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Posted at 11:33 a.m., Sunday, November 18, 2007

NFL: Giants beat Lions, earn NFC's third-best record

By Larry Lage
Associated Press

DETROIT — The New York Giants leaned on their defense to earn the third-best record in the NFC.

Barely.

Michael Strahan had a season-high three sacks while James Butler and Sam Madison both made victory-sealing interceptions, helping New York beat the Detroit Lions 16-10 today.

Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs, who later left the game with an injury, and Lawrence Tynes kicked three field goals to give the Giants more than enough offense.

Or, so it seemed.

Detroit finally put together a strong drive, ending with Calvin Johnson's 35-yard TD catch to pull within six with 4:34 left.

After a three-and-out drive, Detroit drove to midfield and Jon Kitna heaved an up-for-grabs pass to Shaun McDonald that Butler leaped to snag just inside the end zone.

The Lions had one more chance, getting the ball at their 32 with 1:25 left, but a pass went off McDonald's hands in New York territory and right to Madison in the final minute.

New York (7-3) broke a third-place tie with Detroit in the conference and improved its chances of making the playoffs. In the Super Bowl era, 78.4 percent of teams that won seven of their first 10 games ended up in the postseason.

The win came at a price: Jacobs was sidelined in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka broke his left leg early in the game.

Detroit (6-4) dropped back-to-back games for the first time this year and lost for the first time at Ford Field, where it will host the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving.