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Lions - 1 score on 1 chance (1 touchdown)
The Lions' lone trip to the red zone in this game came on their very first possession. New York's punter dropped the snap, giving the Lions the ball at the Giants' 43-yard line. From there Detroit methodically moved the ball down the field, taking nine plays to score. Only one of those plays was in the red zone, and it was the 14-yard touchdown pass from Shaun Hill to Nate Burleson.
Giants - 3 scores on 3 chances (3 touchdowns)
New York had three trips to the red zone and scored a touchdown on each one. The first came toward the end of the first quarter. The Giants started with the ball on the Detroit 40 after a good punt return, and it took only five plays for them to score. Brandon Jacobs rumbled in from four yards out for the TD.
The next red zone trip came in the third quarter and should have resulted in only a field goal. The Lions got a stop on third and goal, but a Cliff Avril unsportsmanlike penalty kept the drive going. As a result, the Giants got a fresh set of downs and Eli Manning completed a one-yard pass to Travis Beckum for a touchdown on the second third and goal of the drive.
The final red zone trip for the Giants was immediately after Burleson's fumble in the fourth quarter. Ahmad Bradshaw took the ball through a huge hole for a gain of 45 yards on the very next play to get inside the 20, and only two plays later Jacobs got his second touchdown of the game, scoring from six yards out.
Overall
It really isn't too surprising that the Lions struggled to get into the red zone on offense, because they were down to their third-string quarterback. Detroit did hit a pair of 50-yard field goals, so another first down on either of those drives could have resulted in another red zone opportunity. The offense simply struggled to put together a consistent effort, which I really can't fault them for too much given the circumstances.
Defensively, the Lions didn't have an answer for Jacobs, who played very well as the goal line type of back for New York. That probably wasn't the biggest issue from last Sunday, though. The worst play of the game arguably was Avril's penalty after the Lions had New York stopped. By giving the Giants a fresh set of downs, NY ended up getting four more points than they should have. That was the worst red zone play you will see in a while in my mind.