It was the start nightmares are made of, and the very last thing that the struggling Giants needed. Eric Gray fumbled away the opening kickoff and the Giants faced a seven-point deficit after just 11 seconds when Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass to Amari Cooper on the first play from scrimmage.
However, just when it looked like things were going to go from bad to worse, the Giants got a reprieve when Greg Newsome’s roughing-the-passer penalty negated a Daniel Jones interception. Jones settled down thereafter, leading a 13-play drive that culminated in Devin Singletary’s game-tying touchdown. He then led another touchdown drive just before halftime, with Malik Nabers making a spectacular three-yard grab to give New York a seven-point lead.
The Browns’ ensuing two-minute drill ended when Brian Burns forced a fumble with his first sack for the Giants and Jones cashed in the turnover with another touchdown pass to Nabers.
Still trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter, the Browns started off with good field position following a Giants punt and Watson found Cooper for another touchdown. A successful two-point conversion made it 21-15 with 11:33 remaining.
The Browns were threatening to take the lead on their next possession and had driven into Giants territory but Azeez Ojulari recovered a fumbled handoff. Cleveland got the ball back again, only to turn the ball over on downs at their own 30-yard line with four minutes left as Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence came up with short-yardage stops on third and fourth down.
Although new kicker Greg Joseph missed a 48-yard field goal that would have iced the game with three minutes remaining, the Browns turned the ball over on downs again and Singletary’s first down run enabled the Giants to run out the clock and win 21-15.
Here are the key takeaways…
– The urgency of the Giants’ situation was outlined by their decision to go for it on fourth down from inside their own half while trailing by seven in the first quarter. Nabers picked it up as they handed it to him on a jet sweep, which is also a sign of how much trust they already have in the rookie.
– Nabers was kept quiet for most of the first half, as he had just one short catch with under four minutes to go. However, he came up with five catches on the next two drives, including two touchdowns. Three of these catches were spectacular leaping efforts as the rookie continues his ascent. He ended up with eight catches for 78 yards.
– Giants cornerback Deonte Banks had his hands full with Cooper, who entered the game having had a really slow start to the season. Cooper had two touchdowns and also drew a pass interference penalty from Banks. Cooper outmuscled Banks on his first touchdown catch and beat him easily on a slant route for the second one as he ended up with seven catches for 86 yards.
– It’s interesting to contrast the situations of Jones and Watson, each of whom has been struggling to live up to a big-money deal. Of the two, it was Jones who was playing with more confidence in the first half. Watson had just 67 yards at the half, while Jones completed 20 of his first 22 passes. After the touchdown, the Browns gained just 24 yards on their next 31 offensive plays, but Watson eventually got things going and ended up with 196 yards and two touchdowns whereas Jones only completed four of his last 12 passes.
– Andrew Thomas against Myles Garrett was an eagerly awaited matchup, and Thomas did a good job of keeping him off the stat sheet. Garrett had just one tackle and three quarterback hits although he also drew a Thomas hold on a play where his pressure led to a sack for a teammate.
– The Giants’ pass rush was able to generate good pressure throughout, aided by the fact that the Browns offensive line, which was already not at full strength, lost three starters to injury. One of their four first half sacks was by undrafted rookie Elijah Chatman, who looks like a great find. Chatman also recovered the fumble on Burns’ strip sack just before halftime. New York ended up with eight sacks, including two for Lawrence.
– The Giants’ running game struggled to get anything going with Singletary held to 22 yards on his first 15 carries and also guilty of losing a second half fumble. However, his final carry of the game saw him burst for 43 yards before smartly going down before the end zone so the Giants could take a knee to run out the clock. Despite the slow start, Singletary — who also caught four passes — ended up with 108 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
Highlights
What’s next
The Giants have a quick turnaround before their next game as they host the Dallas Cowboys Thursday at 8:15 p.m.
