ball to allow him to free his arms, which resulted i

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Defense wins championships, and right now the New York Giants are convincing many that they might be the NFLs best.Forget that they are ranked in the middle of the league. In the past two games, Steve Spagnuolos group has limited division leaders Dallas and Detroit to a total of 13 points, and Sundays 17-6 win over the Lions on Sunday came in a game where top cornerback Janoris Jenkins left early in the second quarter with a back injury.Add in another Odell Beckham Jr. one-hand touchdown catch to delight replay fanatics and the Giants have inched closer to their first playoff berth since 2011, and maybe more, with a win that snapped the NFC North-leading Lions five-game winning streak.This is really exciting, I dont even know the word to use, linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. Its starting to be a beautiful thing. Thirteen points the last two weeks, we like where were at now.The win was the eighth in nine games for the Giants (10-4) and it gave them their best record through 14 games since 2008, when they opened 11-3.The formula was the one the team has followed in Ben McAdoos first season: Just enough offense and a tough stingy, pass-rushing defense that has now come up with big back-to-back efforts against two division leaders in Dallas (11-2) and Detroit (9-5), giving up 13 total points.Eli Manning (20 of 28 for 201 yards) threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard on a 75-yard opening drive and then iced the game with a 4-yard TD pass that Beckham caught with his left hand and then pranced into the end zone for a 11-point lead with 5:20 to play.Norm, veteran receiver Victor Cruz said of Beckhams one-hander, which still paled in comparison to the fully extended TD catch against Dallas in his rookie year. The norm. I wasnt even surprised.Beckham said catches like that just kind of happens for him.You practice it and practice it, he said. Thats why you practice right hand layups and left hand layups. Its just kind of, I dont know.Beckham, who had six catches for 64 yards, almost wasnt done. He reversed field about three times on a 63-yard punt return that brought the remaining fans to their seats less than a minute later. The electrifying return was nullified by an illegal block, but was simply a thrill to watch.The Lions, who had rallied in the fourth quarter to win eight of their nine games, never came close to a comeback in this one as the Giants made them play on a long field all day.Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford didnt show any major issues playing with an injured middle finger on his throwing hand. He finished 24 of 39 for 274 yards and an interception , finding Golden Tate eight times for 122 yards.Theyre a good team, Stafford said. Their secondary is probably the best weve played all year. Theyve got a really good defensive line. We knew it was going to be a challenge going into the day. We just didnt make enough plays.The biggest play for the Lions was a 67-yard throw from Stafford to Tate that gave the Lions first-and-10 at the Giants 11, trailing 7-3 in the second quarter. On first down, Zach Zenner fumbled at the end of a 7-yard run after being hit by Leon Hall and Olivier Vernon recovered in the end zone.Obviously, we lost the turnover battle, lost the rushing battle. Its tough to win on the road when you do that, Stafford said. Weve got to look in the mirror and correct what we did wrong today.Matt Prater accounted for the Lions points with field goals of 48 yards in the second quarter and 33 in the third. The second cut the deficit to 10-6 -- New York had gotten a 47-yard field goal from Robbie Gould late in the second quarter.However, the Lions never got closer as New York limited Detroit to 5 of 14 on third down and 324 yards.CANT STOP ODELL: Beckham had six catches for 64 yards. He has 85 catches for 1,173 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, and is the first player in NFL history to get at least 80 catches and 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons.WINGY: Less than a week after being named the NFC special teams player of the week, Brad Wing of the Giants had a punt partially blocked by Brandon Copeland for an 18-yard net. The Lions got the ball at their own 43, but failed to convert. Wing had two punts downed inside the 5 in the second half.OVERLOOKED BIG PLAYS: Rookie cornerback Eli Apple made one of the biggest plays for the Giants, recovering from 5 yards back to break up a deep pass to Tate in the end zone early in the second quarter.I didnt think I was going to get there, but the ball hung up a little and I got my fingertip on it, said Apple, who had seven tackles. Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, who also had seven tackles, also made up yards to catch Tate on his 67-yard reception.INJURIES: Detroit starting CB Darius Slay left in the second quarter after aggravating a hamstring injury. Leading rusher Theo Riddick missed his second straight game with a wrist injury.For New York, Jenkins also left in the second quarter with a back injury and did not return. Backup QB Ryan Nassib was inactive because of a recurring elbow injury. LG Justin Pugh played for the first time since injuring a knee on Nov. 6UP NEXT:Lions: Visit Cowboys on Dec. 26Giants: Visit Eagles on Dec. 22.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Lance McCullers Astros Jersey . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Carlos Lee Jersey . PAUL, Minn. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/george-springer-astros-jersey/ . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Jeff Bagwell Astros Jersey . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. J. R. Richard Astros Jersey .