After a difficult first two games for the New York Giants, they finally found the win column on Sunday, taking down the Browns 21-15 in Cleveland.
The Giants, who moved to 1-2 on the year, set up an opportunity to move back to .500 with a matchup against a struggling Dallas Cowboys team this Thursday night.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants’ Week 3 victory over the Browns.
Malik Nabers is the real deal: When the Giants selected Nabers with the sixth overall pick in this past April’s draft, they were hoping to get an instant impact player, but no one expected Nabers to break out the way he has.
Nabers caught eight passes for 78 yards with a pair of touchdowns in the victory, including several incredible catches. The most notable was a 28-yard grab on the sideline in which he jumped up and over a defender for the catch.
“We called a play, and I was kinda confused on where to line up,” Nabers said after the game. “But after that, it was just a chance. [Daniel] Jones gave me a shot on it. When I saw the defender turn around and I saw the arc of the ball dropping down, I felt like it was gonna be a
pick. I just tried to put my hands in front of his and I was thankful to make a great play on the
ball.”
Nabers became the first player in NFL history to have 20 receptions and three touchdowns in a player’s first three NFL games. This is exactly what the Giants wanted from the LSU product, and he continues to churn out big performances, which will only strengthen his candidacy for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at the season’s end.
Emerging Pass Rush: Entering the season, the Giants strength was expected to be their pass rush. However, the it failed to make the immediate impact that many hoped it would make. But that all changed against the Browns, as the Giants sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson eight times — their most in a game since 2016.
“Yeah, it was great.” Giants head coach Brian Daboll said. “I don’t know if we had eight
sacks or something like that. It was pressure too. I think again, when you look at it, how is the
game being played? So their team is down 21-7 you get to a certain point where there’s more
passes or things like that, so that helps too.”
Brian Burns, the big offseason acquisition for the Giants, finally got his first sack of the
season, forcing a fumble in the process, which caused what would turn out to be the winning
score for the Giants. Overall, nine Giants recorded at least half a sack in the game, and the pass rush will need to continue getting to the quarterback for the Giants to have sustained success.
Do-it-all Dexter: Every time the Giants defense made a big play, it seemed like two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was in the middle of it.
Lawrence finished the game with three total tackles, one tackle for a loss, and two sacks, including a big stop on a 4th-&-1 QB sneak, which forced a turnover on downs.
Lawrence was also a big part of providing strong run defense to a team that has struggled to stop the run over the last two seasons. The Browns were only able to manage 69 yards on the ground in the game, down from 215 from a week ago against the Commanders.
Lawrence will be challenged next week, taking on a Cowboys offensive line that’s considered one of the league’s best.
