The New York Giants have one of the worst offenses in the NFL. The Giants are averaging 18.3 points per game, the second-lowest averaging in the NFL this season behind only the New York Jets. New York is coming off of a disappointing Week 14 loss that saw the team score only 7 points against the Arizona Cardinals.
In Week 15, the Giants will play a crucial primetime matchup with the Cleveland Browns. The Browns will be playing their second primetime game in a row, after going toe-to-toe with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. Cleveland came up just short in this divisional matchup, losing 47-42.
Each team scored six touchdowns in the thrilling Monday night matchup that saw the heroics of the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson propel the Ravens to victory. The Browns hung in there though, seeing their offense explode with 42 points. Now, heading into Week 15, do the New York Giants have what it take to hang in with the Cleveland Browns’ offense if they explode once again?
The Cleveland Browns offense
The Cleveland Browns possess one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL. The Browns have averaged 25.6 points per game this season, over a touchdown per game more than the Giants.
Cleveland possesses the third-ranked rushing offense in the NFL. They are averaging 156.2 rushing yards per game. The Browns’ impressive running back duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt has helped the Browns control time of possession and win games with a fierce ground attack.
But third-year quarterback Baker Mayfield has not been too shabby either. Baker has had a breakout season in 2020, totaling 2,785 passing yards en route to a 9-4 record. Mayfield has also already passed his 2019 season total of passing touchdowns with 23 so far this season. But the key to Baker’s third-year development has been his turnover reduction. Baker threw 21 interceptions in 2019 but has only thrown 8 so far this season. This improvement has been the biggest difference-maker for Baker and the Browns offense.
With the Browns’ excellent rushing attack combined with a new-and-improved Baker Mayfield in 2020, rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski has put together a few huge offensive performances this season.
The Browns have scored 30 or more points in seven games this season. They have managed to crack 40 or more points three times this year. Stefanski’s offense is capable of putting up high-flying offensive performances. The Giants, on the other hand, are not as capable.
The New York Giants have only scored 30 or more points in one game this season, their Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Granted, the Giants’ defense has been great this season, so the Giants’ offense was not required to put up a high volume of points in any of their five wins. But the Browns’ offense is playing like one of the best in the NFL this season, so even though the Giants have a phenomenal defense, Cleveland could manage to put up a high volume of points on Sunday night. New York’s offense will need to have its best performance of the season if it wants to hang in a shootout with the Cleveland Browns.