New York Giants 21 – Cleveland Browns 15

NEW YORK GIANTS 21 – CLEVELAND BROWNS 15…
The New York Giants won their first game of the season on Sunday by upsetting the Cleveland Browns 21-15 at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Giants are now 1-2.

Statistically, the Giants dominated, out-gaining the Browns in first downs (21 to 16), total net yards (340 to 217), net yards rushing (112 to 69), net yards passing (228 to 148), and time of possession (33:45 to 26:04). Both teams lost two fumbles. The headline was that the New York defense registered eight sacks and 17 quarterback hits.

The contest began horrifically for the Giants. Running back Eric Gray fumbled away the opening kickoff. The ball was recovered at the 24-yard line. On the very next snap, quarterback Deshaun Watson threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Amani Cooper against cornerback Tae Banks. Eleven seconds into the game, Cleveland was already ahead 7-0.

But that was the extent of the Browns’ offense before the break as the Giants’ defense held Cleveland to 17 yards for the rest of the first half. The Browns punted three times in a row before their fifth drive ended with a fumble caused by a strip-sack from outside linebacker Brian Burns and recovered by defensive lineman Elijah Chatman.

Meanwhile, while the Giants went three-and-out on two other possessions, they also had a mini-offensive explosion with three touchdown drives. The first was a 13-play, 86-yard effort that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Devin Singletary. The key plays were a 2-yard end-around by wide receiver Malik Nabers on 4th-and-1, a 20-yard reception by wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson on 2nd-and-16, and a 23-yard screen pass caught by Singletary. This was later followed up by a 14-play, 93-yard drive that ended with a spectacular 3-yard touchdown reception by Nabers, who also made a 28-yard circus-catch on this possession. The final score came off of the turnover, with the Giants having to travel just 30 yards. With 11 seconds left before halftime, Nabers caught his second touchdown from five yards out.

At the break, the Giants led 21-7. Quarterback Daniel Jones was 17-of-19 for 178 yards, two touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 140.8 in the first half.

The second half was a bit of a mess. The Giants’ defense forced a three-and-out on the Browns’ first offensive possession of the third quarter. But the Giants handed the ball right back to the Browns when Singletary fumbled the ball away at the New York 45-yard line. Fortunately, Cleveland missed a 53-yard field goal.

New York’s next five drives resulted in a total of 41 net yards, four first downs, and five punts. After two punts of their own, the Browns drove 49 yards in five plays as Watson found Cooper again, this time from six yards out. The successful 2-point conversion cut the Giants’ advantage to just 21-15 with 11:33 left to play.

When the Browns got the ball back, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari recovered a botched hand-off at the New York 46-yard line. Then with four minutes left to play, Watson was stopped by defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence for no gain on 4th-and-1 at the Cleveland 29-yard line. However, New York failed to put the game away after losing yardage and with recently signed place kicker Greg Joseph badly missing a 48-yard field goal.

With three minutes to go, the Browns still had a shot. After gaining six yards, Watson’s next three passes were incomplete with Cleveland turning the ball over on downs at the Cleveland 44-yard line. On the next snap, Singletary broke off a 43-yard run, but gave himself up at the 1-yard line so the Giants could end the game by kneeling on the ball, which they did.

After the torrid first half, Jones cooled down noticeably in the second half and finished 24-of-34 for 236 yards, two touchdown, no interceptions, and a 109.4 rating. He was sacked twice. Nabers led the Giants with eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Robinson caught seven passes for 61 yards. Singletary was largely held in check until his late 43-yard run, finishing with 16 carries for 65 yards and one score.

Defensively, sacks were registered by Lawrence (2), Burns (1), Ojulari (1), Chatman (1), and safety Jason Pinnock (1) as well as half sacks by linebackers Bobby Okereke, Kayvon Thibodeaux, McFadden, and defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches. Cleveland’s running backs were held to 42 yards rushing.

GAME VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS are available on YouTube.

PRACTICE SQUAD ELEVATIONS, INACTIVES, AND INJURY REPORT…
On Saturday, the Giants activated (standard elevation) inside linebacker Ty Summers and CB Art Green from the Practice Squad.

Inactive for the game were CB Nick McCloud (knee), QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB), OG Jake Kubas, OLB Benton Whitley, OLB Boogie Basham, CB Tre Hawkins, and S Anthony Johnson.

Injured in the game were CB Dru Phillips (calf), CB Adoree’ Jackson (calf), WR Darius Slayton (thumb), and LB Micah McFadden (back) were all injured in the game.

POST-GAME REACTION…
Transcripts and video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Brian Daboll and the following players are available in The Corner Forum and at Giants.com:

WHAT’S UP NEXT…
Head Coach Brian Daboll will address the media on Monday.

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