QUARTERBACK
-Jameis Winston: 18/36 – 388 yards / 2 TD – 1 INT / 93.1 RAT
Winston also added 13 yards on the ground and a 33-yard touchdown catch. No, that is not a typo. Two of the three touchdowns go in the “trick play” bucket; he threw for one and caught one. The throw (56 air yards) was to a wide-open Wan’Dale Robinson, but do not take away how difficult that play was. Winston had to catch the ball, evade a rusher (with help from John Michael Schmitz), and heave it into the end zone from the 50. His touchdown catch was also a contested target and he broke a tackle on an island to get into the end zone. Trick plays are fun, but sometimes ridiculous and laughable. They sometimes require an extra step or responsibility in execution. Winston answered the bell on both and it put 14 points on the board.
Winston threw for 388 yards on just 18 completions. That is a crazy-high number per completion (21.6 yards). Sam Darnold leads the NFL with 13.6 yards per completion this season. He had 9 completions that resulted in a 20+ yard gain on the day. Jaxson Dart never had more than five of those in a game this year. In fact, Winston is only the fourth quarterback in the NFL to do that this season. Ironically, the other guys who did it were Geno Smith, Joe Flacco, and Bryce Young; not exactly murderer’s row. Winston did an excellent job getting the ball out on time, which is called playing within the structure of the scheme. He did lose composure late and got reckless (the fourth quarter interception was an awful decision and throw) and he got away with a couple others. Winston made a few big throws that I would consider to be high-difficulty, but he faltered late. I was watching this tape and wondering what on earth gave Brian Daboll the idea to start Russell Wilson over him early in the year. The arm talent and sheer ability is in a completely different league than Wilson.
RUNNING BACK
-Tyrone Tracy rushed for 62 yards on 20 carries but he did add 68 yards on 3 catches, including a 42-yard gain on one, the longest of the day for the NYG offense. There was minimal room for him inside as the NYG offensive line got pummeled in the run game. Tracy ran hard, but continued to be a tick late on seeing where the cutback lanes were. I will touch on the running back situation below because there are few things I keep seeing that should weigh into future decisions.
-Devin Singletary had 47 yards on 14 carries. Neither really outperformed the other, but Tracy simply had more touches and the wide open field after getting the ball off of Winston’s dump off pass that resulted in 40+ yards. Singletary has more vision and I trust him more to find green. He simply doesn’t break tackles and won’t push piles often enough. He can make defenders miss though and that is a trait he’s had since his days at Florida Atlantic.
WIDE RECEIVER
-Wan’Dale Robinson: 9 rec – 156 yards / 1 TD
A new career-game for the fourth-year pro who is just a few months away from free agency. He made money in this one, as they say. And as predictable as the sun coming up, the debate of how much he is worth spikes upward in favor of his supporters. Robinson was making plays down the field, in traffic, and creating after the catch. That is the trifecta that the best can do more often than not. The issue with Robinson has nothing to do with ability. The question is repeatability and consistency and that is where the debate with his future will get heated once the season is over. It is easy to say he deserves a long-term deal after a game like that, but the truth is, Robinson 7th in the league with 66 catches and 795 yards but 33rd in yards after catch and 12th (tied) in drops. History says he is getting paid in the $15 million per year range at this time next year and this is a team with a need at the position. He is playing his way into a long-term deal with NYG especially if Joe Schoen is retained.
-Isaiah Hodgins scored a touchdown for the second straight week and it was an outstanding grab where he had to fully extend on the move near the boundary. He was wide open for a second one, but Winston did not see him as two defenders followed Theo Johnson and left Hodgins all alone. He also caught a 30-yard heave from Winston that was an “F-it” type throw where the DET defensive back had a hard time locating the ball. Hodgins is not the most impressive physical specimen, but he does locate the ball exceptionally well and is strong in contested situations.
-Darius Slayton caught one pass for 23 yards, ten less than quarterback Jameis Winston. He played 52 snaps and ran 28 routes. This very situation is what will give some NYG fans PTSD when it comes to the Robinson negotiations. In some ways, good enough to kinda want but inconsistent enough to question if he can be a key part of a real winning offense.
-Gunner Olszewski handled return duties mostly, but he was the one that threw the touchdown to Winston for what it’s worth. He evaded a couple defenders on the slow developing, borderline-sloppy play, but he put the throw where it needed to be. This guy can wear a lot of hats for the team and I think he has some hidden value here.
TIGHT END
-Theo Johnson remains on a hot streak. He caught 3 passes for 77 yards. He had receptions of 24, 39, and 14 yards, all of which resulted in first downs. More impressively, all three were high-difficulty grabs, whether he had to extend for the ball, had a defender draped all over him, or all of the above. Johnson also blocked his tail off and while it did not help their cause much, his blocking continues to be the standout strength to his game. If he holds up as a receiver and can become more automatic underneath when it counts, NYG has something for sure.
