The 0-2 New York Giants travel to Cleveland this weekend for their second consecutive road game, where they will play the 1-1 Browns. Cleveland is favored by 6.5 points per FanDuel Sportsbook, and the Over/Under is 38.5. Cleveland lost its home opener in Week 1 to the Dallas Cowboys, 33-17, but it picked up an 18-13 victory in Jacksonville.
There’s familiarity with these two coaching staffs. Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was the quarterback’s coach and passing game coordinator under Brian Daboll in Buffalo. Dorsey inherited the role after Daboll’s departure but was fired midway through the 2023 season.
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was a senior defensive assistant with the Tennessee Titans during the 2021 and 2022 seasons when Shane Bowen was Mike Vrabel’s defensive coordinator. Bowen seemingly adopted Schwartz’s Wide-9 approach on passing downs, something Schwartz successfully employed on his path to helping the Eagles win a Super Bowl.
Although Bowen is somewhat of a protege to Schwartz, their defensive structures were slightly different through the two games. The Browns also have an elite defensive unit with blue-chip players at every level. The Giants’ offense will have its work cut out for it on the road.
Statistics
Here’s a breakdown of the Browns team defensive statistics through two games (first being best in the NFL):
- Points per game: 22nd; 23 PPG
- Yards per game: 12th in NFL (294 YPG)
- Passing yards allowed: 13th (179.5 YPG)
- Passing yards per attempt: 8th (5.8) – SEA 3.7 best; Rams 9.3 worst
- Rushing yards allowed: 14th (114.5 YPG)
- Yards per rush: 26th; 5 yards per carry
- 15th in blitz percentage – 25.4%
- 8th in pressure percentage – 25.4%
- 6th in sacks – 7 sacks on the season (Myles Garrett has 2)
- 12th in YAC – 175 YAC in two games
Giants game plan
Jim Schwartz isn’t scared to blitz, but he certainly does not need to bring the pressure. He has a stud defensive tandem on the edge with Myles Garrett and Z’Darius Smith. Garrett leads the team with two sacks and six pressures. It’s noteworthy that Dallas took an early lead in Week 1 due to offensive struggles, rendering the Browns’ pass rush almost irrelevant.
The defense uses a wide front, similar to the Giants. However, they’ve played more man coverage and Cover-3 Match than New York; expect many middle-of-the-field closed looks and quick penetrating players from the second level.
The Browns’ defense has been hit hard by injuries:
There didn’t appear to be a dip in play in Week 2, as the Jaguars struggled to do anything offensively until the second half. However, Jacksonville lost starting tight end Evan Engram in pre-game warmups, the weather was a problem, and, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence stated, “we suck right now.” Unfortunately for the Giants, well…you can put two and two together.
The threat of this defense’s speed and quickness should frighten the Giants. The combination of safety Grant Delpit and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah dominated the Jacksonville matchup:
In Week 2, 48% of Jacksonville’s play either went for no gain or a loss of yardage. Teams typically play the Giants’ offense with this same attacking approach. Brian Flores employed something similar to great success in Week 1. Both Owusu-Koramoah and Delpit are sensational young athletes who are hard-hitting physical players who fly to the football; this will certainly stress the Giants’ offensive line when they run DUO, but it will put the onus on the offensive line to quickly come off their double-teams to locate the dangerous threat. New York needs their linemen to stay square, have quick eyes, and create firm contact at the point of attack on their initial block.
New York should stick to the DUO success they experienced in Week 2 against Washington. Cleveland’s front is conducive to this approach, but the aggressive nature of those second-level defenders will be the challenge. This does create possible play-action opportunities, albeit five-step drops versus Myles Garrett are scary if he’s in a one-on-one matchup outside.
The first player Brian Daboll will circle is the aforementioned Garrett, who should see a lot of this from Devin Singletary, Tyrone Tracy Jr., or a tight end:
Garrett aligned primarily on the defensive right side against Dallas and mainly on the left side versus Jacksonville. He is one of the few edge defenders who can take over a game entirely. Smith is a competent starter opposite of Garrett; he and linebacker Jordan Hicks each have three pressures and a sack through two games. Alex Wright is the third edge defender in the rotation.
