Cleveland, OH
Giants 2024 Opponent Report: Cleveland Browns, Week 3
The why is self-explanatory, and you’re well-versed in the where and when at this point in time. With the NFL calendar engaged in rare doldrums and most moves made and archived, it’s time to consider the who from a New York Giants perspective.
Giants On SI begins its look at the Giants’ upcoming adversaries in the 2024 season. Catch up with each team’s moves, where they stand, and, most importantly, how to beat them.
Who: Cleveland Browns
When: Week 3, Sunday, Sept. 22 (1 p.m. ET, Fox)
Where: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Series History: CLE leads series 28-22-2 (Last: 20-6 CLE, 12/2020)
After several false starts, the Browns seem ready to embark on a journey that changes the perception of Cleveland football on a sustainable basis. Their fortunes seemed cooked when both Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson went down with season-ending injuries but the team staged a playoff push with Joe Flacco under center before running into a similarly upbeat Houston Texans group in the AFC’s opening round.
That perhaps provides the most prominent example of sustainable hope on the Cuyahoga River in an era defined by a polarizing contract for Watson. With his legal woes hanging over his every move, Watson has played only 12 under his current deal, his Cleveland career interrupted by injuries and a suspension.
Watson has lacked the trademark brand of firepower he had in Houston, posting a mere 81.7 passer rating in that fateful dozen. Before Watson was lost, Cleveland also had to make due without Nick Chubb, who didn’t last a full two games.
The Browns remembered to keep the understudy options in both categories well-stocked: Flacco moved on but the Browns added Tyler Huntley and Jameis Winston, who established themselves as reliable backups in Baltimore and New Orleans respectively.
Top rusher Jerome Ford (1,132 yards and nine scores combined) is back while D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines come aboard. Cleveland will hope that a familiar offensive line, anchored by Joel Bitonio, will keep them all well-protected.
In terms of weaponry, a resurgent Amari Cooper will continue to be dangerous in a contract year while the continued talents of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett speak for themselves.
Under the watch of Garrett and former divisional adversary Jim Schwartz, the Browns’ pass rush kept them afloat defensively: Garrett and Za’Darius Smith ranked in the top 10 in quarterback knockdowns and the team as a whole placed similarly in both knockdown and pressure rate.
Who’s In: LB Devin Bush (FA-SEA), RB D’Onta Foreman (FA-CHI), CB Justin Hardee (FA-NYJ), LB Jordan Hicks (FA-MIN), RB Nyheim Hines (FA-BUF), WR Jerry Jeudy (Trade-DEN), QB Jameis Winston (FA-NO)
Who’s Out: LB Matthew Adams (FA-NYG), QB Joe Flacco (FA-IND), CB Mike Ford (FA-IND), LB Sione Takitaki (FA-NE), LB Anthony Walker (FA-MIA)
Everyone is well-versed in the “Greatest Game Ever Played” from 1958, the epic Yankee Stadium showdown between the Giants and Baltimore Colts. While the Giants lost the game that changed the course of NFL history, they only made it that far thanks to two epic victories over the Browns.
With the teams vying for the right to face Baltimore, the Giants first took a regular season finale 13-10, a comeback victory featuring Bob Schnelker’s touchdown grab from Frank Gifford and a 49-yard field goal from Pat Summerall, one of the longest in NFL history at the time.
Despite the Giants winning both sets of the season series, a tiebreaking playoff was staged the following week to officially determine the championship combatant. Buoyed by a sterling defensive effort (316-87 in yardage,17-7 in first downs, two interceptions for Lindon Crowe and one for Sam Huff), the Giants needed only a Summerall field goal and a Charlie Conerly rushing score to nab a 10-0 victory.
Stoop For Coop
Cooper has found his way back after falling out of Dallas’ receiving rotation, amassing 2,410 yards since painting his helmet orange in 2022 (eighth-best in the league in that span). Even at his relatively advanced age (having turned 30 in June), Cooper will undoubtedly field his share of suitors if and when he hits the market next year.
