Football

Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants: Live updates, highlights from preseason opener

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1 month ago

August 8, 2024

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Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants: Live updates, highlights from preseason opener

Detroit Lions football is back tonight.

The Lions take the field for the first time Thursday night against the New York Giants in the preseason opener. The Lions started training camp for the 2024 season in late July, and left their home facility this week to practice Monday and Tuesday with the Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This is the first of the Lions’ three exhibition games in the preseason before the regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 8.

The game kicks off from MetLife Stadium at 7 p.m. It will be aired on Fox locally and streamed on Fubo. The Lions are four-point underdogs according to BetMGM.

Follow along with live updates below.

Lions vs. Giants preseason live updates and highlights

The Lions gained no yards after the interception with three straight turnovers, but it gave Jake Bates an opportunity to attempt his first field goal in a game as a Lion. He hit the 53-yard attempt from inside the left hash with plenty of room to spare, tucking it inside the left upright. The Lions’ offense has 13 yards in three drives.

Brandon Joseph made the first big play of the game near the end of the first quarter. After the teams started the game with two three-and-outs apiece, Joseph jumped in front of a crossing route over the middle and intercepted a Drew Lock pass from his position at free safety and returned it to the New York 35-yard line.

Pregame notes

Lions coach Dan Campbell said most of the starters will rest in the preseason games to avoid injuries and give opportunities for snaps to young players and those in the midst of a position battle. All of the Lions draft picks are likely to play outside of sixth-round offensive lineman Christian Mahogany, who has not participated in training camp yet due to an illness.

There will still be plenty of intriguing things to watch for despite most of the household names like Jared Goff or Amon-Ra St. Brown getting the night off. Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker will both get plenty of playing time at quarterback, after spending the two weeks of training camp splitting second-team snaps behind Goff.

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Hooker, a third-round pick in 2023 who missed all of his rookie season, has talent and a capability to throw on the run but has struggled with accuracy and finding where to throw at times in practice. Sudfeld, who was also out all last season, has been steady in practice but has also had turnovers when facing the Lions defense in camp.

Brian Branch’s move to safety also opened up a competition at slot cornerback that has gotten tougher after Emmanuel Moseley went down with a long-term injury. Amik Robertson, rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Ifeatu Melifonwu all expect to be in the competition and could play there in this game, along with other positions in the secondary, as the coaching staff tests different combinations of players.

The defensive line depth will be battling for snaps behind the established contributors of Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill and newcomers Marcus Davenport and D.J. Reader, when he returns from injury. On offense, the coaches are still looking for a wide receiver to step up and fill the third wide receiver role behind St. Brown and Jameson Williams.

On special teams, kicker Jake Bates will be under scrutiny after an up-and-down start to camp. The strong-legged United Football League import has been shaky from range in practice, and coaches stressed at the start they wanted Bates to be tested in as many different situations as possible to see how he responds.

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