Free McDonald’s fries with every Detroit Lions interception
After every Lions game in which the Lions intercept a ball, fans can get a free portion of McDonald’s famous French fries.
Tonight is football again with the Detroit Lions.
The Lions will face the New York Giants for the first time in their preseason opener on Thursday night. The Lions began training camp for the 2024 season in late July and left their home facility this week to practice with the Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Monday and Tuesday. This is the first of three preseason exhibition games for the Lions before their regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 8.
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The game begins at 7 p.m. at MetLife Stadium. It will be broadcast locally on Fox and streamed on Fubo. According to BetMGM, the Lions are underdogs, four points behind.
Follow the live updates below.
Live updates and highlights from the Lions vs. Giants preseason
Another Lions drive ended in a loss at the Giants’ 5-yard line after Sudfeld couldn’t find Jake Funk on fourth down. Detroit gained 84 yards in 11 plays, helped by a long pass interference penalty on an end zone throw.
The Lions are hit by a brutal series of injuries in the fourth quarter. Reserve offensive tackle Connor Galvin, a 2023 undrafted free agent and practice squad member who played as a backup right tackle in the preseason, had to be carried off the field with a leg injury. Jake Funk and a bunch of Giants defenders tackled Galvin in the legs while he was making a block, and he remained on the ground.
Hendon Hooker’s first appearance in an NFL game didn’t last too long. He didn’t return to the game for a third series early in the fourth quarter and was seen on the game broadcast with trainers on the sidelines before heading to the locker room, according to reports from the stadium.
The first two drives of the second half ended in punts, and the Lions began the third from their own 9-yard line. Hendon Hooker led a 14-play, 88-yard drive to the Giants’ 5-yard line, but had two incomplete passes on third and fourth attempts and lost the game. Hooker completed five of eight passes on the drive and picked up another first down with a scramble. He has 34 rushing yards on four carries in two drives and has completely run over a defender.
It was not a great half for the Lions’ reserves, especially for the offense, which was limited to 87 yards and four first downs. The defense held the Giants in check until the last two drives, where they reached the end zone through Eric Gray. Nate Sudfeld struggled, completing seven of 15 passes over 40 yards with one interception. The biggest positive of the first half was Jake Bates’ successful field goal from 53 yards.
The Lions kept the offense on the field for the fourth down, but Nate Sudfeld was stopped on a quarterback sneak, giving the Giants the ball back at Detroit’s 41-yard line. The Giants found the end zone four plays later after a series of aerial gains with a one-yard run by Gray.
The Giants are on the board. New York managed a 91-yard drive in five plays, starting with a 24-yard pass to Gray, then 16 yards to Tyree Jackson. At the midfield line, the Giants let Gray take the pass up the middle and he reached the second level, dropped safety Morice Norris on a trick and ran for the game’s first touchdown.
The Lions failed to gain any yards after the interception with three consecutive turnovers, but Jake Bates had the opportunity to attempt his first field goal in a game as a Lion. He hit the 53-yard attempt from the left side with plenty of space and sunk it between the left upright. The Lions offense has gained 13 yards in three drives.
Brandon Joseph made the first big play of the game late in the first quarter. After the teams started the game with two three-and-outs each, Joseph jumped in front of a crossing route over the middle, intercepted a pass from Drew Lock from his free safety position and returned it to the New York 35-yard line.
Pre-game notes
Lions coach Dan Campbell said most of the starting lineups will rest during preseason games to avoid injury and give young players and players currently in position battles a chance to play. All of the Lions’ draft picks are likely to play, with the exception of sixth-round offensive lineman Christian Mahogany, who has not yet participated in training camp due to an illness.
There will still be plenty of exciting things to watch, even though most of the big-name players like Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown are off tonight. Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker will both get plenty of playing time at quarterback after spending the two weeks of training camp sharing second-team snaps behind Goff.
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Hooker, a 2023 third-round pick who missed his entire rookie season, has talent and the ability to throw on the run, but has struggled with accuracy and finding the right throw at times in practice. Sudfeld, who also missed all of last season, has been steady in practice but has also had turnovers when facing the Lions’ defense in training camp.
Brian Branch’s move to safety has also sparked tougher competition for the slot cornerback position after Emmanuel Moseley suffered a long-term injury. Amik Robertson, rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Ifeatu Melifonwu all expect to be in contention and could play there in this game, along with other positions in the secondary, as the coaching staff tests different combinations of players.
The depth of the defensive line will compete for playing time behind established players Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill, as well as newcomers Marcus Davenport and DJ Reader when the latter returns from injury. On offense, the coaches are still looking for a wide receiver to fill the third wide receiver role behind St. Brown and Jameson Williams.
On the special teams side, kicker Jake Bates is being scrutinized after an inconsistent start to training camp. The big-legged newcomer from the United Football League was shaky from distance in training, and the coaches emphasized at the start that they wanted to test Bates in as many different situations as possible to see how he reacts.
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