Giants-Browns: 5 plays that helped New York win

How did the Giants pull off their victory?

The New York Giants won a roller-coaster of an affair in Cleveland on sSunday as Brian Daboll’s team picked up their first win of the season with a 21-15 victory. Eric Gray fumbled the opening kickoff and DeShaun Watson tossed a 24 yard touchdown to Amari Cooper, who finished the game with seven catches for 86 yards with two touchdowns.

Here are the five impactful plays in the Giants’ win:

Play(s) 1: Bowen’s harassing defense

Shane Bowen had an aggressive approach for Watson and this Browns’ offense. The Giants recorded eight sacks; they achieved these through blitzing, simulated pressure, twists up front with the linebackers, and through high-side rush success. Dexter Lawrence had two sacks; Brian Burns, Jason Pinnock, Elijah Chatman, and Azeez Ojulari had one; Kayvon Thibodeaux, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Bobby Okereke, and Micah McFadden each had a half-sack. Here are five of the sacks:

Play 2: Browns’ second turnover

The Burns’ strip-sack (above) occurred on a first-and-ten after a successful fourth-and-one conversion. The sack happened at Cleveland’s 40-yard-line, and the Giants turned that into Malik Nabers’ second touchdown (more on that later). The Browns had one other turnover in the game, as both teams exchanged a pair in the game:

This was a massive moment in the game — a first-and-10 fumble on the Giants’ 44-yard line with 7:47 left in the game. Cleveland got the football back two more times and went four-and-out on each. This was a dominate performance by the Giants’ defense.

Play(s) 3 Malik Nabers — changer of gameplans

The Browns questionably allowed the Giants to mix-and-match Nabers against their second and third string corners before adjusting in the second half. Nabers touched the ball 11 times with two carries and a red zone pass attempt. He finished with eight catches for 70 yards on twelve targets with two touchdowns. He also did his best impression of Randy Moss:

Nabers possesses rare explosiveness and body control that is coupled with elite concentration that allows him to make plays like the one we see above. He showed his elite traits on his first touchdown late in the first half:

Cleveland attempted to put more points on the board before the conclusion of the first half, but Brian Burns forced a fumble that led to Nabers’ second touchdown of the game:

The Giants were able to get Nabers against a safety in the red zone, and Jones easily found his rookie for six. New York executed the two-minute drill well to take a two-touchdown lead. The presence of Nabers opens up the rest of the offense, and he’s a precocious — dynamic — receiver for the Giants.

Play(s) 4: Devin Singletary and the run game

The Giants have established the run in their last two games. Devin Singletary rushed for 65 yards on 16 carries (4.1 YPC) with a touchdown on the ground. Tyrone Tracy Jr. added five rushes for 23 yards. Fumbles notwithstanding, the rushing attack of the Giants was efficient the last two weeks, and has helped the Giants move the football down the field. Singletary’s elusiveness — combined with the big men in the trenches — are reasons why the rushing attack was successful.

Singletary also has the ability to force missed tackles, like we saw against Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah:

Singletary also showed elite second-effort to pick up the Giants’ first touchdown of the game:

New York also had a well-designed and executed screen to Singletary, which has been a rarity for the Giants in the past:

Teams are playing more and more two-high defenses every year. The Giants have seen an increase versus that defensive structure, due to the presence of Nabers. However, one way to make defense’s pay for deep secondary pieces is to run the football. Nabers, plus an upgraded offensive line and quality running from Singletary, have allowed the Giants to function offensively — just hold onto to the football, please!

Play(s) 5: Overcoming a rough start

It was just about the stone worst start for the New York Giants in Week 3. The end-result does speak to the resilience of the team. Second year running back Eric Gray fumbled the opening kickoff:

There’s only one thing worse than fumbling an opening kickoff on the road, and that is surrendering a touchdown on the next play:

The Browns offense struggled significantly after this play, as Shane Bowen’s unit sacked DeShaun Watson seven times. The coaching staff was rightly maligned through the first two weeks of the season, but they deserve a lot of credit for righting the ship in Cleveland after this devastating start. They’ll have a quick turnaround in Week 4, as they’re set to host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.