If you've watched five minutes of Detroit sports news this week, you know that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered an injury to the middle finger of his right throwing hand last Sunday vs. the Bears.
Stafford donned a glove on the hand, and did not miss any snaps. He said the injury did not affect the game plan vs. the Bears, and would not be a factor in this week's plan either. He tested out a custom glove in practice this week.
"Still kind of working on it," Stafford said Wednesday. "Threw a little bit in the walk through, still working on it, figuring out what's going to be best come Sunday.
"I'm going to try to prepare throughout the week like it's a game, whether that's glove or not. I'm still working on it, but whatever I end up doing in the game will not just be a guess. It will be something I've worked on."
Former Lions quarterback Greg Landry weighed in on the injury, explaining that the thumb and index finger are the most important in throwing the ball effectively. He also noted that Stafford finishing the game last Sunday shows he can play with the injury.
"He proved he could," Landry said. "He did it almost the whole game.
"I think it'll be real sore, but I think he can throw with it."
Stafford was a full participant in practice all week, and was not listed with a game designation for Sunday.
GETTING TO KNOW THE GIANTS
This week's game between the Lions and Giants features a very interesting matchup between two rising young stars: Cornerback Darius Slay and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
"He's just great with the ball," Slay said of Beckham. "You saw what he did in the Dallas game (last week). It wasn't going good. He dropped about three balls. The next thing you know he took a slant 60 yards.
"Big game-changer guy, man. He can split the top off your defense. We just have to be a defense that can contain him and just play ball."
The Giants line Beckham up all over the field, so it's unclear if the Lions will have Slay shadow him all game.
"Odell is a little different because he's inside, outside," Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. "A lot of times when we travel him, (the top receiver) if we're able to travel him, the guy stays outside most of the time, makes it a little bit easier."
For Mike O'Hara's full scouting report on the Giants, click here.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Sunday's matchup is a big game because it's the next one, but also because it has playoff implications.
The Lions could clinch the division with a win in New York AND a Packers loss.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:
- Will linebacker DeAndre Levy see more snaps? Tim Twentyman tackles that question and more in his latest 10 Questions column.
- Catch up on all the news from Teryl Austin's and Jim Bob Cooter's Thursday press conferences.
- Watch the Lions surprise a family by fully furnishing their new home as part of their Homes for the Holidays event.
- You asked. Now watch safety Don Carey answer your fan-submitted questions in this week's #AskALion episode.
- Read how roster depth is paying off for the Lions.
