Defence wins championships, and right now the New York Giants are convincing many they might be the NFL's best.
Forget that they are ranked in the middle of the league.
In the past two games, Steve Spagnuolo's group has limited division leaders Dallas and Detroit to a combined 13 points, and Sunday's 17-6 win over the Lions 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 don't even know the word to use," linebacker Jonathan Casillas said.
"It's starting to be a beautiful thing. Thirteen points the last two weeks, we like where we're 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 McAdoo's first season: Just enough offence and a tough stingy, pass-rushing defence that has now come up with big back-to-back efforts against two division leaders in Dallas (11-2) and Detroit (9-5).
