants' season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week, played only about a quarter of the game and finished with four catches for 36 yards.

Stafford completed 15 of 21 passes for just 122 yards, his lowest total since Week 1 of the 2010 season, when he suffered a shoulder injury against the Chicago Bears. But the Lions complemented their strong defensive effort with 138 yards rushing, including a career-high 86 yards by Ameer Abdullah.

"We know what kind of football team we have and we obviously know that we have to earn that, earn that right for people to call us a good football team," Lang said. "I think we got a hell of a team that really blocks out all the noise from the outside. I know it’s been a team traditionally in the past that things haven’t been very great, but we don’t talk about that. We talk about the football team we have right now and obviously we've got a lot of good things going for us two weeks in."

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!