Now 2-0, is it time to start believing in the Detroit Lions?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — He took a step back before he leaned forward, and it almost turned disastrous. Maybe in years past it would have. What with the Curse of Bobby Layne and all.

Not that Detroit Lions punt returner Jamal Agnew cares a lick about whatever sorcery enveloped this franchise during its half-century of (mostly) losing football. He just wanted to catch the ball Monday night at Metlife Stadium.

He damn near didn’t.

Which made his game-swinging, fourth-quarter, 88-yard punt return for a touchdown that much more stunning. After misjudging the distance of the punt, Agnew lunged forward to snag it off his shoestrings near the 12-yard line.

He cut left. Back right. Slithered through a gap. Juked the punter. Raced down the left sideline, his teammates thrusting their fists in the air as he sprinted.

They knew what it meant. Heck, the whole state of Michigan knew it meant: a Lions’ road win – they beat the Giants, 24-10, to open their season 2-0.

They beat a team that made the playoffs a year ago. A team that crushed them when they played here last December. A team that dominated the line of scrimmage.

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Well, that didn’t change as much as the Lions would have liked. At least not on the offensive line, where a slew of holding calls – five, if you’re counting – imploded a few of their drives.

And until left tackle Greg Robinson gets better – or Taylor Decker gets healthy – protection of Matthew Stafford’s blind side will be an issue. Especially against the league’s better defenses.

If nothing else, the Giants have one of those. What they have offensively is plain offensive. Judging from the booing that began with New York’s third offensive play.

It’s hard to blame them. Football fans here don’t think much of the Lions. For good reason. So, from their perspective, the Giants were getting outplayed by an inferior team.

But that’s not what happened at Metlife Stadium. Not if you look past the Honolulu Blue and Silver brand. For the second time in as many weeks, the Lions played fast and physical up front.

Their defensive line sacked Eli Manning five times. Hurried him into terrible throws several others. On one series late in the second quarter, rookie linebacker Jarrad Davis hammered Manning in the pocket.

On the next play, defensive end Ziggy Ansah bulldozed the Giants’ left tackle, Ereck Flowers, and crushed Manning for another loss.

He skipped to the sideline after the sack – it was third down. To mark the end of the drive, sure, but also to announce that he’s back. Playing with swagger and joy. Getting closer to the All-NFL force he once was.

Ansah, you’ll recall, missed all of training camp this summer. So to watch his speed and effectiveness Monday night was a surprise. But then so is the overall effort of his defensive teammates.

Though not to Manning.

"You know, they're a good front four," he said. "We knew we were going to have to get the ball out quickly."

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Manning and the Giants coaching staff saw that on film. Saw a deep and frothy front seven backed fortified by a handful of young guys itching to pummel the quarterback.

They saw it again in person. He was frustrated Monday night in New Jersey. Flummoxed, if you will. To the point that in the third quarter, on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Manning flinched, and failed to snap the ball before the play clock expired.

A Lions defense did that?

Yes, it did, disorienting as it is believe.

But ... believe it.

Because the defense won the game. Controlled the game. Gave the offense a large margin for error as it moved the ball in fits and starts. Held the Giants off until Agnew grabbed a punt a few inches from the turf and slipped through a maze on the way to the end zone.

"Nails," Stafford called it. "They're playing at a high level at the moment."

Yes, it may turn out that these Giants aren’t much better than the Cardinals, whom the Lions shut down a week ago in their home opener. 

So what?

Winning on the road is hard. If it weren’t, the Lions would have been doing it all along. Besides, the Lions didn’t win a single game like this a year ago. And no matter what else we say about the quality of the opponents, or the Lions' inconsistent offense – it’s a work in progress – these are the kinds of games that catapult a team toward the postseason.

Stafford insists it's just another football game. Though not all of his teammates do.

"It's Monday night," said Ansah. "We were the only game on."

They played like it, too.

Sack the quarterback. Fly around in the secondary like Quandre Diggs; the second-year cornerback stuffed a fourth-down attempt late in the game. Scramble from a collapsing pocket for a first down like Stafford, who had a savvy and gutty game using his feet.

And, return a punt for a touchdown. When the opposing crowd still believes. When the opponent is closing in.

"Had a lot of daylight," said Agnew. "I caught the ball, made a move and just got north."

He's being modest, of course, and underplaying his touchdown's momentum. After all, he described it as surrel. So maybe he's still in shock. 

Maybe you are still in shock, too.

Because the Lions don't go to places like Metlife Stadium and take control from the start. If they do, they blow it. Or find a way to come up short. 

In a better world, the Lions avoid the holding penalties and connect on a few of Stafford's deep passes. Accomplish that, and the Giants don't hang around as long.

Still, they faded. Because the Lions made them fade.

For so long, they used to be the ones drifting off in oblivion. Not this time.

"We've got a lot of great fans back home that are hungry for a winning football team," said T.J. Lang, the offensive guard who jumped over from the Packers last winter and who grew up in Ferndale a Lions' fan. "We're ready to give it to them."

It might be time to start believing. 

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!