The Browns' sudden upset loss to the New York Giants went down like the plot to the movie American Beauty. The fumble recovery on the opening kickoff leading to the deep touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Amari Cooper on the first play from scrimmage was the highlight of their day. Then, it was all downhill from there, with the Giants scoring three touchdowns to close out the first half with a 21-7 lead and their defense sacking Deshaun Watson eight times and hitting him seventeen times.
A second endzone connection from Watson to Cooper, followed by a two-point conversion scoring pass from Watson to Jerry Jeudy, cut the lead to six early in the fourth quarter. Two failed fourth down conversions, with Jameis Winston being stopped on a 4th and 1 play and then wide receiver Cedric Tillman dropping a pass on a 4th and 6 without any timeouts remaining. The Giants running back Devin Singletary would then seal Clevland's faith with a 43-yard run to victory with a purposeful slide at the one-yard line right at the two-minute mark. Three kneeldowns later, the Giants clinched the upset win, and the Browns were left with a lot of concerns to address offensively and defensively.
Defensive Breakdown
After forcing the Giants' offense to a quick three and out on their first drive, a sense of an easy victory already filled their minds. The very next drive the Giants had possession of the football ended in a
score, and so did the last two drives before halftime. New York's rookie phenom Malik Nabers was the scoring recipient for two of those drives while giving the Browns secondary a hard time to keep up with. Allowing him to run around catching seven passes and racking up 70 yards for the first half. Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome took turns covering the former LSU wideout and were able to limit him to one catch and eight yards for the second half.
Even though the Browns' defense didn't allow another score, the game-clinching run from Devin Singletary symbolized the Cleveland way of losing a game. The Browns had eight men in the box but played wide, anticipating an off-tackle run to the right. But instead, Devin Singletary ran off of two pulling guards to the right and broke a seam through the defense for the game. The pass defense shockingly only got two sacks and let Daniel Jones have possibly the best game of his career. Throwing zero interceptions and two touchdown passes while going 24-for-34 with 236 yards.
How Could This Happen?
That was key factor for the Giants to complete the mission of an upset win and the first thing the Browns couldn't let happen to avoid an upset loss. Watson was sacked and did not have time in the pocket to throw the football. Injuries to three of their starting offensive linemen, Wyatt Teller, Jedrick Wills Jr., and James Hudson, left the Watson protection program depleted. Joel Bitonio had to play left tackle for the rest of the game, and Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux took turns giving right tackle to Dawand Jones for a long day at the office.
The second thing was not allowing rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, already becoming a headache for opposing defenses, not to have a dominant performance. Well, those two things did happen, and they lost. His 78 receiving yards and two touchdowns were probably due to Denzel Ward not shadowing him. While Ward was on Nabers, there were only three targets, two catches, and eight receiving yards.
Throw It to Mr. Cooper
For the first two games of the season combined, Amari Cooper was only targeted 17 times, which is close to last in the NFL. He also caught only five passes for 27 receiving yards and has been having trouble catching the football. His catching issues from the past in Oakland seemed to rise back from the dead.
This past Sunday, Cooper was the go-to man. As Watson threw the football to him 12 times, Mr. Cooper caught seven of those passes. Averaging 12.3 yards per reception and stepped into the endzone twice. His two touchdowns and 86 receiving yards were the only things that kept the Browns in the game. If Cedric Tillman had his hands for 4th and 6, this would perhaps be a Browns win instead of an upset loss to the Giants.
Up Next: Las Vegas Raiders (1-2)
They face another team that stunningly defeated itself last Sunday evening. The Las Vegas Raiders, after their 36-22 embarrassment to a Carolina Panthers team that everyone wrote off two games into the season, come into this matchup with the same motivation as the Browns: not falling to 1-3 and proving that they do belong in the AFC playoff race.
This game already features two vicious-minded defenses led by two of the most vicious quarterback hunters in the game today: Myles Garrett for the Browns and Maxx Crosby for the Raiders. What is expected here is an ugly, sloppy ballgame between two unorthodox football teams.
Final Score: Giants 21, Browns 15
Anderson's Three Stars
1st Star - Browns WR Amari Cooper (7 Catches, 86 Receiving Yards, 2 Touchdowns)
2nd Star - Giants WR Malik Nabers (8 Catches, 78 Receiving Yards, 2 Touchdowns)
3rd Star - Giants Defense (8 Sacks, 17 Quarterback Hits, 1 Forced Fumble, 2 Fumble Recoveries, 5 Tackles for Loss, 2 Fourth Down Stops)
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