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Sam Darnold's debut began with the most Jet-like first pass in franchise history. After more than 40 years of waiting for a franchise quarterback, the first thing he does is throw a pick-six?

It's a good thing nobody in New York would ever overreact to one play!

Because after that, the kid was pretty good. And the Jets were even better.

Sam Darnold's NFL debut started with a pick-six. The rest of it went smoothly.

The Jets rookie quarterback threw for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-21 passing, Darron Lee had two of the Jets' five interceptions (including a pick-six) and Andre Roberts returned a punt for a touchdown as New York scored 31 unanswered points in a 48-17 win over the Detriot Lions 41-17 on Monday at Ford Field.

After Matthew Stafford's touchdown pass to Golden Tate tied the game at 17 in the third quarter, Darnold led a six-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown to Quincy Enunwa that made it 24-17.

Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

The Giants may spend part of their summer in the suburbs of Detroit, holding a few days of joint practices with the Lions.

The two teams are in talks about holding the joint workouts, according to a source, which would take place sometime during the week of Aug. 12-18. The training camp sessions would lead up to the Giants' Week 2 preseason game against the Lions at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. 

The Lions might have come away with a win over the Giants Monday, but tight end Eric Ebron is still not pleased with at least one play that occurred in the first half. 

Giants safety Landon Collins unleashed a big hit on Ebron in the early portion of the game, which still has the tight end stewing. That, however, didn't stop Ebron from catching a touchdown during the second quarter of action.

"I was pissed off," Ebron told the Detroit News. "I was pissed off at that little punk of a safety that got over there. ... I just told him good hit. He may have said some other things, but it's cool.

"Collins, he played a good game, that hit just pissed me off and I didn't feel like celebrating. I wasn't in that kind of joyful mood. It was still a good game. He played his butt off trying to guard me. I commend him for that."

Matthew Stafford threw for two touchdowns, rookie Jamal Agnew broke the game open with an 88-yard punt return in the fourth quarter and the Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants 24-10 on Monday night.

The Lions (2-0) sacked Eli Manning five times and Stafford put together another big game while sending the Giants (0-2) to a second straight disappointing performance in a season where so much was expected. Star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. returned from a sprained left ankle, but New York still struggled offensively. >> Read more

Copyright 2017 by The Associated Press

While New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles did name a starting quarterback for Saturday's preseason game against the Detroit Lions, he is expected to give Josh McCown more playing time.

McCown, who did not get receive any reps at Thursday's practice when the Jets did game-plan prep, according to ESPN's Rich Cimini, played the opening drive last week in New York's 7-3 win over the Tennessee Titans, but Christian Hackenberg then played the following eight possessions.

Bowles said he didn't anticipate any lineup changes, but left the door open to it by saying, "we'll discuss it."

New York Jets linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin tweaked his back and sat out practice Thursday, leaving him uncertain for the preseason game at Detroit on Saturday night.

Mauldin had been dealing with a back issue earlier during training camp, but returned to the field Wednesday. Coach Todd Bowles said the third-year linebacker was inside receiving treatment during practice Thursday.

Bowles added that he was unsure how long Mauldin would be sidelined, but said that he would likely not play against the Lions.

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY:

The New York Giants' road to Super Bowl LI begins in Green Bay, the site of two of the greatest triumphs of Eli Manning's career.

Their trip to Lambeau Field became official hours after the Giants finished up their 11-5 season with an impressive 19-10 win in Washington on Sunday afternoon. When the Packers (10-6) defeated the Detroit Lions 31-24 Sunday night, they clinched the NFC North title and the No. 4 seed in the NFC. That set up a date with the fifth-seeded Giants in the wild-card round Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET.

While the New York Giants are still alive in the postseason and head to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round, their 2017 opponents became official on Sunday.

The Giants will have four road games on the West Coast next season, traveling to face the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders. 

In addition to home and road games against their division rivals, New York will travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next year.

The New York Giants will face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in the NFC wild-card round on Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET in their first playoff appearance since winning Super Bowl XLVI.

Despite their 11-5 record being tied for second best in the NFC, the Giants are the No. 5 seed in the playoffs after they finished second in the NFC East to the 13-3 Dallas Cowboys. 

The Packers, who have won six in a row, finished 10-6 and are the No. 4 seed following their 31-24 win over the Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.

Ralph Vacchiano, SNY.TV: 

Everybody on the bandwagon! And make room for me, because the Giants have most definitely made me a believer. I'm not sure what I'm believing in exactly -- that they're a legitimate contender or on some sort of destiny trip towards Super Bowl XLI. But after what I've seen the last two weeks, I'm done doubting them.

