Scottish and British Opens demonstrated his competence on links courses

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Defense wins championships, and right now the New York Giants are convincing many that they might be the NFLs best.Forget that they are ranked in the middle of the league. In the past two games, Steve Spagnuolos group has limited division leaders Dallas and Detroit to a total of 13 points, and Sundays 17-6 win over the Lions on Sunday 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 dont even know the word to use, linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. Its starting to be a beautiful thing. Thirteen points the last two weeks, we like where were 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 McAdoos first season: Just enough offense and a tough stingy, pass-rushing defense that has now come up with big back-to-back efforts against two division leaders in Dallas (11-2) and Detroit (9-5), giving up 13 total points.Eli Manning (20 of 28 for 201 yards) threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard on a 75-yard opening drive and then iced the game with a 4-yard TD pass that Beckham caught with his left hand and then pranced into the end zone for a 11-point lead with 5:20 to play.Norm, veteran receiver Victor Cruz said of Beckhams one-hander, which still paled in comparison to the fully extended TD catch against Dallas in his rookie year. The norm. I wasnt even surprised.Beckham said catches like that just kind of happens for him.You practice it and practice it, he said. Thats why you practice right hand layups and left hand layups. Its just kind of, I dont know.Beckham, who had six catches for 64 yards, almost wasnt done. He reversed field about three times on a 63-yard punt return that brought the remaining fans to their seats less than a minute later. The electrifying return was nullified by an illegal block, but was simply a thrill to watch.The Lions, who had rallied in the fourth quarter to win eight of their nine games, never came close to a comeback in this one as the Giants made them play on a long field all day.Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford didnt show any major issues playing with an injured middle finger on his throwing hand. He finished 24 of 39 for 274 yards and an interception , finding Golden Tate eight times for 122 yards.Theyre a good team, Stafford said. Their secondary is probably the best weve played all year. Theyve got a really good defensive line. We knew it was going to be a challenge going into the day. We just didnt make enough plays.The biggest play for the Lions was a 67-yard throw from Stafford to Tate that gave the Lions first-and-10 at the Giants 11, trailing 7-3 in the second quarter. On first down, Zach Zenner fumbled at the end of a 7-yard run after being hit by Leon Hall and Olivier Vernon recovered in the end zone.Obviously, we lost the turnover battle, lost the rushing battle. Its tough to win on the road when you do that, Stafford said. Weve got to look in the mirror and correct what we did wrong today.Matt Prater accounted for the Lions points with field goals of 48 yards in the second quarter and 33 in the third. The second cut the deficit to 10-6 -- New York had gotten a 47-yard field goal from Robbie Gould late in the second quarter.However, the Lions never got closer as New York limited Detroit to 5 of 14 on third down and 324 yards.CANT STOP ODELL: Beckham had six catches for 64 yards. He has 85 catches for 1,173 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, and is the first player in NFL history to get at least 80 catches and 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons.WINGY: Less than a week after being named the NFC special teams player of the week, Brad Wing of the Giants had a punt partially blocked by Brandon Copeland for an 18-yard net. The Lions got the ball at their own 43, but failed to convert. Wing had two punts downed inside the 5 in the second half.OVERLOOKED BIG PLAYS: Rookie cornerback Eli Apple made one of the biggest plays for the Giants, recovering from 5 yards back to break up a deep pass to Tate in the end zone early in the second quarter.I didnt think I was going to get there, but the ball hung up a little and I got my fingertip on it, said Apple, who had seven tackles. Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, who also had seven tackles, also made up yards to catch Tate on his 67-yard reception.INJURIES: Detroit starting CB Darius Slay left in the second quarter after aggravating a hamstring injury. Leading rusher Theo Riddick missed his second straight game with a wrist injury.For New York, Jenkins also left in the second quarter with a back injury and did not return. Backup QB Ryan Nassib was inactive because of a recurring elbow injury. LG Justin Pugh played for the first time since injuring a knee on Nov. 6UP NEXT:Lions: Visit Cowboys on Dec. 26Giants: Visit Eagles on Dec. 22.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Green Bay Packers Pro Shop . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Green Bay Packers Shirts . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. https://www.packersjerseysale.com/ . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Stitched Packers Jerseys . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Wholesale Packers Jerseys . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Tyrrell Hatton won his first European Tour title after taking apart the Old Course at St. Andrews for the second straight day in an impressive display of front-running at the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday.The 24-year-old Englishman, who had a three-shot lead overnight, followed up a course record-tying, bogey-free 62 at the home of golf on Saturday with a 6-under 66 in the final round. He finished on a total of 23 under par (265).Hatton won by four shots from Richard Sterne (66) and Ross Fisher (67) to earn about $800,000 -- easily the biggest pay check of his career.The win capped a strong second half of 2016 for Hatton, who was second at the Scottish Open, fifth at the British Open and 10th at the U.S. PGA Championship.Its a dream come true, and to do it at the home of golf is fantastic, said the 53rd-ranked Hatton, who had two second places and two third places on his resume until finally ending his drought.His performances in the Scottish and British Opens demonstrated his competence on links courses, and his weekend rounds at St. Andrews were clinics.Hatton had three straight birdies at Nos. 3-5 and rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 9 to open up a six-sshot advantage.dddddddddddd More birdies came at Nos. 12, 14 and 15, meaning a bogey on the 17th -- after finding the Road Hole bunker -- had little effect and he could play the famous 18th hole with no pressure.I was quite nervous for the majority of the round, Hatton said, but I played really solid and holed some good putts, and that kept the momentum going.Sterne chipped in for birdie at No. 17 and parred the last for a bogey-free 66 -- and a fourth straight round in the 60s this week. Fisher, the second-round leader, stiffed his approach on No. 18 and tapped in for birdie to secure a tie for second.Joakim Lagergren of Sweden shot 68 for 17 under and a fourth-place finish, which will secure his tour card for another season.The Dunhill Links is played over three Scottish links courses -- at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns -- across the first three days before culminating in a final round over the Old Course.It incorporates two separate competitions: An individual European Tour tournament and a team event in which professionals are paired with amateur golfers. ' ' '