GIANTS (7-3) VS. BROWNS (0-11)
SUNDAY, 1 P.M. ET, FIRSTENERGY STADIUM, CLEVELAND uTV: FOX, DIRECTV 710
Announcers: Dick Stockton, Matt Millen, Peter Schrager
About the Giants: Winners of five in a row, the Giants have put themselves in the thick of the playoff race and developed confidence while winning close games. QB
and WR are the headliners, and the defense has made steady improvement and come up big late in games. S is always showing up around the ball, while DEs and have been tough on quarterbacks. RB has posted his two biggest games of the season in the last two weeks. The Giants have challenged defenses vertically with Beckham and made plays in the intermediate passing game with rookie WR They might have to go conservative this weekend with bad weather expected, but the defense seems capable of stopping the lowly Browns.
About the Browns: The Browns suffered another quarterback injury when rookie
suffered his second concussion of the season. No matter who takes over this week, the Browns are trotting out an overmatched offensive line and a defense that had given up at least 25 points in every game this season until last weekend, when it gave up 24. The Browns are surrendering big plays in the running and passing games and the offense has been left to try to dig itself out of significant deficits. WR is having an outstanding season, but the Browns haven’t developed any other areas of strength. The Browns are running out of chances to get into the win column. To turn things around, they’ll need to force turnovers and hope Pryor can Rashad Jennings has rushed for 172 yards over the Giants’ last two games.
get behind the defense multiple times.
Beckham has only had a couple of big games, which speaks to his lofty standards and the Giants’ ability to get other players involved. He’s still one of the league’s best deep threats and the guy Manning is going to target in the game’s biggest spots. The Browns are starting backups at safety and have rookies playing at every level
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
of the defense, so Haden doing more than his share, and keeping Beckham from getting loose is the key to any upset chances the Browns might have.
He has run well in consecutive games, and though the Giants rank near the bottom of the league in rushing offense, he has chewed up important yards. The Browns have given up big rushing games to everyone they’ve played.
The Browns gave up eight sacks last weekend to a Pittsburgh Steelers team that only had 13 in its nine previous games. The Browns offensive line has been overwhelmed, and constantly playing from behind hasn’t helped matters.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Mix it up: The Giants are playing better because they’re getting plenty of players involved on offense. The Browns are giving up big plays to everyone.
2. Protect the ball: The formula for the Browns pulling off an upset would seem to start with a positive turnover margin and big plays from their defense. The Giants are 7-3 despite being minus 7 in turnover margin, and the Browns have to take advantage if they want to keep things close.
3. Seize the moment: After this week, the Giants have five games left — all against teams currently .500 or better and also competing for the playoffs, and three games in the NFC East. If the Giants want to position themselves for a real run at the first-place Dallas Cowboys, they can’t afford a slip here.
Zac Jackson