-Daniel Bellinger had a rough game on 51 snaps (13 less than Johnson), some of which came at fullback. He allowed a TFL and a pressure, in addition to dropping a pass from Winston. Bellinger got rag-dolled in the trenches and it further shrunk the interior running lanes for the backs.
OFFENSIVE LINE
-Overall, it was a positive day for the line because they were solid in pass protection. I wouldn’t say it was anything more than that. The theme of the line remains from what I said last week. Good enough to no longer be a liability, but bad enough to not be considered an asset.
-Andrew Thomas, for the barometer he has set, did not play a good game. He was flagged for a hold and allowed two pressures. Ironically, he graded out well in the run game. I like when they have him pull across the line and I think they should do it more often rather than sending Runyan into space. Runyan allowed just one pressure, but the inability to create movement off the line is a problem for a running game that is very average when it comes to the talent.
-Jermaine Elueumunor continues to be the Andru Phillips of the offense. He is excellent for long stretches, but has a few ugly losses each week that, in some ways, kill the offense as a whole. It is true that he did not allow a sack to Aidan Hutchinson until the final play of the game, but I wouldn’t agree with what he said after along the lines of Hutchinson having a quiet game prior to that play. I had Hutchinson down for 6 tackles, a TFL, a sack, and four pressures. While not all of those were on Eluemunor, it was a far cry from neutralizing him. He allowed the sack in addition to two pressures and a tackle at the line of scrimmage. He has shown he can’t get across the face of a three-technique multiple times this season.
-Center John Michael Schmitz has improved his balance immensely. He simply spends less time on the ground and gets a little more contact on guys when he is in recovery mode. He is simply reaching guys now who he was not in the past. While he is still late to react to the lateral movement / stunts of some fronts, it is improving. He had a hard time with Alim McNeil (a very underrated defensive tackle), allowing a pressure and a tackle for loss, but he made two key blocks on big plays including the long touchdown to Robinson.
-Greg Van Roten allowed a TFL and just can’t seem to string together a game full of quality snaps. We know he is limited, but it does not curve the grade. While he was good enough in pass protection, there are too many struggles in the run game (both with power and athleticism) that show up nearly every week. Van Roten is the ideal backup but he can’t be the answer moving forward. At some point, I would like to see a younger guy get a few starts in a row.
EDGE
-Brian Burns had a somewhat quiet game and a borderline colossal missed sack where he had Jared Goff wrapped up, à la Mathias Kiawanuka on Vince Young for those who can remember back about two decades. Detroit ended up scoring the next play. He still finished with 2 pressures and 2 tackles, but what makes him a high-floor player in addition to the ceiling NYG pays for is how smart he plays. He is both a play-maker and an assignment-savvy teammate who can be a part of the puzzle. He knows what to do and where to go routinely and the versatility his tool set presents provides a ton of options and possibilities. This may seem obvious and unrealistic, but NYG needs to find guys that are, at least, mentally wired like him.
-Abdul Carter had a disruptive game again but he just couldn’t close. He finished with three pressures (a team-high three hits on Goff). One thing I see in his game (beyond the need for more power in his hands) is how off he is with angles. Watching the best pass rushers operate week-to-week will show you how attentive they are to details. It is like they pick the exact blade of grass to make their cut inward to maximize the proximity to the passer while maintaining leverage on the blocker. Carter simply runs upfield too far and cannot make up for it because he lacks the sheer power presence. Similar things happen in the run game. Carter led the defensive front with 4 tackles and most of them were explosive bursts toward the interior. But his reckless pursuit has opened up counters and option-runs multiple weeks in a row. He also lined up offsides twice. To sum that up and this game’s performance, Carter is a roller coaster who causes disruption, but has not shown he mentally knows how to win or how to counter the opposition’s plan.
-Chauncey Gholston played 17 snaps, the most since Week Two in Dallas. He was a non-factor on 11 pass rush snaps and he looked overall slow and tight-hipped. He did add two tackles.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
-The talk after the game was Dexter Lawrence not being on the field on the overtime Lions’ drive. I’ll touch on that below. We’ve asked and wondered all year if he was banged up and while I’m still not sure if the undisclosed injury was specifically from this Week 12 game, it is obvious there is a large gap between the Lawrence we got used to and the one we are watching. Even then, he finished with 2 pressures and a tackle.
-Darius Alexander had his best game as a pro. He had two sacks and a pressure in addition to 2 tackles. While he wound up on his back a couple times in the run game, he has developed a solid base to build from as a pass rusher. The combination of pad level, hand usage, and length have given him a lot of wins and there will be plenty more to come. He looks like a keeper.
