The New York Giants are coming off of a tough loss to the Washington Commanders in which they scored three touchdowns and allowed none, but poor run defense and a lack of a backup kicker were the deciding factors that led to their demise.
Week 3 will present another challenge for the G-Men, as they will be going up against a Cleveland Browns team that has a strong defense. The Giants have a few weaknesses heading into this game, each of which will need to perform at a much-improved level if they want to leave Cleveland with their first win of the season.
1. Daniel Jones needs to keep taking steps forward in Week 3
Giants quarterback Daniel Jones was awful in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, which led to early season questions asking if he should be benched in favor of backups Drew Lock or Tommy DeVito. Jones had an improved performance in Week 2, throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns while not committing a turnover. However, he threw for a 57% completion rate, which the Giants would like to see tick up.
Jones has struggled with his pass accuracy badly to start the season. He ranks 29th out of all starting quarterbacks in completion percentage at just 54.3%, a mark that is lower than the recently benched Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers. Jones also has the sixth-worst passer rating in the league at 66.6, lower than quarterbacks like Will Levis and Jacoby Brissett.
The Browns have one of the stronger defenses in the league to start the season. They have the third-highest PFF graded pass rush at 77.7, and have the ninth-highest pass coverage grade at 73.7. With Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II in the secondary and Myles Garrett on the edge, Jones will be up for a very difficult task to get around this imposing defense Cleveland presents.
A good game from Jones would be encouraging going forward, but the odds are currently stacked against him while facing the Browns.
2. The Giants need to play better defense against the run in Week 3
On paper, one would think the Giants played a good defensive game in Week 2 against Washington given that they recorded five sacks and didn’t allow a touchdown. However, the reality is that their defense was horrific, especially against the run.
The Commanders tallied 215 rushing yards against New York, including 133 from running back Brian Robinson Jr. The Giants were great at putting the Commanders in tough field position on third down, but were gashed stopping them on such plays, as Washington was 7-for-14 on third down conversions.
The Browns haven’t had star running back Nick Chubb to start the season after he was placed on the PUP list before Week 1, and they won’t have him in this contest either. As a result, their running game has faltered, as they average just 109 yards per game on the ground through the first two games.
Their passing game hasn’t been very strong either, as they average just 154.5 passing yards per game, a mark that is lower than the Giants. Quarterback Deshaun Watson has the fourth-lowest passer rating in the NFL at 63.0. Therefore, if there was a game for the Giants’ defense to get right, this would be the one.
The Giants’ most notable disappointment to start the season is the lack of action from pass rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. Both have been fairly quiet in the first two games of the season despite Dexter Lawrence still putting up excellent numbers. This game presents an opportunity for those two to make an impact, as the Browns have the sixth-worst pass blocking PFF grade at 56.3.
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3. The Giants will need to figure out who will get the reps at the CB2
The Giants will once again need to figure out a plan for the CB2 spot on the depth chart; a spot that has seen tons of movement to begin this year’s campaign. Nick McCloud started on the outside opposite of Deonte Banks in Week 1, but he missed Week 2 with a knee injury and still hasn’t returned to practice, putting his availability for Week 3 in jeopardy.
Cor’Dale Flott got the start on the outside against the Commanders but struggled. He recorded five total tackles but missed two of them, and also allowed a 34-yard completion on his lone target. Flott ranked 77th out of 98 cornerbacks in defensive PFF grade, as he logged a grade of 55.4 for Week 2.
Dru Phillips was very impressive in the slot cornerback position against Washington. The rookie recorded eight tackles and forced two incompletions in coverage, good for a pass coverage PFF grade of 68.4. Overall on the season, Phillips has a coverage grade of 80.0, so he could provide a positive impact despite the depleted secondary.
As of now, it is unclear if the Giants are willing to give Flott an opportunity to bounce back after a rough performance, but they are already thin at the position as it is, so the secondary is going to be a major weakness heading into Week 3.
