NFL Preview: New York Giants v Cleveland Browns

After suffering defeat from the Dallas Cowboys in week one, the Cleveland Browns are now 1-1 following their victory in Jacksonville last weekend. The New York Giants fell short and lost to the Minnesota Vikings at the MetLife in week one, then lost in an NFC East divisional match-up versus the Washington Commanders despite scoring three touchdowns and not allowing any.

The Browns are going into this game as favourites, with their solid defence that held Trevor Lawrence to a 71.5 rate and zero passing touchdowns in week two. With the Giants being unable to score 20+ points in either of their games it will give the Browns some hope that they can have a positive record of 2-1 going into week four. 

A silver lining for the G-Men was Rookie Malik Nabers scoring a touchdown as well as Daniel Jones putting up a 100.0 rate, throwing 178 yards, scoring two touchdowns and no Interceptions.

Team News 

Cleveland Browns 

A very lengthy list for the Browns which is quite concerning as DPOY Myles Garrett did not participate in practice due to a foot injury. He also did not participate in practice last week but still played over half the snaps against the Jaguars.

Offensive Tackle Dawand Jones, tight end David Njoku, running back Pierre Strong Jr, and Wide Receiver Jamari Thrash all did not participate in practice due to their respective injuries. 

Cornerback Denzel Ward suffered a shoulder injury, Za’Darius Smith, Jedrick Willis and Alex Wright were all limited to participation. The third Offensive Tackle on the list,  Jack Conklin is recovering from a knee injury and has returned to full practice ahead of the game.

A short Injury Report list for the New York Giants.  Firstly Graham Gano has been put on IR after pulling his Hamstring last weekend chasing Ekeler. The Giants add Greg Joseph from the Lions practice squad to replace him. 

The only player who did not participate was veteran defensive back Nick McCloud, he looks unlikely to play after getting hurt in week one and missing week two dealing with a knee injury. Another player who didn’t play in week two but was limited to participation on Wednesday is sixth-round pick Darius Muassau also dealing with a knee injury. Safety Isaiah Simmons was also Limited to participation due to personal reasons. 

Out of nowhere, Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux was limited to participation in practice whilst struggling with a shoulder injury. Hopefully, it is nothing serious for the Giants as they will need him if they want to beat the Browns.

Key Players 

Jerome Ford 

The Cleveland Browns offense runs through Ford. The Browns running back has 19 carries with 108 yards and two touchdowns so far. 

The Giants need to limit Ford’s rushing attack to have a chance to win. He had 7 attempts and rushed for 64 yards against Jacksonville, averaging 9.1 yards per carry. Last season the running back scored 4 touchdowns, rushed for over 800 yards whilst also scoring 5 passing touchdowns and having over 300 passing yards in 44 receptions.

Malik Nabers 

Sixth overall pick, Nabers, has impressed so far for the Giants and is a fantastic addition to their offence as he scored his first NFL touchdown against the Commanders in week two.

The connection with his quarterback is improving and Nabers is becoming the ‘go-to man’ as he had 18 targets from 28 Daniel Jones passes. 18 of these targets resulted in 10 receptions, 127 yards and one touchdown. He will be up against three good corners, so this will be a challenge for the rookie.

Amari Cooper 

Traded to the Browns in 2022 and since then, Cooper has had 1000+ yard seasons in both 2022 and 2023. Five-time Pro Bowl receiver has struggled so far with 16 yards on 9 targets in week one and 11 yards from 8 targets in week two.

The Giant’s defense locked up the Commanders despite losing whilst they did not allow a single touchdown and also stopped Washington in the red zone all six times. Jason Pinnock blitzed his way to having 2.0 sacks and the Giants had a total of Five, in comparison Browns Quarterback Deshaun Watson is prone to getting dropped as he has already been sacked eight times this season.

Head to Head 

The Browns and the Giants have faced off 52 times during the regular season and playoffs. The Browns lead this matchup with a record of 28-22-2.

These two teams last faced each other at the Metlife stadium in December 2020, when the Giants suffered defeat losing 20-6. Baker Mayfield led two 95-yard touchdown drives and the Cleveland Browns were able to end their 17-year play off drought.

Prediction

New York Giants 10 - 20 Cleveland Browns