With that in mind, the Browns have packed themselves with prospects for a potentially Cooper-free setting: Jerry Jeudy has come over from Denver in an attempt to reclaim the narrative of his NFL career the same way Elijah Moore did after falling out of the New York Jets’ favor. Mid-round draft picks like David Bell and Cedric Tillman could also be called upon to step up.
In short, the more the Giants’ developing secondary can bottle up Cooper and force Watson (or Winston or Huntley to rely on mere veteran potential) in an early test, the better. Over the past two seasons, the Browns are 3-7 when Cooper is targeted at least 10 times.
Go the Extra Myles
Sometimes the obvious solution is the best solution: dedicated to placing Daniel Jones under center, the Giants have to do their utmost to protect him.
Keeping Garrett out of the backfield will also be an early test for the Giants’ outside blocking. Evan Neal and Andrew Thomas have been reliable enough on the edge but the tight ends (will Theo Johnson be back by September?) could show how valuable they are beyond the box score.
One of the niche stats buried in Cleveland’s ledgers is how quickly they got their defense off the field: average opposing possessions lasted a mere 2:07 and less than five plays, both tops in the league. If the Giants can get their post-Saquon Barkley rushing attack rolling early on, they could pick up some early upset wins and tire out a Cleveland group that makes its living through backfield invasions (as well as neutralize a homegrown secondary headlined by Grant Delpit and Denzel Ward).
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Make that a trio of commitment in the Class of 2027 this week for the Louisville football program.
Cleveland (Oh.) Brush defensive end Munir Lewis announced Wednesday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He’s the third commit in the last four days for UofL, Bradenton (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive lineman Kaleb Exume committing on Sunday and Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day two-way athlete Brooklyn Maxey doing so on Monday.
Lewis chose Louisville out of a top seven that also consisted of Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Purdue. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Minnesota, Wisconsin plus several others, and made multiple visits to UofL’s campus – including this past Friday for the spring game. He’s set to return for an official visit this May.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end is regarded as the 23rd-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio, the No. 50 edge rusher in the Class of 2027, and the No. 592 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.
Lewis was an explosive force for Brush as a junior this past season. He collected 55 total tackles, 13.5 for loss, nine sacks, four pass breakup, a forced fumbles and over 20 quarterback pressures. He helped Brush finish the 2025 season with a 6-4 record.
Lewis is the 12th commitment in Louisville’s 2027 recruiting class, which is on pace to be the best in school history. he joins a class that not only ranks as the best class in the ACC, but the No. 8 class in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Four of their commitments are regarded as four-star prospects by the composite.
He’s also the latest in a budding pipeline to the state of Ohio, which has been championed by Executive Director of Football Personnel and Recruiting Vince Marrow. Five of Louisville’s 12 commitments in the 2027 cycle are from the Buckeye State, with three hailing from the Cincinnati area and the other two coming from Cleveland.
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American Cornhole League Cleveland Signature Open | April 24, 2026 | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
American Cornhole League is bringing the heat to the boards in Cleveland with $150,000 on the line. Join us on April 24-26, 2026, for elite competition where amateurs and pros collide. Whether you’re a backyard ringer or a seasoned veteran, this is your chance to…
Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.
Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.
Houston came into Monday’s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers — at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club’s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren’t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath.
Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let’s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview
So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That’s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise — he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 — it’s just that the right-hander’s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it’s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he’s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn’t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we’re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros’ bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston’s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they’ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.
On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians’ pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick’s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn’t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you’re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little “lucky” from time to time. It’s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn’t a single cakewalk in there.
That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros’ record is, it’s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He’s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448/.528/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don’t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He’s that good.
Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet
Best Bet: Jose Ramirez 2+ Total Bases (+107)
Weiss has a 6.27 FIP. The Astros’ bullpen has given up the most opponent home runs per nine (1.89). Ramirez probably won’t be in a single bad matchup this evening, and that’s before you factor in that the All-Star is a switch-hitter.
Strong Lean: Ryan Weiss 4+ Strikeouts (+123)
While Weiss’ surface numbers aren’t great, he has managed four strikeouts in two of his three outings where he’s thrown 60+ pitches. He’s struck out 18 in 14.2 innings and I expect he’ll flirt with the 90-pitch plateau on Tuesday.
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