New York Giants (0-2) at Cleveland (1-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Browns by 6 1/2.
Against the spread: New York 0-2; Cleveland 1-1.
Series record: Browns lead 28-22-2.
Last meeting: Browns beat Giants 20-6 on Dec. 20, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Last week: Giants lost 21-18 to Washington in Landover, Maryland; Browns beat Jaguars 18-13 at Jacksonville.
Giants offense: overall (T24), rush (22), pass (24), scoring (31).
Giants defense: overall (26), rush (28), pass (18), scoring (25).
Browns offense: overall (28), rush (21), pass (26), scoring (T22).
Browns defense: overall (12), rush (14), pass (13), scoring (22).
Turnover differential: Giants minus-1; Browns minus-2.
Giants player to watch
OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux. After being limited to a quarterback hurry in the opener against Minnesota, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft had four tackles, two tackles for loss and two hurries against Washington. He had a team-high 11 1/2 sacks last season and looks primed to make plays this weekend.
Browns player to watch
WR Amari Cooper. The dependable veteran’s third season with Cleveland is off to a surprisingly rough start. He’s caught just five passes — on 17 targets — for 27 yards and the five-time Pro Bowler has had two huge drops on easy passes that could have been long gains. Look for the Browns to get the ball to Cooper early and often.
Key matchup
New York’s run defense against the Browns, who got some push up front last week despite still missing both starting tackles. The Giants have given up an average of 163 yards in the first two games and the Browns will likely look to exploit New York’s early season weakness.
Injuries
Giants: Placed kicker Graham Gano on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Signed Greg Joseph off the Lions’ practice squad. CB Nick McCloud (knee) is out for the second straight week. … Browns TE David Njoku (sprained ankle) will miss his second straight game. … Starting RT Dawand Jones (knee) missed some practice time this week, further complicating Cleveland’s issues at tackle. LT Jedrick Wills Jr. and RT Jack Conklin haven’t played yet following knee surgeries last year. Conklin was downgraded to out with a hamstring injury. .. Browns star DE Myles Garrett (feet) had to leave the field for several plays last week but will play. He said surgery is possible after the season. … Browns Pro Bowl CB Denzel Ward (shoulder) was limited to 11 snaps last week but is expected to play more. … WR David Bell (hip) was lost for the season in the Jacksonville game.
Series notes
The Giants have won three of the past five and six of the past eight. … The teams first met on Oct. 1, 1950, with New York winning 6-0. … New York and Cleveland have played 50 regular-season games and met twice in the playoffs. … The Giants won 10-0 in the Eastern Conference championship in 1958, before losing to Baltimore 23-17 in the infamous overtime title game. … The Browns beat the Giants 8-3 in the American Conference tiebreaker playoff game in 1950 and then won the NFL title with a 30-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Stats and stuff
Giants coach Brian Daboll is feeling some heat with the Giants starting 0-2 for the ninth time in 12 seasons. The first eight ended without a playoff trip. … Daboll was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator in 2009-10. … QB Daniel Jones had two touchdown passes against the Commanders in rebounding from a two-interception — with a pick-6 —performance in the opener against the Vikings. … RB Devin Singletary ran for 95 yards last week and scored his first rushing TD with New York. … Rookie WR Malik Nabers had 10 catches for 127 yards and his first TD. At 21 years, 49 days, he became the youngest NFL player with 10-plus catches, 100-plus yards receiving and a TD catch in one game. … OLB Brian Burns had eight tackles in his only career game against the Browns. … Giants ILB Bobby Okereke had eight tackles, including two for loss, and his first sack last week. He had 10 tackles and an interception against Cleveland in October 2022 with the Colts. … ILB Micah McFadden and had a career-high 13 tackles and a sack last week. … Rookie CB Dru Phillips had 12 tackles and a sack last week, while S Jason Pinnock had a career-high two sacks. … Phillips (16 tackles) and S Tyler Nubin (12) are only pair of rookie teammates each with at least 10 tackles this season. … Cleveland’s offense showed progress last week after a brutal opener. … Browns QB Deshaun Watson was much more decisive while passing for 186 yards against the Jaguars. He made two big off-schedule plays after being flushed from the pocket. … Watson started strong, completing 7 of 8 passes on a game-opening drive he capped with a 1-yard TD draw. … WR Jerry Jeudy had five catches for 73 yards last week and connected with Watson on two of those plays that went off script. … Penalties have been a big problem for Cleveland. The Browns were called for 13 last week, 11 in Week 1. … Garrett’s two sacks have also been strips, but the Browns didn’t recover either time. … Garrett is the only player with at least 14 sacks in each of the past three seasons and only one with at least 10 over the past six. … K Dustin Hopkins is 10 for 10 on field goals of 50 yards or more in two seasons with Cleveland. … P Corey Bojorquez had perhaps the game’s biggest play last week, knuckling a punt that went out at the Jacksonville 2-yard line in the final minutes. The Browns then sealed the win with a safety. … After facing the Giants, the Browns will play their next three on road — at Las Vegas, Washington and Philadelphia.
Fantasy tip
Cooper’s due for a big game. He’s Cleveland’s No. 1 wide receiver, Watson’s top target and history is on his side. Cooper, who played for Dallas before coming to Cleveland, is 6-1 against the Giants with 28 receptions and three TDs. Watson will likely go out of his way to get Cooper involved.
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