Live updates: Lions lose preseason opener, QB Hooker to injury

East Rutherford, N.J. — Allow me to honest; I got to the press box this afternoon, for the first time since launching this site, lacking a concrete plan for how to handle the game. I definitely have ideas for after the final whistle blows, but wasn’t sure the best approach during the action.

I’ve done live blogging before, but find it incredibly distracting. Splitting focus to that degree causes my reporting to suffer. Still, I want to give you a place to discuss the game, in real time, while providing some kind of updates/analysis.

So we’ll tinker with this format tonight, and hopefully work toward a more stable plan by the start of the regular season. As always, feedback is welcomed and encourage.

For tonight, I’ll plan on timestamped updates at the end of each quarter, making sure I’m capture the happenings of the night. I’ll also plan for a mid-quarter updates if there are any newsworthy moments, particularly an injury.

Updates will be chronological, with the newest at the bottom.

7:49 p.m. — The play of Detroit and New York’s backups matched the weather — ugly. The quarter featured only three first downs, all belonging to the Giants, as both offenses struggled to execute.

For the Lions, the best performances came from some of the team’s young defensive linemen. UDFAs Nate Lynn and Isaac Ukwu both recorded sacks, with defensive tackle Brodric Martin splitting one with Lynn. Martin also had a nice shed-and-stop on a run, so it’s a promising start for the former third-round pick.

The only scoring came via a 53-yard field goal by Jake Bates, which is extra impressive because of the soupy conditions. That happened shortly after a Brandon Joseph interception, where Giants quarterback Drew Lock missed the defender in an underneath zone and threw it directly into Joseph’s chest.

Unfortunately for Bates, he immediately missed the landing zone on the ensuing kickoff, an infraction that gave the Giants the ball at the 40-yard line.

Nate Sudfeld got the start at QB for Detroit, but couldn’t find an early rhythm in the inclement conditions, completing just 1-of-5 for 3 yards.

8:40 p.m. — Behind backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, the Giants offense settled into a groove in the second quarter. With their first series in the frame, they needed just six plays to go 91 yards for a touchdown.

The big gains came from running back Eric Gray, who beat Lions linebacker DaRon Gilbert on a 24-yard wheel route, before juking past Norris in the second level on a draw, resulting in a 48-yard romp into the end zone.

Gray and the Giants added a second touchdown on a 1-yard run that capped a four-play series that started at the Lions’ 32-yard line. The field position was the result of a failed QB sneak by Sudfeld.

The Lions threatened to counterpunch at the end of the half, but Sudfeld threw an ugly interception while rolling to his right in the red zone. Cornerback Tre Herndon snagged the pick, but fumbled it back to Detroit on the return. Still, it was enough to kill the threat at the end of the half.

It’ll be interesting to see if that’s the end of Sudfeld’s night. Through two quarters, he’s completed 7-of-15 for 40 yards and the interception, often choosing not to take the downfield shots within the play designs.

9:23 — The score didn’t change in the third frame, holding steady at 14-3, but quarterback Hendon Hooker provided a reason for Lions fans to stick around for the remainder of the contest.

Detroit’s second-year quarterback pieced together a nice drive in his second series, leading the team on a 14-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a turnover on downs deep in Giants territory.

The positives for the quarterback during the possession were a pair of drive-extending competition on third down, including one to tight end Parker Hesse while taking a shot to the head. Hooker also had an excellent 16-yard run on a rollout, where instead of sliding, he ran through the safety.

The drive stalled when Hooker was too high on a fade route to Donovan Peoples-Jones into the end zone, followed by having his fourth-down pass batted down by a blitzing linebacker.

9:35 — Hooker went into the tent for medical attention before he was taken to the locker room for further evaluation. It looked like the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant was involved, hinting at a concussion test. Nate Sudfeld is back in the game.

10: — The second half offered zero points for either team as the Lions squandered a second trip into the red zone during the fourth quarter, turning it over on downs once again.

Sudfeld, replacing the injured Hooker, kickstarted that series with a 26-yard post pattern to Donovan Peoples-Jones. The QB extended the series with third-down completions to Maurice Alexander and Isaiah Williams, before drawing a lengthy pass interference infraction on a deep ball inside the 10-yard line to Jalon Calhoun before the drive petered out.

On fourth down, rookie offensive tackle Giovanni Manu was badly beaten, resulting in a hit on Sudfeld that forced a drive-killing incompletion. Manu also surrendered a possession-ending sack earlier in the frame.

The sloppy game, in equally sloppy conditions, saw the teams combine for just 478 yards of offense.