The Giants.com crew reacts to the team's 21-15 win over the Browns with a short week ahead to Thursday Night Football:

John Schmeelk: Heading into this game, the Browns' defense had been the best unit in the National Football League at home. Since the start of the 2022 season, no team had allowed fewer yards, and they allowed 50 yards fewer than the team that allowed the second-fewest. They were especially good against the pass, allowing a league-leading 130 passing yards per game during that same stretch, and leading the league in three-and-out percentage (51.9).

Their success continued this season. In Week 1, Dak Prescott threw for only 179 yards and a touchdown while averaging a paltry 5.59 yards per attempt. In Week 2, Trevor Lawrence managed to throw for 220 yards, but he completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes in the game. The Browns had seven sacks in those two games, holding the Cowboys and Jaguars to 85.3 and 71.5 quarterback ratings, respectively.

I'm sure at this point you're wondering if you are reading the right article. Wasn't this supposed to be takeaways from Sunday's win? Well, I wanted to provide some context for the 24-for-34, 236-yard, two-touchdown, no-interception performance that Daniel Jones put up. He was nearly perfect in the first half, throwing just two incompletions on 19 attempts and leading three touchdown drives.

Could the offense in the second half have been better? Sure. The passing game is still trying to get more precise and connect on their deep throws. But Jones had the sixth-best quarterback rating of any quarterback that played the Browns' defense dating back to last season. He was helped by Brian Daboll's play-calling in the first half, dialing up successful screen passes against Jim Schwartz's defensive scheme. Jones also made several precise throws under duress.

I thought the most impressive part of Jones' performance was how he navigated some muddy pockets. According to Pro Football Focus, the Giants' pass protectors allowed 21 pressures on Sunday, more than they allowed combined in the first two weeks. Browns defenders were in the backfield, but Jones showed good pocket awareness and mobility to get the ball out. Jones was sacked just two times in the game, despite being pressured more frequently than any other quarterback in Week 2.

As Jones' confidence in the offensive line grows, he is keeping his eyes downfield more and naturally feeling the rush. If he can continue to play with that kind of poise in the pocket and efficiency throwing the football, the Giants' offense should continue to thrive.

Dan Salomone: The NFL is a funny business. In Week 1, the Giants expected blitzing from the Vikings' defense but didn't get it. Two weeks later, the Browns didn't expect it from the Giants' defense but got it – a lot of it.

"I mean, they switched up the game plan," said Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was sacked eight times on Sunday and absorbed 17 quarterback hits by nine different Giants. "I think you got to give their DC Shane (Bowen) a lot of credit for doing something different that we… of course we were expecting pressure, but as much as they brought it, you just got to prepare for the worst. And they did a good job of trying to create some mismatch and different confusion up front to get us off our timing in the passing game."

The big question all offseason was what Bowen's scheme would look like after his successful run with Tennessee, where his unit boasted the No. 1 red zone defense just last year. The answer was Bowen puts a lot on his front four, but he always left a caveat. He would do whatever he thinks is best for that specific week, a philosophy he shares with the Bill Belichick-tutored Brian Daboll.

"We have done the gamut," Bowen said in April as everyone was getting to know him at the facility, including players. "We have brought four. We have brought five. We have brought six. We've done some of the zone pressure stuff, overload stuff. So, we have it all."

Watson and the Browns can attest to that. Now it's just a question of what the Giants will cook up on a short week as they prepare for the Cowboys, who scored 89 points combined in a series sweep last season.

"So the tendencies of (Bowen) … is very similar to kind of what Mike Vrabel does," Watson explained, referencing the former Titans head coach who is now a coaching and personnel consultant for Cleveland. "It was a lot of shell, a lot of quarters, a lot of cover two. Minimum of cover three. Not very high-on-pressure team. But, you know, this game, that's what they wanted to do. They brought a lot more pressure than usual on down-and-distances that they usually don't bring, on first down especially. Second-and-long usually it's man coverage, but, you know, they played a lot of man, but brought the pressure with it. A lot of one whole, lurk and things like that. So, like I said, they did a good job of scheming that up."

Matt Citak: The Giants undoubtedly had high expectations for Malik Nabers when they used the sixth overall selection on him. But I don't think anyone could have expected the 21-year-old to get off to the start that he has through three games. Going up against Cleveland's staunch defense, Nabers led both teams with eight receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Not only did he produce in the box score, but the young wideout also made a couple of jaw-dropping plays. Nabers' catch where he jumped up and snatched the ball from Browns cornerback Martin Emerson for a 28-yard gain late in the second quarter was incredible, and his first touchdown grab might have been even more impressive. The rookie receiver is already displaying tremendous balance and body control while in the air, and appears to be fully on the same page as quarterback Daniel Jones.

"It was one hell of a catch," coach Brian Daboll said after the game about the rookie's grab over Emerson. "I'm going to go back and watch it on tape. I saw it and said, 'Oh,' but then he came down with it. Again, when you have a guy like that, it doesn't really matter the matchup. Throw the ball up to him and trust he's going to get it. It takes a lot of trust between and a quarterback and a receiver to be able to do that."

"He's played really well to start and it hasn't surprised us with watching him in training camp and all the plays he's made," Jones added. "He's made a lot of big plays for us and I have a lot of trust in him going up and getting the ball. We need to continue to take advantage of his ability to make plays."

Nabers has registered 23 receptions for 271 yards and three touchdowns through his first three games. The receptions are the second-most in the league after Sunday's games, the yards rank fifth, and his three receiving touchdowns are tied for the most in the NFL. He also leads the league with six receptions of at least 20 yards.

In addition to being among the league's receiving leaders this season, Nabers' performance over the first three weeks has him in some elite company. For starters, he is the first player in NFL history with at least 20 receptions and three touchdown catches in his first three career games. His 23 receptions are tied with Anquan Boldin for the second-most by a player in his first three games in NFL history, trailing only Puka Nacua's 30 last year. Nabers, at 21 years and 56 days old, is also the youngest wide receiver in NFL history with two touchdown receptions in a game, breaking Mike Evans' record (21 years and 73 days old).

It's clear based on his target share (nearly 36 percent) and air yards share (around 57 percent) that Nabers is the focal point of the offense. If he continues at this pace, we could be witnessing a record-breaking rookie season from the Giants' first-round pick.

"I mean I have a lot of great teammates behind my back pushing me for greatness," Nabers said after the win. "This last week they kept pushing and pushing, and I am thankful to those guys who kept pushing me to try and be great, and hopefully we can keep the momentum into the next game and have another strong performance for these guys."