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. This was the day England needed.After the debacle in Dhaka, this was the day England needed to heal some wounds and settle some nerves. They havent just eased themselves into the series, they have given themselves a decent opportunity to start with a win.It takes nothing away from the England performance to acknowledge that they enjoyed several slices of fortune. Most crucially, they won a toss that may well prove to be disproportionately useful by the end of the game. They also benefited from some poor fielding - not least three dropped chances within the first 30 minutes - an umpiring call that could have gone the other way, and some injury trouble for Mohammed Shami.But little is easy in India. At present, the air is hard to breathe, the money hard to spend and the roads hard to navigate. And seizing the opportunity that fate presented required negating some fine bowling - the seamers were particularly impressive, though Shamis attack of cramp perhaps hinted at a conditioning issue - and some skilful and intelligent play against the spinners.Joe Root was especially impressive. Hungry to prove himself in these conditions - this was his first century in Asia and only his third outside England and Wales - and aware of his sides reliance upon him, he produced a wonderfully mature performance to help rescue them from a potentially perilous 102 for 3 at lunch. Had he fallen early, the scars of Dhaka may well have started to itch.Unlike his masterful double-century against Pakistan in Manchester, though, this was not an innings in which he avoided all risk. Determined to take the fight to the India spinners in particular, determined to unsettle them and knock them off their length, he used the crease in a manner of which Kumar Sangakkara would have been proud and, every so often, produced a sweep, too. Even Ravi Ashwin, the No. 1 rated bowler in Test cricket, was driven for successive fours at one stage as he struggled to find a length that would control Root, while a rattled Amit Mishra was trusted with only 10 overs.While Root allowed himself more freedom once he had reached his century - Ravi Jadeja was lofted for a straight six and Ashwin was reverse-swept for four - this was not an innings studded with boundaries. Indeed, there were only three fours in his second 50.But there was also only one maiden between lunch and tea. So proficient has Root become at manoeuvring the ball into gaps, at placement and pushes and turns and dabs, that he was able to score at nearly 70 runs per 100 balls without seeming to rush. It was the first Test century by an overseas batsman in India since Michael Clarke in 2013 (in other words, there have been 12 successive Tests without a visiting player making a century in India) and further evidence that, in Root, England have a gem.His approach was complemented by that of Moeen Ali. While Root used the crease, Moeen used his feet. Skipping down the pitch to the spinners, in defence and attack, he too refused to let the bowlers settle. He keeps them interested, for sure, but he also plays with beautifully soft hands and curbed his more aggressive instincts to ensure he made his good start pay. He resumes in the morning requiring one run for his third Test century in six months and his first away from home. Since May 20, he is averaging a fraction under 60 with the bat in Test cricket.I justt tried to be quite positive with my footwork, Root said.dddddddddddd. I tried to get right forward and right back, use my feet at times and - when it was available - use the sweep shot. I wanted to try and make it hard for them to settle on one line and length.With a partner at the other end also playing quite freely, with the board ticking over all the time and a right- and left-hander, it was very difficult for them to build any pressure. Thats going to be really important for us to build on as a team. If we can continue to do that, it might be quite difficult for them to build that pressure in the first innings.It might be slightly different second innings, when it starts to spin a bit more and variable bounce comes into it. But if we can start well first up and make big scores in the first innings, then that should give us a great opportunity when it comes to bowling as well.It was very satisfying. I felt like Id made starts but Ive had a habit of getting out between 50 and 100. So to get big runs early on is really pleasing.The most encouraging aspect of all this is that the pitch will, almost certainly, deteriorate. Already there is some uneven bounce off the cracks and patchy surface. Already there is some assistance, albeit gentle, for the spinners. It would be a surprise if there was not substantially more as the game develops. First-innings runs are likely to be far easier to score than second.Nor will England have been discouraged by the ball reverse-swinging for Indias seamers. Ahead of the game, Stuart Broad had questioned whether the conditions - a relatively lush outfield, a relatively unused square and an SG ball that England use infrequently - would enable them to find such movement. If the ball reverses, Englands seamers will always be a challenge. If it doesnt, they face some long days in the field.It wasnt a perfect day. Alastair Cook, who played and missed at six of his first 13 balls and edged three more, looked horribly out of form and Ben Ducketts defensive prod - front foot well inside the line of the ball to allow him to free his arms, which resulted in an edge to slip - will have offspinners around the world salivating with delight.And there is much work to do. A total of 400 would probably be insufficient. England need to bat long into the second day, perhaps into the third if they can. They need to give India an opportunity to bat only when the pitch has started to deteriorate. If Kohli and co get started while it is still in this state, they are likely to enjoy it greatly.By the end of day two, three and into day four, the game will speed up drastically in my opinion, Root said. I might be completely wrong. But having spent some time out there and seen the cracks on the wicket - and already the variable bounce its shown - it might go into fast-forward come day three onwards.So it will be really important to make big scores and day two and take advantage of this really good start.Theres a long way to go and the cautious may remind that England enjoyed a good first day of the Ashes series of 2013-14. But this was about as good a start as most could have hoped for from England and it does set up this match, and perhaps this series, perfectly. spell of bouncers. ' ' '