-Rakeem Nunez Roches added a sack, his third in four games, and those three sacks are a career-high. He and Roy Robertson-Harris were overwhelmed in the run game. Robertson-Harris has a game like this every now and then and I have been watching him since his days in Chicago. He gets too high, can’t stay square to the line, and has no idea where the ball is going.
LINEBACKER
-Bobby Okereke had 8 tackles without any misses. It is just the second game where he hasn’t missed one. While there are not blatant physical mistakes on tape in this one, Okereke’s lost step I have referenced multiple times caused delays to filling interior run lanes and the Detroit running game exploited it. And don’t even bother making up for the mental lapses as the speed just isn’t there.
-We saw three practice squad-caliber linebackers play next to Okereke. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles had 2 tackles and 1 miss in addition to a pressure. He got turned around in coverage a couple times and simply looked lost against the pass. Zaire Barnes got his first NFL action on an NFL defense and it got ugly. He did finish with a tackle for loss and three tackles near the line of scrimmage, but there is no feel in his game, no instincts. He has been a special teamer since 2023 for a reason. And Swayze Bozeman finished with a tackle on defense and another on special teams, where he belongs.
CORNERBACK
-We’ve reached the random-cornerback part of the year. Paulson Adebo was out yet again following a pregame injury last week and Deonte Banks was inactive. Nic Jones had three tackles and allowed both targets thrown his way to be caught. Korie Black had 5 tackles, most of which were downfield. A couple of his open field tackles were solid plays, but I don’t love his technique on them. Looking at the ground and hoping to trip up the ball carrier is not a plan I would endorse. He does not play to his timed speed, but he is a high-effort player, I’ll give him that. Jarrick Bernard-Converse saw the field for two snaps.
-Cor’Dale Flott had a pass break up and was really close on a couple others. His sticky style in coverage works well on guys like Jameson Williams because he does not have to be as physical and his quick acceleration can help him stay over the top on deep routes. He did miss a tackle that resulted in a touchdown, though. That won’t ever be a strong point to his game.
-Andru Phillips had 5 tackles, but missed two more and got picked on in coverage. He allowed 7-of-7 pass attempts to be completed, but did add a tackle for loss. Par for the course. A play-maker who will inevitably create a positive, but has the negatives in between that questions his long-term projection here. For a defense that is so low on play-makers, he will and should be trotted out there week after week.
SAFETY
-Tyler Nubin was out again and it put a scope on Jevon Holland. While he did intercept a pass (off a tip), I thought Holland played poorly. His angles toward the running game are usually off but it took a back like Jahmyr Gibbs to expose it fully. Gibbs is probably the fastest back in football, but Holland didn’t stand a chance with a bad angle. He had a missed tackle that led to a touchdown and another miss as well. A delay-of-game penalty in overtime gave DET an extra five yards as they were desperate to get the ball in field goal range.
-Dane Belton led the team with 9 tackles, including one for a 5-yard loss on that final fourth-quarter drive which would have been a massive play had DET kicker Jake Bates not made a career-high 59-yarder to win. Belton also missed a tackle that led to a touchdown, but he broke up a pass and played with good speed and urgency. Belton may be the best safety on this team.
SPECIAL TEAMS
-K Younghoe Koo: 2/2 (made 21, 44 – 3/3 XP)
-P Jamie Gillan: 3 punts / 40.0 avg – 40.0 net
3 STUDS
-WR Wan’Dale Robinson, CB Cor’Dale Flott, QB Jameis Winston
3 DUDS
-DT Roy Robertson-Harris, OG Greg Van Roten, TE Daniel Bellinger
3 THOUGHTS ON DET
(1) Aidan Hutchinson suffered a gruesome leg injury last year after starting the season on fire. He had 45 pressures in 5 games (#1 in the NFL), but broke both bones below the knee and, like Cam Skattebo, needed a surgery and his prognosis was unknown even months later. No two injuries are identical and Skattebo’s likely a bit worse based on tendon/ligament damage, but it is important to know Hutchinson was back week one and is still near the top of the league among edge defenders. He does seem to have less agility and reactionary speed, but he is a guy that knows how to win in so many ways. If you lose some juice in one area, you can get stronger in another. That will be a template for Skattebo as he evolves his own recovery.
