Giants @ Browns
Final Score: NYG 21 – CLE 15
Writer: Raymi Chavez
In the mid-20th Century, this was a fierce rivalry in the old NFL East; nowadays, it’s a throwaway morning game between two listless teams. Today, we saw some of the best play of the season from both teams, and it still left a lot to be desired.
Right off the bat, the Giants fumbled on the opening kickoff return, and the Browns capitalized on that in one play with a beautiful ball to Amari Cooper. That’s where the Browns’ first-half highlights end. The Giants proceeded to dominate the first half, led by a relentless pass rush from their D-Line. Daniel Jones continued to show excellent chemistry with Malik Nabers and matriculated the ball down the field consistently, leading to a 14-7 lead late in the first half. The Browns got a big fourth down conversion late in the first half, only for Watson to fumble on the next snap due to the Giants’ fourth first-half sack. The Giants capitalized and went into the second half up 21-7.
The second half started with much of the same, but the Browns slowly started to get into a rhythm offensively while the Giants sputtered. The Giants continued their pursuit of Watson, getting three more sacks on the Browns’ first three possessions before suddenly taking their foot off the gas. Fewer blitzes led to fewer pressures, leading to the Browns finding themselves in the endzone. The Browns–down 21-15–had three straight opportunities to drive down the field and take a lead. The first was looking great until a huge fumble on a botched handoff between Watson and Ford; the second got stuffed on fourth down. The last went out with a whimper on a drop after a perfect pass from Deshaun Watson. The Giants get their first win, and the Browns’ offensive line continues to let them down. Let’s see how this impacts the fantasy world.
Three Up
- Malik Nabers – A star in the making with 37 targets in three weeks and the youngest receiver to catch two TDs in one game. Jones and Nabers are building a great rapport with each other. He’s on the road to OROY right now.
- Amari Cooper – After starting the season with two disappointing weeks, Cooper finally broke out. Scoring twice and making seven catches, Watson looked to him first and last. With twelve targets this week, Cooper should see the game script continue to lean his way
- Wan’Dale Robinson – The best part of Robinson’s game was the fact that despite Nabers hoarding targets, he still got a healthy target share himself. With seven catches on eight targets, Robinson should continue to do well in PPR leagues.
Two Down
- Jerry Jeudy – Seven targets, only four catches, Jeudy was meant to be the take-the-top-off part of this team’s offense, and he’s not managed to do anything of the sort.
- D’onta Foreman – A hot waiver wire pickup, Foreman only saw nine snaps all game. As a running back who depends on a run-heavy game script, I don’t think he will be worth an add often this year–especially with a Nick Chubb return on the horizon.
New York Giants
Quarterback
Daniel Jones: 24/34, 236 Yards, 2 TD | 8 Carries, 20 Yards, 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Jones took another positive step. He was looking closer to the player who earned 40 million dollars a year rather than the man on the hottest of hot seats. His second throw of the game was intercepted and, fortunately, a defensive penalty took that back; after a deep incompletion to Hyatt, he had 12 straight completions. He moved well in the pocket, moving to give himself time to throw as opposed to immediately bailing. He had two bad misses, one overthrow to Theo Johnson on a perfectly executed PA goal line throw, and then overthrew Nabers on a fade that looked like it had big TD potential. Otherwise, Jones was accurate and made smart decisions with the football. Another week like this and he can become a viable QB option with his running game bolstering that. Having Nabers to toss the ball up to helps immensely.
Running Back
Devin Singletary: 16 Carries, 65 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost) | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 43 Yards
Singletary continues to be the clear lead back. In the first half, Brian Daboll seemed intent on getting Tracy involved, but once the ball got into the red zone or in big situations, Singletary found himself in the game. He would have had two touchdowns if he hadn’t slid to seal the game at the end of the fourth quarter as he broke a 43-yard run. A lost fumble for the second straight week seems concerning, but he’s never had ball security issues, and he’s still a great RB2 option just due to usage.
