When you think of the New York Giants in 2025, you might not think of a ton of positives.
A head coaching change, a struggling offense, and losing many close games have defined a 2-9 season for the NFC East team vying to be relevant again. Still, there have been a few positives to grasp at in what has quickly become a lost year. One has been the play of rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who looks ready to develop into a decent signal caller for New York, eventually.
The other is far more sustainable for the Giants, and that's their offensive line. Led by tackle Andrew Thomas, the unit has been one of the better in the league this season. According to ESPN's pass rush win rate statistic, the Giants rank 13th overall in pass block win rate, which is a ton better than the Lions' 26th rank metric there.
Lions pass rush must show up against Giants in Week 12
The Giants offensive line has been key to New York's ability to stay in games. Managing to win on 3rd downs and allowing Dart the time to process his options have made the Giants' lumps feel fixable and potentially short-lived. And, it makes a Week 12 must-win for the Lions just a bit more interesting despite the record from the Giants, making them appear to pose far less of a threat.
The Giants' offensive line understands the challenge that the Lions' pass rush poses, especially when it comes to containing star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson.
"Thomas talked first about Detroit's play style upfront being very physical. He said Detroit's interior defenders do a good job pushing the pocket, and that gives their talented edges, like Aidan Hutchinson, more room to get after the quarterback if he can't step up because of interior push. He said it will be important Sunday to identify Detroit's front and match Detroit's physicality," wrote team reporter Tim Twentyman of Thomas' takeaways on the Lions' defensive line from this week.
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Detroit has been a lot better about getting to the quarterback in recent games. Through their last three contests, they have a sack rate of 9.64 percent, and they're hovering around a nine percent sack rate on the season overall. That puts them in the conversation with top defenses like the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons on the year.
They'll be tested against this Giants offensive line with not much to lose at this point in the year and a lot to gain from protecting their quarterback, who is at risk of re-concussing himself given how much he likes to scramble in the pocket. A fun battle is clearly brewing between these two top units, despite the difference in stakes for both squads.