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Defiant Giants rebound from nightmare start to game, season to get desperately needed win

23 September 2024Last Update :
Defiant Giants rebound from nightmare start to game, season to get desperately needed win

CLEVELAND — The start was so disastrous, it had New York Giants coach Brian Dabol cursing his late grandmother.

A fumble by Giants’ returner Eric Gray on the opening kickoff and a Browns touchdown on their first play had Daboll looking to the sky wondering why the woman who raised him wasn’t bringing any luck on the three-anniversary of her death.

“I was kind of giving her the business after those first two plays, like, ‘What the hell do you have in store for me?’” Daboll said.

A familiar cursed feeling was palpable for the Giants. An 0-3 start seemed like an inevitability just 11 seconds into the game. But the vibe on the sideline wasn’t just surprisingly upbeat. It was defiant.

“F— it,” safety Jason Pinnock said of players’ reaction to the nightmare start. “We’re going to ball. We don’t care how it goes. Let’s do it.”

That attitude spurred the Giants to a 21-15 win they desperately needed after an 0-2 start.

“We were big on not letting that thing snowball,” Pinnock said. “You look at the first two plays, it’s kind of like, ‘Ah, here we go.’ That was a big emphasis throughout the week: ‘Losers have a mentality.’ Losing happens, but we’re not going to have no loser mentality.”

Things could have gone from bad to worse after quarterback Daniel Jones was intercepted at the Giants’ 24-yard line on the first play of their second drive. But a roughing the passer penalty gave the Giants new life.

They drove 81 yards for a touchdown to tie the score.

The momentum had shifted. Jones and rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers torched a formidable Browns defense, and the Giants’ pass rush terrorized Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson as New York opened up a 21-7 halftime lead.

This being the Giants, it could never remain that easy. They didn’t score in the second half and had to cling to a six-point lead as the Browns got chance and after chance to drive for a go-ahead touchdown.

The Giants wouldn’t be denied. The defense made the stops needed to hold on for their first win of the season.

“F— it.”

“It’s tough to come back from 0-3,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “I think from the first game to the third game, you see so much of a difference on the sideline. When we were down to the Vikings (in Week 1), there was no energy at all. Now, the freaking energy is off the charts. There’s so much that goes into winning a game. The energy on the sideline can always be contagious.”

The Giants’ season was teetering entering Sunday, with a home matchup against the Cowboys looming Thursday night. Sunday’s win doesn’t erase all of the Giants’ flaws, but as Daboll noted, “It certainly beats the alternative.” Here’s a closer look at how the Giants registered their first win:

Game wreckers

Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s preferred approach is to lean on the front four to rush the passer instead of blitzing. But with the Browns double-teaming nose tackle Dexter Lawrence and using chippers on edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, Bowen threw a curveball. Actually, it was a fastball.

Bowen sent relentless pressure at Watson, who was completely rattled. Watson’s pocket presence was non-existent, and he repeatedly air-mailed passes to open receivers. The Giants had eight sacks, which was their most in a game since 2014.

“They switched up the game plan,” Watson said. “I think you got to give their DC a lot of credit for doing something different.”

Burns has discovered the spotlight that comes with a big contract in New York, as he received criticism after failing to record a sack in the first two games of the season. Burns looked far more like a player worthy of a five-year, $141 million contract on Sunday.

Burns’ first sack as a Giant was a strip sack late in the first half that gave New York the ball at Cleveland’s 30-yard line. He also forced a punt by hitting Watson on a third-down incompletion in the third quarter and drew a hold that derailed a drive that reached Giants’ territory early in the fourth quarter.

“We knew there were going to be opportunities to get home just because he’s a dynamic player. He looks for the big play; he likes to extend plays,” said Burns, who went through a pregame workout to test a groin injury that had him designated as questionable to play. “We just kept it in our mind to stay relentless and stay in the rush.”

Lawrence was typically unblockable, leading the Giants with four sacks and two quarterback hits. Lawrence could smell blood in the water, standing over the ball between the third and fourth quarters reminding a Browns offensive line full of backups they had no chance to block him.

“I expect to go out there and be dominant every play and every second,” Lawrence said. “That’s my will and my heart that I go out there and play with.”

Outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, who was more involved in the edge rotation, had a sack, two quarterback hits and a crucial fourth-quarter fumble recovery of a botched handoff to kill a potential go-ahead drive at the New York 45-yard line. Thibodeaux had a half sack, two quarterback hits and combined with Lawrence to blow up a third-and-1 quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter that led to a turnover on downs.