(2) Jared Goff is such a fun case study to follow. The up-and-down, back-and-forth nature to quarterbacks shows how little we know about what is to come. Goff was a number one pick who made the Super Bowl in his third year. He had flashes of elite level play (anyone remember that 54-51 win over the Chiefs where he went for 400+ yards and 4+ touchdowns? It was the second time he did that in 2018 alone). But Sean McVay knew he was not the guy who would get them over the hump and shipped him to Detroit for a truly elite quarterback in Matthew Stafford. Many say both franchises benefited, but until Goff gets Detroit to the Super Bowl, the Rams are the clear winners. Goff (and Daniel Jones, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, even Joe Flacco) are clear examples that situation will dictate so much of a quarterback’s success. We all (including myself) are way too quick to label a player a success or a bust because of the world we live in. And as time goes on and this game evolves, I hope we can get more into breaking down the moment from a wide lens rather than just a specific spot impacted by the wide lens. If only Goff was better against pressure (29th in the NFL in passer rating).
(3) The Lions are an example, arguably THE example, of what NYG can look to when looking for long term hope. 6-10, 3-12-1, 5-11, 3-13-1 were the records they produced from 2018-2021 and that final season was Dan Campbell’s first year as head coach. No playoff wins since 1991. Zero Super Bowl appearances. If there was a fan base that could credibly claim they were cursed, it was them. The leader of men (Campbell) and an excellent general manager turned things around. Even after they got to 9-8 (still no playoffs), they went out and spent two top-18 picks on a running back and off-ball linebacker. They took a ton of heat for it. Why did it work? Because they concurrently made good moves at other areas that helped get the most out of those picks. Now they are one of the best teams in football and that running back may be the most dangerous weapon in the league. A great example of what can be done and a reason why all should keep the door open to simply drafting the best player regardless of position because a good evaluator and proper development will find the way to build the roster. There is no template.
3 CLOSING THOUGHTS
(1) One thing is true, objectively factual. The decision to not kick the field goal and instead opt for a touchdown to close the game out did not work. It led to the loss. Detroit stopped a bad offense (shocker), easily drove into field goal range (shocker), tied it up without urgency (shocker), and won the game in overtime (shocker). At the moment, I said they had to take the field goal and go up six. Sure, it would have given Detroit the ball with approximately two minutes left against a (formerly) Shane Bowen-led defense that made a habit of crumbling in that kind of situation. But the odds of scoring a touchdown, needing more yards, less time on the clock, and no timeouts (if they simply ran the ball more on that final drive) were less. That would have been a more stressful situation for the Lions offense. Goff has been terrible against pressure all year, and doing it without timeouts in a gotta-have-it touchdown or bust was the way to go. Kafka did not have a plan going in. It was like watching a gambler lose money before making more bets to make the money back. Not bleeding more clock (or their timeouts) was an awful way to approach that drive. At no point was there any confidence NYG was going to score a touchdown there. I love how the analytic crowd says “their model” says “go for it”. Stop that nonsense. Does the model account for a third-string quarterback on a bad offense with no success in the running game that was fully dependent on flukey trick plays steering the ship? Does the model include the likes of elite offenses and their success? One thing is true about the situation: that decision did not work. If you opted for the fourth-down decision to throw with Jameis Winston (who was starting to unravel), you were wrong about it working. Objectively wrong. But hey, “the model!” Not you, right?
(2) The NYG running backs have been an interesting watch this year. From Skattebo starting off as a third stringer to quickly taking over the lead role. From last year’s day-three, explosive rookie Tyrone Tracy getting injured to the perhaps-underapprecated Devin Singletary. And now to the unknown of Skattebo’s recovery and the fact both Tracy and Singletary are under contract in 2026. And yes, now there is another potentially elite-level running back in the draft many will have as top-ten caliber in the conversation (at this point anyway). I know there are other areas on this roster in need of upgrade, and NYG could be totally fine going into next year with the group as-is. But as I break down the offense and watch what some of the top backs in the NFL can do for an offense trying to find a consistent identity, NYG does not have THE guy back there yet. It will likely be higher on the team-needs list for me than others. To be continued.
(3) There is no point in bashing Bowen for the Dexter Lawrence situation in overtime. He is gone, Lawrence is hurt, and someone else will be running the defense in 2026. But the logic befuddles me. Lawrence was on the field for 8-of-21 Detroit running plays on a day Jahmyr Gibbs averaged 14.6 yards per carry. And the decision was to keep him off the field on early downs so he could rush the passer? What about if you don’t get to passing downs? What is the point? The golden rule to football is stopping the run. Always has been and always will be. Sure the game has changed, but if you can’t stop the run, don’t bother showing up. NYG has an ascending rookie defensive tackle with two sacks on the day and two capable edge rushers. Maybe put your pass rush eggs in that basket and ensure Lawrence is more run defender than pass rusher? He made the mistake in Denver and just a few weeks later made it again in Detroit. That was inexcusable and lacks common sense. That is a theme I see with coaching these days. A lack of ability to make common-sense decisions because there has been way too much information thrown into analytics. I sound like the “get off my lawn” guy but it is a real problem some teams in the NFL have had a hard time managing.