Jacksonville kept multiple hands-on Garrett throughout the game, allowing them to attempt deep shots. Cleveland’s defense currently allows the second most DADOT (average depth of target on all passes thrown against a team). The Giants will likely pick and choose their moments to target deep, but I’d bet the deep post vs. quarters with the safeties biting on underneath routes from the No. 2 receivers will be on the call sheet. They’ve attempted this in each game.
The Jaguars connected with fellow LSU rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. on a deep post against Cover-3 after the center-field third was cleared out by a crosser:
The Giants may see a weakened secondary, depending on the health of star cornerback Denzel Ward, who played just 11 plays vs. Jacksonville. He was on a pitch count entering the game. Cleveland worked out former Giants’ cornerback Christian Holmes on Monday, which caused speculation about the potential availability of Ward. We’ll wait for the injury report.
Nevertheless, the combination of Gregory Newsome II and Martin Emerson Jr. is a respectable corner duo. The former only has two career interceptions in four years, but he’s constantly around the football with 26 passes defended. He’s a harassing, aggressive man-coverage cornerback.
Emerson Jr. took a big step forward in his second season last year. He picked off four passes and knocked down nine. The corners are solid, but Malik Nabers could damage the Browns’ secondary even with a healthy Ward if afforded time.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Grant Delpit roam the box in the presence of a golden tiger ready to strike. Veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks and second-year free safety Ronnie Hickman Jr. join them. The former is a savvy sure-tackling journeyman who happened to be on the Vikings’ 2022 team, along with Smith. The latter was a surprise UDFA in 2023, who had a respectable rookie season in limited work. Juan Thornhill landed on the injured reserve with a calf issue, which has led to Hickman Jr.’s expanded role.
The Browns’ red zone defense was firm against Jacksonville. They surrendered a short Travis Etienne touchdown but held Jacksonville to three field goal attempts, one of which was missed after an 11-play drive. The Giants scored multiple red zone touchdowns last week against what quite possibly could be the worst defense in the league.
If we go back to Week 1, though, there were communication mistakes in the Browns’ secondary that allowed Dak Prescott to connect with Brandin Cooks for six:
Dallas used an EMPTY formation, with the field receiver motioning toward the tight end to possibly help with Garrett (top of your screen). The field side had three receivers, and the Cowboys ran a double-china concept—a three-man route concept with two in routes from the No. 1 and No. 2 receivers and a corner from the innermost No. 3 receiver.
I highlight this play not just because of the miscommunication but because this was a staple of Brian Daboll’s red zone offense with Buffalo and early with the New York Giants. I wrote about this play design before last season and how Daboll tends to call this in the red area.
The Giants had success running the football in the red zone, and they should still stick to that game plan on plays. Still, Nabers as the No. 3 with Slayton and Hyatt or Wan’Dale Robinson could allow the Giants to win in this area of the field. Of course, they need to be cognizant of the Browns’ pass rush. Taking a sack in the red zone is not good! However, the Giants should have a kicker this week—progress!
The Browns’ defensive line has a solid rotation. Former Giants’ second-round pick Dalvin Tomlinson is joined by Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, and Sam Kamara. Maurice Hurst found himself on injured reserve, which led to more playing time for Kamara. None of the defensive tackles played more than 30 snaps in Week 2, but Harris did in Week 1 (37). Tomlinson played 24 in each week.
Cleveland plays their top edge pairing around 70-75% of their defensive snaps. Wright played 30-50%, and Ogbo Okoronkwo works into the rotation as a pass-rushing specialist. Isaiah McGuire also played 32% of the snaps in Week 2.
The Giants should stick to the same plan they had in Week 2 on offense — control the ball with DUO runs and create confusion against man coverage through BUNCH and STACKED releases from condensed sets. Take your shots when there’s a one-on-one matchup outside the numbers, and watch out for Myles Garrett.
Final thoughts
The Giants’ defense has played poorly over the last two weeks. They could have the upper hand against DeShaun Watson and the Browns’ offense, but the Giants’ offense is playing one of the better defensive units in the league. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, but I’m going to have to go with the Browns.
