EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Notes and statistics from the Giants' 20-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns in MetLife Stadium.
*The Giants lost their second game in a row following a four-game winning streak and fell to 5-9, tying them with the Dallas Cowboys for second place in the NFC East, one game behind the Washington Football team. They have two games remaining – next week in Baltimore and at home on Jan. 3 against Dallas.
*The Giants fell to 2-5 in MetLife Stadium.
*With nine losses, the Giants are assured of their fourth consecutive losing season.
*The Giants did not score a touchdown for the third time this season. They kicked three field goals for all their points vs. San Francisco in a 36-9 loss on Sept. 27 and a 17-9 defeat the following week to the Rams in Los Angeles.
*The Giants scored six points one week after a 26-7 loss to Arizona. The 13 combined points is their lowest total in consecutive games since Sept. 10-18, 2018, when they totaled 13 points (losing 19-3 at Dallas and 24-10 to Detroit). It is their lowest point total over two home games since Oct. 31-Nov. 14, 1976, when they scored 12 points in a 10-0 loss to Philadelphia and a 12-9 victory against Washington (with a road game in-between). The 13 points is their lowest total in home games played in consecutive weeks since they were shut out in back-to-back games by Pittsburgh (27-0) and Philadelphia (10-0) on Oct. 24-31, 1976.
*Neither team committed a turnover, the second time that happened in a Giants game this season (also the victory vs. Philadelphia on Nov. 15).
*Daniel Jones was inactive with hamstring and ankle injuries, so Colt McCoy started at quarterback for the second time in three weeks. He led the team to a 17-12 victory in Seattle on Dec. 6. It was McCoy's first career start against Cleveland, which selected him in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft and the team for which he played three seasons.
*McCoy completed 19 of 31 passes for 221 yards and did not throw an interception. The completion and yardage totals were McCoy's highest since he hit 24 passes for 268 yards while playing for Washington at Dallas on Nov. 22, 2018.
*McCoy's record as an NFL starter fell to 8-22.
*The Giants ran for 74 yards on 21 carries, a 3.5-yard average. Alfred Morris led the Giants with 39 rushing yards on nine carries, the latter figure tying the season high he set at Dallas on Nov. 8.
*Wayne Gallman, the team's leading rusher this season, ran for 29 yards on eight carries.
*Darius Slayton, Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram tied for the team lead with four receptions apiece. Slayton had a team-high 74 yards, including a 35-yarder that was the game's longest play.
*Julian Love started at left cornerback for James Bradberry, who was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list last week. It was the second-year veteran's 5th start this season and 10th in his two-year career, but first at cornerback. He played that position at Notre Dame but was moved to safety after the Giants selected him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in 2019.
*Dexter Lawrence had the Giants' only sack, tackling Baker Mayfield for an 11-yard loss.
*Mayfield completed 84.4% of his passes (27 of 32) for 297 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 126.2. He was sacked just once.
*Jarvis Landry had a game-high seven receptions for 61 yards, including a two-yard touchdown.
*The Giants had difficulty getting the Browns' offense off the field. Cleveland converted nine of 13 third-down opportunities (69.2%).
*The Browns scored touchdowns to cap 95-yard drives in both the second and third quarters, the first on a two-yard pass from Baker Mayfield to Jarvis Landry, the second on Nick Chubb's one-yard run. They were the longest drives against the Giants since the Minnesota Vikings' 98-yard touchdown drive on Oct. 6, 2019. The previous longest drive vs. the Giants this season was a 92-yarder by San Francisco on Sept. 27.
*Blake Martinez led the Giants with 10 tackles (five solo).
*Dion Lewis returned the opening kickoff 48 yards, his longest return since he scored a touchdown on a 103-yard runback for New England at Denver on Nov. 12, 2017. Lewis' previous long return this season was a 44-yarder vs. Tampa Bay on Nov. 2. The 48-yard return was the Giants' longest since Cody Latimer's 50-yarder vs. Dallas on Nov. 4, 2019.
*After Lewis' long return, the Giants moved the ball to the Browns' eight-yard line. But Joe Judge eschewed an almost certain field goal and the Giants ran one of the season's most unusual plays. With linemen and kicker Graham Gano splitting side, punter/holder Riley Dixon took Casey Kreiter's snap and threw a pass that sailed over the head of his intended receiver…center Nick Gates, who was covered in the end zone.
*Graham Gano scored the Giants' only points on field goals of 37 yards in the first quarter and 39 yards in the fourth. That extended his streak to 27 consecutive successful field goal attempts, one shy of his career high and two less than Josh Brown's franchise record.
