Baker Mayfield shined again under the bright prime time lights Sunday night against the Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns 20-6 victory over the New York Giants …
1. Business: Now it’s about taking care of business for the Browns. And that’s what they did against the New York Giants on the Sunday Night Football stage in MetLife Stadium. Needing a win to stay in the AFC No. 5 playoff seed, the Browns beat the Giants, 20-6, with an error-free game on offense and a ball-control passing day from Baker Mayfield, who was on point from the start. The Browns’ 10th win matched their expansion-era high in 2007. More importantly, their 10-4 record kept them ahead of the Colts (10-4) and Dolphins (9-5) in the wild-card chase. The Ravens (9-5) remained eighth and still on the outside looking in, though they have the weakest schedule remaining. The pressure ratcheted up for the Browns when all those teams won in the afternoon. But the Giants mounted no pressure on Mayfield and coach Joe Judge bungled two sure scoring opportunities in the first half with failed fourth-down gambles. Amazingly, the 5-9 Giants are only one game out of first place in the NFC East with two to play.
2. Long and relentless: The back-breaking possession for the Browns was a 95-yard, 14-play work of art that began in the third quarter and consumed 8 minutes, 4 seconds. Nick Chubb muscled in from 1 yard to complete the second 95-yard TD drive of the night for the Browns and push their lead to 20-3. Mayfield converted two third downs early – one on a 5-yard keeper run and the other on a bullet over the middle to Rashard Higgins for 20 yards.
3. Hot hand: Mayfield must have woke up feeling dangerous because he was razor sharp all night. In the first half, Mayfield completed 17 of 19 for 172 yards and two touchdowns. He tossed touchdowns of 2 yards to Austin Hooper and 3 to Jarvis Landry. The quarterback was pinpoint accurate on play-fakes and bootlegs. He connected with seven different receivers – six times to Landry for 39 yards. The Browns had only 57 yards rushing on 17 attempts. Mayfield (27 of 32 for 297 yards) missed his third consecutive 300-yard passing game when he lost five yards on a completion midway through the fourth quarter.
4. Defensive bows: The ex-Browns Revenge Factor was never a factor. Emergency play-caller Freddie Kitchens behaved himself and didn’t stray from Judge’s direction. Giants quarterback Colt McCoy was hardly pressured on the night – Myles Garrett looked to have trouble breathing -- but the Browns contained his short throws, held the Giants rushing game under 100 yards and were stout in the red zone. Cornerback Kevin Johnson saved a touchdown with a breakup of a pass to Golden Tate in the end zone. Needing three scores at that point, the Giants kicked a field goal with 4:07 to go. For a team that claims to have "won" the Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants had no weapons on offense to make the game close. Garrett and Olivier Vernon combined on a sack of McCoy in the final minute. Safety Karl Joseph had a couple pass breakups and a part of a fourth-down stop.
5. Not good: The win came at a cost. Chris Hubbard, who was filling in for injured Wyatt Teller at right guard, injured his right knee on the second play of the game. Rookie Nick Harris capably replaced him. But with Teller dubbed “week to week” by Kevin Stefanski, the Browns could be down to their third right guard when they return to MetLife against the Jets on Sunday. Also, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson suffered a neck injury in the second half and did not return.
6. Uh, boy: After Landry’s touchdown, he was flagged for taunting cornerback Isaac Yiadom. The Giants took the 15 yards on the Browns’ PAT attempt, pushing it to a 48-yard attempt. Cody Parkey doinked it off the low right post, holding the Browns’ lead to 13-3.
7. Aggressive, as always: One of Mayfield’s two incompletions came on a bat-down by defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence on a Stefanski fourth-and-2 gamble from the Giants’ 42.
8. Here comes da Judge: Judge showed early he would pull out all stops on this night, and his failures cost his team two scoring opportunities. On his first possession, Judge eschewed a chip-shot field goal and shifted out of field-goal formation. Holder/punter Riley Davis took the snap and threw high in the end zone for center Nick Gates, who was an eligible receiver out of the goofy formation. Judge called for a short field goal on the Giants’ second possession. On their fourth possession, Judge went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Browns’ 6. Wayne Gallman was stopped by Richardson and Sheldrick Redwine. So the Giants had three points on three trips deep inside the red zone. NBC analysts Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison criticized Judge at halftime for not taking the points in a tight game while having to play a backup quarterback.
9. The other ex-Brown: Dion Lewis was a forgotten member of the ex-Browns Revenge Tour in the build-up to the game. Lewis returned the opening kickoff 48 yards.
10. Pre-game notes: Linebacker Mack Wilson, who struggled Monday night against the Ravens, was a healthy scratch. He was replaced at WILL linebacker by rookie Jacob Phillips. Chris Hubbard started for Wyatt Teller (ankle) at right guard and Sheldrick Redwine started for Andrew Sendejo (concussion) at free safety. Game captain: Baker Mayfield.