Most NFL fan bases get excited when their teams get chosen for a nationally televised game, especially when it’s “flexed” by the league late in the season. That means your team is relevant and is playing important games in December.
Sunday night’s game between the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns was a good choice several weeks ago when both teams were streaking. Then, both teams suffered deflating losses last week complicating their paths to the postseason.
Big Blue could recapture the NFC East lead with a victory and the Browns needed to win to stay afloat in the int AFC Wild Card picture.
The Giants came into this game after a hectic week filled with injuries and COVID-19 infections as well as some shuffling to the roster and coaching staff.
Starting quarterback Daniel Jones was inactive with hamstring and ankle issues which thrust veteran backup Colt McCoy into action for the fourth straight game.
The Giants, 6.5-point underdogs in this game, went toe-to-toe with the Browns in the first half, but two failed fourth down attempts in the red zone left them down, 13-3, at halftime. After three quarters, the score hadn’t changed and the ball hadn’t changed hands much, either. The Giants had only five possessions and the Browns had the ball only four times.
Cleveland took a 20-3 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. For the point-challenged Giants, that margin proved to be a bridge too far and failed to cash in on the opportunity to secure a playoff spot with two games remaining in the season.
The 20-6 loss told the story of the 2020 Giants. They played tough defense but could not score enough points to win.
Now 5-9, the Giants dropped further down the standings into third place as Dallas had won their game against San Francisco earlier in the day. Dallas defeated the Giants in their Week 5 meeting, 37-34.
The two will meet again in Week 17 but that game could be meaningless. The Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles (now being quarterbacked by Jalen Hurts) next week and the Giants head to Baltimore to face the red-hot Ravens.
For the Giants to win the NFC East, they need either win out and have Washington lose once or have Washington lose their last two games and they need to defeat Dallas in Week 17.
Notes
- For the second consecutive week, the Giants rushed for under 100 yards (78). They netted 288 total yards on offense, the third straight game under 300 yards.
- The Giants have averaged just 12.25 points per game over their last four games. They are averaging 17.4 points per game this season, 31st overall.
- The Giants had just one hit on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, a sack by Dexter Lawrence. Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns.
- The Browns had averaged 154 yards per game on the ground over their last three. The Giants hell them to 106 yards with Nick Chubb leading the way with just 50 yards.
- Graham Gano had three kickoffs in the game, none that went for touchbacks. In his last four games, Gano has kicked off 16 times and only three have gone for kickoffs.
- With the departure of outside linebackers coach Bret Bielema back to the college ranks, former Giant linebacking great Jesse Armstead came down from his front office job to help out Kevin Sherrer and Jody Wright with the linebackers on the sidelines.
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