The NewYork Giants defeated the Detroit Lions, 14-3, in their 2024 preseason opener at MetLife Stadium on Thursday night. There were lots of questions heading into the game and few were answered as most of the team's key players did not play.

So, what did we learn from the game? Here are a few quick observations.

No Saquon, no problem

The Giants ran the ball at 5.7 yards per carry clip for a total of 155 yards. They did it with second-year back Eric Gray and rookies Tyrone Tracy Jr., and Dante Miller.

They did not seem to miss Saquon Barkley nor his primary replacement -- Devin Singletary -- who did not play in the game.

The new kickoff rules had little bearing

The Giants only had two chances to return kicks on Thursday night. The opening kickoff was taken by Isaiah McKenzie at the 3-yard line and returned to the 34-yard line. Isaiah Hodgins got called for holding which brought it back to the 19.

Their second chance fell short of the landing zone (the 20 yard-line) and the Giants began the drive on their 40. The Lions returned three kickoffs for a total of 76 yards with a long of 28. Summation: The play is generally boring and designed for the returner to be gang-tackled after about 25 yards.

Giants are deep at linebacker

Both backup inside linebackers -- Dyontae Johnson and rookie Darius Muasau -- are players with a nose for the football. Darrian Beavers actually led the Giants with five total tackles, one for a loss.

The 'simple' game plan was a hindrance

Head coach Brian Daboll drew up what he called a 'simple' game plan with a vanilla route tree. As a result, few receivers were able to get separation and the Giants' quarterbacks went 12-of-25 for 109 yards with one interception. The two main targets in the game were Gray and tight end Tyree Jackson with four each.

The young secondary passed their first test

The Lions, like the Giants, had issues in the passing game. They only had 110 yards passing with just three receptions over 10 yards, with the longest one going for 26 yards in the fourth quarter against the Giants' last line of defense.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: What we learned from Giants' 14-3 win over Lions