*Joe Webb made his Giants debut on special teams. It was his first appearance in a regular-season game since Dec. 30, 2018, when he played 22 special teams snaps for the Texans vs. Jacksonville. A week later, he participated in 15 special teams plays in Houston's AFC Wild Card loss to Indianapolis.
*Judge threw his first challenge flag of the season with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. After Gano's field goal pulled the Giants to within 20-6, they tried an onside kick. The ruling on the field was that Cleveland recovered that kick. Judge challenged the ruling, believing the Giants had secured the ball underneath the scrum of players. After review, referee Shawn Hochuli announced the call on the field would stand.
*Since 1990, the Giants are 13-19 against teams that played the previous Monday night.
*The Giants played their first Sunday night game since Sept. 16, 2018, a 20-13 loss in Dallas. Their most recent Sunday night victory was a 23-10 triumph in Denver on Oct. 15, 2017. And they last hosted a Sunday night game on Dec. 11, 2016, a 10-7 victory against Dallas. Overall, the Giants are 22-31-1 on Sunday night, including 11-13 at home. Since 2006, when NBC began televising the Sunday night games, the Giants are 12-20 on Sunday nights.
*The Giants' inactive players were quarterback Daniel Jones (hamstring/ankle), cornerback Darnay Holmes (knee), wide receiver Dante Pettis, linebacker TJ Brunson, offensive linemen Kyle Murphy and Jackson Barton and defensive lineman RJ McIntosh.
View photos from the Week 15 matchup between the Giants and Browns in primetime at MetLife Stadium.
Cleveland Browns' Olivier Vernon (54) tackles New York Giants' Wayne Gallman (22) with teammates during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Dion Lewis (33) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Graham Gano celebrates with teammates Casey Kreiter (58) and Riley Dixon (9) after kicking a field goal during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Wayne Gallman (22) rushes past Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett (95) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cleveland Browns' Sheldrick Redwine (29) tackles New York Giants' Sterling Shepard (87) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) evades Cleveland Browns' Olivier Vernon (54) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cleveland Browns' Sheldrick Redwine (29) tackles New York Giants' Sterling Shepard (87) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' David Mayo (55) tackles Cleveland Browns' D'Ernest Johnson (30) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Leonard Williams (99) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cleveland Browns' B.J. Goodson, right, and Malcolm Smith, left, tackle New York Giants' Evan Engram, center, during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Cleveland Browns' Olivier Vernon (54) tackles New York Giants' Wayne Gallman (22) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Dexter Lawrence (97) sacks Cleveland Browns' Baker Mayfield (6) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Blake Martinez (54) fights off a block during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Blake Martinez (54) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Blake Martinez (54) tackles Cleveland Browns' Austin Hooper (81) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Colt McCoy (12) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Tae Crowder, left, and Logan Ryan, right, tackles Cleveland Browns' Donovan Peoples-Jones during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Cleveland Browns' Denzel Ward (21) defends New York Giants' Sterling Shepard (87) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Cleveland Browns strong safety Karl Joseph (42) tackles New York Giants' Alfred Morris (41) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Cleveland Browns strong safety Karl Joseph (42) tackles New York Giants' Alfred Morris (41) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Cleveland Browns strong safety Karl Joseph (42) tackles New York Giants' Alfred Morris (41) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton (86) makes a catch during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' David Mayo (55) tackles Cleveland Browns' D'Ernest Johnson (30) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Jabrill Peppers (21) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants inside linebacker Blake Martinez (54) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants inside linebacker Blake Martinez (54) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Alfred Morris (41) rushes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Darius Slayton (86) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cleveland Browns' Sione Takitaki (44) tackles New York Giants' Kaden Smith (82) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Tae Crowder (48) and Jabaal Sheard (91) tackle Cleveland Browns' Nick Chubb (24) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard (87) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Elijhaa Penny (39) rushes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Elijhaa Penny (39) rushes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Isaac Yiadom (27) tackles Cleveland Browns' Rashard Higgins (82) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Blake Martinez (54) plays during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Jabrill Peppers (21) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) evades Cleveland Browns' Olivier Vernon (54) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Wayne Gallman (22) rushes past Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett (95) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants quarterback Colt McCoy (12) throws a pass over Cleveland Browns' Vincent Taylor (96) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Wayne Gallman (22) is tackled during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Colt McCoy (12) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Cleveland Browns' Larry Ogunjobi (65) tackles New York Giants' Sterling Shepard (87) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
New York Giants' Dion Lewis (33) evades Cleveland Browns' Cody Parkey (2) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Giants' Colt McCoy (12) hands off to Wayne Gallman (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
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