Tyrone Tracy: 5 Carries, 23 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards
Tracy found himself getting involved fairly regularly in the first half and was just as productive as Singeltary. If given a shot, Tracy could probably produce just as well as Singletary in this offense. Eighteen snaps won’t do it, though, and he shouldn’t be more than a stash in deeper leagues.
Eric Gray: 1 Carry, 0 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Malik Nabers: 12 Targets, 8 Receptions, 78 Yards | 2 Carries, 4 Yards | 0/1, 0 Yards
If you didn’t look closely, you’d almost think Odell Beckham Jr. had jumped into a time machine. Malik Nabers has become the engine of this offense, and his touches included a couple of designed runs for him, with one being a clutch fourth-down conversion. He made a couple of incredible catches, one on his first touchdown, getting his feet down on a ball that was thrown high, and another on the sideline, Moss’ing Newsome for an electric highlight. At this rate, Nabers will be getting drafted in the first round for years to come.
Wan’Dale Robinson: 8 Targets, 7 Receptions, 61 Yards
Robinson continues to be dynamite in the short pass game, becoming an important outlet for Jones and also a key target in short-down passing possessions for safe, surefire first downs. He had some fantastic yards after the catch. He is a good FLEX option in PPR leagues, even a WR2 option in a pinch.
Theo Johnson: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 13 Yards
Earning his playing time mostly from great blocking, Johnson had a wide-open target in the red zone that Jones just missed. All three of his targets came from blocking for a second before sneaking out to make a quick grab. He does not need to be rostered.
Darius Slayton: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 7 Yards
Didn’t factor into this game much, left at one point with a thumb injury but came back fairly quickly.
Daniel Bellinger: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 17 Yards
Bellinger made a pretty great play on his only target; otherwise used more as a blocker.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson: 21/37, 196 Yards, 2 TD | 4 Carries, 26 Yards, 2 Fumbles (Both Lost)
Watson was running for his life. Watson had eight sacks that led to a couple of lost fumbles; this offensive line is in shambles. Three more injuries to their line throughout the game do not bode well for his production moving forward. Watson has some serious accuracy issues still, missing wide-open receivers with regularity. The only time Watson saw success was when he was targeting Cooper for chunk plays or hitting Ford out of the backfield for some great yards after the catch. His stat line looks alright, but Watson is nothing more than a streaming option still and not a great one.
Jameis Winston: 2 Carries, 1 Yard
Running Back
Jerome Ford: 10 Carries, 37 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 33 Yards
Ford got 51 of the 60 relevant offensive snaps, dominating the snap share count. Unfortunately, the Browns quickly abandoned the run game in the second half, and–behind an abysmal offensive line–Ford wasn’t able to get anything going. Ford should just be a streaming option, with his snap share bolstering his production.
D’Onta Foreman: 2 Carries, 5 Yards
A popular waiver wire add, Foreman dramatically disappointed with only nine snaps and facing a game script that wouldn’t allow for much time on the field for D’Onta. I would look elsewhere for streaming options, especially with Chubbs’ return on the horizon.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Amari Cooper: 12 Targets, 7 Receptions, 86 Yards, 2 TD
Cooper had a bit of a statement game after being mostly invisible the first two weeks. Watson just fed him target after target, and Cooper made a handful of contested catches, including a great TD grab on the team’s first play from scrimmage. Cooper is capable of stringing together big weeks like this, and I could see him getting hot after a game like this.
Jerry Jeudy: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 27 Yards
This type of game seems to be what can be expected of Jeudy week in and week out. On his best days, he is a low-end FLEX option, but he is not providing the Browns what they hoped for him.
Jordan Akins: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 29 Yards
Akins was Watson’s go-to outlet when things broke down and was fairly consistent in that role. He didn’t produce like Njoku, and I’m not sure if he could, but he’s an alright emergency streaming option if you need one while Njoku is out.
Elijah Moore: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards
Elijah lost some steam after building some chemistry with Watson during the first couple of weeks; his one target not brought in came from him and Watson not being on the same page. With Cooper reemerging, Moore lost a lot of his targets.
Cedric Tillman: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
His drop on fourth down in the fourth quarter essentially sealed the game.