The much-maligned run defense answered the bell after a pitiful performance in a 21-18 loss to the Commanders in Week 2. The Browns running backs combined for 42 yards on 12 carries.

‘Locked in’

A three-and-out on the Giants’ first possession followed by the negated interception on the first play of the second drive didn’t instill confidence Jones would be “locked in,” to use Daboll’s phrase.

But that was certainly an accurate description, as Jones completed 20 of his first 22 passes. Not surprisingly, Nabers was the recipient of many of Jones’ completions.

The duo connected on a 28-yard completion in the second quarter when Nabers made a spectacular play to rip the ball out of Browns cornerback Martin Emerson’s hands. Nabers capped that 14-play, 93-yard drive with a leaping, twisting 3-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone. Nabers scored again when he froze safety Rodney McLeod on an in-cut for an easy 5-yard touchdown pass from Jones with 11 seconds left in the first half.

Jones and Nabers did most of their damage in the first half, but that was enough to withstand a scoreless second half. Jones completed 24-of-34 passes for 236 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, with Nabers making eight catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

“Another good week,” Daboll said of Jones. “He’s had two good weeks in a row.”

Daboll had a masterful game plan, negating the Browns’ speed and aggression by attacking the edges and using screens. The offensive line held up well against a daunting Browns’ pass rush, surrendering just two sacks.

“The biggest thing is I think as an offense we found our identity in Washington,” Eluemunor said. “Just control the line of scrimmage — run the ball, throw it when we need to, use play action. I think the good teams find their identity early, and they’re able to weather the storm, which I feel like we have.”

Quick hits

• The Giants were forced to scramble at cornerback after Dru Phillips left in the first quarter with a calf injury. Cor’Dale Flott shifted into the slot, with Adoree’ Jackson taking over outside for the rest of the first half. Then Jackson injured his calf late in the first half, which forced Isaiah Simmons to take over as the slot corner with Flott sliding back outside.

Practice squad elevation Art Green played outside in the dime package in the second half. Green, who had never played an NFL snap, wasn’t exposed by the ineffective Watson.

Watson’s lone success came when targeting wide receiver Amari Cooper, who was covered by cornerback Deonte Banks. Cooper made an impressive snag of a 24-yard touchdown pass from Watson over Banks on the first play from scrimmage when the corner failed to turn his head to locate the ball. Cooper beat Banks for a 6-yard touchdown on a slant in the fourth quarter. Cooper finished with seven catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

• Running back Devin Singletary broke free on a long run to seal the game after yet another defensive stop gave the Giants the ball back at Cleveland’s 44-yard line with 2:23 remaining. Fantasy owners be damned, Singletary astutely gave himself up on the 1-yard line rather than scoring an easy touchdown that would have given the Browns another chance. Instead, the Giants ended the game with three straight Jones kneel downs.

Singletary, who scored on a 1-yard plunge to get the Giants on the board, was limited to 22 yards on his other 15 carries as running up the middle was hopeless against the Browns. He added 43 yards on four catches.

Singletary fumbled on the Giants’ first possession of the second half, continuing a disturbing trend from Week 2. The defense bailed Singletary out, and the Browns missed a 53-yard field goal on the ensuing possession.

• Daboll regained his nerve, aggressively going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Giants’ 43-yard line on their second possession. Nabers converted with a 2-yard run on a jet sweep. It was a gutsy call. A failure there would have added to the horrific start. Instead, it sparked a long touchdown drive to tie the score.

Daboll went for the jugular leading 21-7 early in the fourth quarter, calling a play-action rollout with a deep pass across the field to tight end Theo Johnson. Daboll’s vision of a huge play didn’t materialize, however, as Jones’ arm was hit as he threw, and Nabers alertly batted down the floating potential interception.

• Wide receiver Darius Slayton (one catch, seven yards) missed one series in the fourth quarter with a thumb injury. Linebacker Micah McFadden (six tackles, half sack) left briefly in the fourth quarter with a back injury. McFadden was a disruptive force as a blitzer, recording three quarterback hits. He has left the past two games briefly due to his back.

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• New kicker Greg Joseph missed his only field goal attempt, a 48-yarder that could have sealed the game with three minutes remaining.

(Photo: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)

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