It's only fair, really. Like everyone else who watched them survive despite their flaws during their six-game win streak, I wanted to see more. I trumpeted the big step up in class provided by their December schedule and I wondered if they'd be up to the task. Then they faltered in Pittsburgh, showing all the same flaws and having them cost them a win, and it looked like they maybe weren't as good as they wanted everyone to believe.

Ralph Vacchiano

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants' defense has been so good, especially over the last few weeks, it looks capable of carrying them all the way to the Super Bowl. So imagine how unstoppable the Giants would be if their offense was even adequate instead of just bad.

That's the irony of this team: After the offense carried it the last few seasons, the script has been completely flipped. The offense has been so bad that it had reason to celebrate on Sunday when it gained 300 total yards in the Giants' 17-6 win over the Detroit Lions -- it was the first time it hit that low total in almost a month.

Former New York Giants offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The Giants released Schwartz in February to clear roughly $3 million in cap space. He played 11 games with the Giants last season and two games in 2014, missing significant time due to injuries. He thanked the organization for giving him an opportunity to play after he was cut.

Schwartz, 29, had played with the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs before joining New York.

If you can imagine an offense that contains a former No. 1 overall pick at QB, a former Heisman Trophy winner at RB and the best WR since Jerry Rice you'd be hard-pressed to think they'd be fighting for their playoff lives this season.

But that's where the Detroit Lions stand at this point in time. They need to beat the Giants today to stay in the thick of the NFC playoff picture. I think they will.

Since 2011, Detroit Lions' WR Calvin Johnson leads the NFL with 5,094 receiving yards and 113.2 yards per game. He is the only player in NFL history with 5,000 receiving yards in three-year span.

Johnson is a great player, no question. He stands 6'5, weighs 235 lbs and is a threat to score from any part of the gridiron. He has had some monster games this season, including one in which he racked up 329 yards, but there have been times this year when Johnson has been held in check.

The Giants did not accomplish that feat until the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter in Sunday?s loss to the Seahawks, so it?s up to offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to figure out how to move the ball.

Of course, five more interceptions from Eli Manning didn?t help, but it wasn?t all his fault.

Even though the season is over for the Giants, the game must still be played, and this week, Big Blue will look to play spoiler as they face the Detroit Lions who are still battling for the top spot in the NFC North.

With an offense that includes the combination of Matthew Stafford, superstar Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush, the Giants defense is going to have to prepared to avoid another blowout. It might not be so much about the preparation for Detroit's high-powered offense?that has?talent at every offensive position, but the effort that the defense puts in, knowing that they are playing for nothing other than attempting to salvage what is left of the team's reputation.

Johnson would have a banner game (5 catches for 146 yards) but he had an 87-yard TD reception thrown in there (on a tipped pass over Terrell Thomas and Antrel Rolle) to pad his stats.

The Lions were without starting QB Matthew Stafford?(shoulder). Then the Giants knocked his backup - Shaun Hill - from the game with a broken left forearm, which paved the way for third-stringer Drew Stanton - who almost pulled off an upset.

The answer is clear: all the tickets are gone.

From the Detroit Lions...

Here's the AP's Tom Canavan:

When Tom Coughlin started discussing the Lions with his New York Giants, there was no mention of either Detroit's near-record 23-game road losing streak or the 1-4 regular-season?mark.

... receiver Calvin Johnson, who was limited in practice again today by a right shoulder injury, said his availability for Sunday?s game against the New York Giants remains up in the air.

?I?m not guessing or betting anything, it just depends on how it feels,? Johnson said when asked about the chances he plays Sunday. ?If my range of motion and my strength is there, then I can play. It?s all going to come down to Saturday night and see how it feels then, really.?

Former Safety C.C. Brown Claims Media "Did Him Wrong"

In New York, we're happy to be rid of him, for everyone's sake, and we wish him well.? End of story.? So, why is he now telling the Lions' beat pool that the media was the cause of his demise in New York?

Yes, he got tagged with the "Can't Cover" moniker by the local writers but that was because a) it was great copy and b) he really couldn't cover anyone!?

Lions A Better Fit Right Now For Campbell Than Giants

The Giants begrudgingly released former U of Minnesota LB Lee Campbell this week to make space on their roster for Jerry Reese's new draft class.

My personal assessment is that Jerry Reese covets his draft choices.? Phillip Dillard and Jonathan Goff will be the finalists in the MLB derby.? Both were drafted by Reese, while Campbell was an undrafted free-agent.