Baker turns up heat with Bradberry out

The Giants defense made Baker Mayfield look like an All-Pro on Sunday, and James Bradberry’s absence was a major reason why. Defensive coordinator Pat Graham played even more zone than he usually does to try to protect his overmatched personnel on the back end.

But with a nearly non-existent pass rush, Mayfield had all day to wait for a receiver to come open, often in the same downfield window along the right hash just in front of the Giants’ safeties.

Bradberry wasn’t there to deter Mayfield from throwing to one side of the field. So Mayfield’s day reading the Giants’ defense, frankly, was easy.

“We knew from film study that they are a big zone team, especially with a couple of guys out in the secondary that they were going to have to play a little bit more zone coverage and rely on their front,” said Mayfield, who completed 27 of 32 passes for 297 yards and two TDs. “We had our guys in the right spots. Just that one play at a time mentality, those long drives.”

Part of the reason Browns receivers were open also was that the Giants defense keyed on the run first and game-planned to make Mayfield beat them.

Graham mainly used three down defensive linemen and three linebackers to stop the Nick Chubb-Kareem Hunt duo. And largely, linemen Dexter Lawrence, Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson teamed up to limit Cleveland’s rush attack with linebackers Blake Martinez, Tae Crowder and David Mayo.

The Browns, who average 152.6 on the ground, only picked up 106 rush yards Sunday.

The Giants’ problem, though, was that they barely pressured Mayfield at all. Lawrence managed a sack, a pressure and a batted fourth down pass. Not much else sticks out.

“Look man, we’re calling the game to win the game,” free safety Logan Ryan said when asked about the Giants’ heavy zone game plan. “Cleveland is a team that runs the ball, the third best in the league. We sold out to stop the run. We made Baker Mayfield be a pocket quarterback. He was extremely efficient at that. They were in third and manageable, and they got a bunch of third downs (9for-13), and in the red area we were 0-for-3.”

MESSAGE TO ODELL

Jarvis Landry looked into the NBC end zone camera after his 2-yard TD catch in the second quarter and signed a “1” and a “3” with his right hand, as in “13” for his best friend, former Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham is out of the season and is in Arizona rehabbing his torn ACL, so he couldn’t exact revenge on the team that traded him to the Browns. But Landry did his part and made sure OBJ was represented at MetLife Stadium.

THE PERSONNEL FILE

Rookie right tackle Matt Peart normally rotates in for starter Cam Fleming every third series, but after a dreadful pass-blocking game against the Cardinals, Peart didn’t play an offensive snap on Sunday. Will Hernandez still rotated in for left guard Shane Lemieux, but Fleming never came out … Tight end Evan Engram caught four passes for 46 yards despite a calf injury that had him questionable entering the game, but it did appear Engram was on a bit of a pitch count. He still played a lot, but he came off the field in a lot of two-tight end sets and let Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo handle more of the blocking … Devante Downs did not play another defensive snap after Austin Hooper’s 2-yard TD catch in the second quarter. Hooper slipped right past Downs to the back of the end zone. Downs barely even looked at Hooper, who was his responsibility, and was caught in no man’s land on an easy pitch and catch for Mayfield. Judge has cut players for a lot less.

‘SIMPLE’ CHOICE

Judge said his decision to make Daniel Jones (ankle/hamstring) inactive on Sunday night “was simple.”

“He had two injuries this week,” the coach said. “He was worse off than he was before. I say all the time that I want to put guys out there in a position to defend themselves.”

Myles Garrett said he had a coughing fit after the game as he continues to feel the after effects of COVID-19.