CLEVELAND — They tried every way they could to do the impossible: turn an exciting, rare victory into a crushing defeat. The Giants looked uncertain at every turn Sunday after building a comfortable lead. They bent, but they didn't fold.
The 21-7 lead narrowed and was threatened but never went away, so the Giants had to stay defensive, and it paid off, earning a tense 21-15 win over the Browns at Huntington Bank Field.
After starting 0-2, the Giants couldn't accept another loss, which was a testament to the team's recoil late in the game and a truly awful performance from Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who the Giants sacked seven times.
Daniel Jones and rookie Malik Neighbors were nearly flawless in the first half, combining for two touchdowns, but the offense took a nosedive in the second half, failing to score and allowing the Browns (1-2) to take control of the game.
Jones completed 24 of 34 attempts for 236 yards, while Neighbors had eight catches for 78 yards.
The Giants dominated the game, scoring 21 straight points to lead by 14 at halftime, but their offense stalled and allowed the Browns to catch up. Devin Singletary lost the ball on a fumble, Andrew Thomas was penalized for a false start, and Jones was sacked, causing the offense to slow dramatically. This finally made Watson, who had been booed by fans for his terrible performance, look effective. He threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Amari Cooper, who repeatedly evaded Deonte Banks, to make it 21-13 with 11:33 left in the game. The Browns went for two, and Watson found Jerry Jeudy for the score.
The Giants had an opportunity when Jerome Ford fumbled and Azeez Ojulari recovered the ball with 7:40 left in the game, but the Giants' offense continued to be stymied and couldn't capitalize, forcing them to punt with 5:19 left in the game.
The final stand came when Kayvon Thibodeau and Jason Pinnock stopped a quarterback sneak by Jameis Winston for one yard on third down, and Dexter Lawens leg tackled Watson with 3:36 left, but failed to get a first down.
The Giants had a chance to end the game, but newly signed kicker Greg Joseph missed a 48-yard field goal wide right with three minutes left.
The final stand came when Banks, defending Cedric Tillman (Cooper was off the field injured), stopped a crucial fourth down with 2:33 left to seal the win for the Giants.
Jones was 17 of 19 for 178 yards in the first half. By the time of his 13-yard pass to rookie tight end Theo Johnson early in the third quarter, he was 20 of 22. Has he ever been more accurate?
Look up “the beginning of a nightmare” in the dictionary or Google it, and the events the Giants allowed are living proof of starting a road game the wrong way. Eric Gray fumbled on the opening kickoff, giving the Browns the ball at the Giants' 24-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Watson found Cooper in man coverage with Banks for a 24-yard touchdown. Just 11 seconds into the game, the Giants were trailing 7-0 despite having the ball first.
Things looked to get worse when Jones was intercepted by safety Ronnie Hickman on the second offensive series. Rookie tight end Theo Johnson appeared to take a wrong turn. The turnover was negated by a pass roughing to cornerback Greg Newsome, setting up a huge comeback.
The Giants eventually went on a 13-play, 81-yard drive that saw Daboll go for a 4th-and-1 from their own 43-yard line (Neighbors ran 2 yards on a jet sweep for a first down). The Giants surprisingly overcame two holding penalties (Greg Van Roten, Johnson) as Jones kept the ball moving and Devin Singletary tucked it in from 1 yard out to make it 7-7.
That was the start of the Giants' most impressive play of the season. They sacked Watson in consecutive games to set the tone. Rookie Elijah Chatman's first sack in the NFL. On the first series of the second quarter, Lawrence chased and harassed Watson, drawing an intentional ground foul. Jones then made 7 of 8 attempts, highlighting his ability as a point guard to get the ball where it needs to be. Neighbors made his biggest impact by robbing cornerback Martin Emerson of what could have been an interception and taking it for a 28-yard reception. It was a classic 50-50 ball that Jones entrusted to a rookie.
Neighbors dribbled past Emerson and made a leaping catch in the left corner of the end zone to give the Bulls a 14-7 lead with 1:44 left in the first half.
Amazingly, the Giants extended their lead when Brian Barnes got the ball back on his first impact play with his new team, slipping past right tackle Dawand Jones to strip-sack Watson and allowing Chatman to pounce on the ball at the Browns' 30 with 32 seconds left before halftime.
Satisfied with a field goal? No chance. Daboll trusted Jones to do the right thing, and he threw a 12-yard pass to Neighbors, who deftly scrambled for eight yards, and the Giants were down to the 5-yard line with no timeouts and five seconds left. Jones found Neighbors in the back of the end zone, who took another jumper, and the Giants ended the half up 21-7.
