Hi Browns fans. Sunday the Browns 1-1 return home to Huntington Bank Field to take on the 0-2 New York Giants, game time is 12:00 noon CDT and the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will be gathering at Burke’s Public House 5401 N. Broadway to cheer them onto victory.
The Browns are hoping that either RT Jack Conklin or LT Jedrick Wills will be able to return to the line-up to improve a Browns offense that’s scoring only 17.5 points per game – good for 21st in the NFL. TE David Njoku is out and DE Myles Garrett was limited in Friday’s practice with a foot injury. The Browns come into this game with the goal of correcting the mental and physical mistakes that have led to their leading the NFL with 24 penalties for 164 yards.
Last week the Giants lost their kicker during warm-ups and went on to lose to the Washington Commanders 18-21 despite scoring 3 TD’s with no extra points, while holding Washington to no TD’s but giving up 7 field goals. In week 1 the Giants scored only 2 field goals in a 28-6 loss to Minnesota. New York’s offense is led by 6-year veteran QB Daniel Jones who comes into the game with a 22-38-1 career record as a starter. In his 2 games this season he’s completed 54.3% of his passes ranking him 30th in the league.
If the Browns are going to hold down the Giant’s offense the defense will need to keep a lid on 1st round draft choice rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers. The Giants throw on about 64% of their offensive snaps which is 6th in the NFL and after 2 games Nabers is 2nd in the NFL in receptions with 15 and 4th with 193 receiving yards. So far Nabers is responsible for 53% of New York’s total passing yards. Last week he had 10 receptions for 127 yards and 1 TD against Washington.
Jones’s other primary targets are 6-year veteran WR Darius Slayton who has 6 catches for 59 yards with no TD’s; and rookie TE Theo Johnson who has 1 reception and 1 drop so far this season. When New York goes to 3 WR’s they bring in Wan’Dale Robinson who has 8 catches for 62 yards and 1 TD. The Giants starting RB is 6-year veteran Devin Singletary who’s averaging 5.1 yards per rush and 3.5 yards after contact with 1 TD. Singletary spent 4 seasons in Buffalo and last season with Houston, for his career he’s averaged 4.6 yards per carry. The Giants’ best offensive linesmen is 2-time All-Pro LT Andrew Thomas who currently has a Pro Football Focus (PFF) elite pass-blocking grade of 91.9. The Browns defense will undoubtedly try to attack RG Greg Van Roten whose PFF grade of 45.7 is 64th of 65 among OG.
Overall, the Giants offense is 31st in scoring averaging 12 points per game and 25th averaging 4.6 yards per play. After 2 games the Browns defense leads the NFL allowing opponents to complete only 53.2% of their passes. Last season at home the Browns were #1 in total defense giving up only 216 yards per game and 3.7 yards per play. On Defense the Giants feature 2-time All Pro DT Dexter Lawrence who has 1 sack and 10 QB pressures this season. Over his 5 plus NFL seasons he has 22 sacks and 29 tackles for loss (TFL). Joining him on the defensive line are 3rd year DE/OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux who has 15.5 career sacks and 20 TFL and 2-time Pro Bowl selection DE Brian Burns who has 46 sacks and 59 TFL in his 5 season career. The weak spot in their defensive line is undrafted free agent rookie DT Elijah Chatman whose 42.7 PFF grade is 79th out of 96 DT’s.
While the Giants have had some problems stopping the run. They are 29th giving up 5.3 yards per rush and 28th giving up 163 rushing yards per game. Their primary weakness has been stopping the pass with opponents completing a league-best 79.2% of passes for 7.8 yards per pass. New York starts 2 rookies in their defensive backfield, CB Andru Phillips who has 1 sack and 3 TFL and SS Tyler Nubin. FS Jason Pinnock leads the team with 2 sacks and is used in a lot of New York’s blitz packages.
Deshaun Watson and the Browns receivers will try to exploit New York’s 2 CB’s Deonte Banks (who gave up 4 TD passes last season) and CB Cor’dale Flott (who has an opponent’s QB rating of 158.3 while giving up 27.5 yards per reception).
See you Sunday GO BROWNS….. GO GUARDIANS