After a dominant first half, the Giants let the Browns hang around in the last 30 minutes.
But Cleveland could not take advantage of any of its numerous opportunities, as New York came away with a 21-15 victory.
While the Browns jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a 24-yard touchdown after the Giants fumbled the opening kickoff, Cleveland’s offense couldn’t do anything until early in the fourth quarter.
New York was dominant for the rest of the first half, as Devin Singletary capped a 13-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown, then Malik Nabers caught two TDs to give the Giants a 21-7 halftime lead.
Nabers became the youngest player in league history to have a multi-touchdown game.
Daniel Jones had just two incompletions in the first half.
But things changed in the second half, as the Giants fumbled, punted five times, and had a missed field goal to keep the Browns in it.
However, Cleveland could only score early in the fourth quarter after the team got the ball in New York territory. Amari Cooper caught a 6-yard touchdown and head coach Kevin Stefanski passed the proverbial down-eight test, going for two. The team got the conversion with a Deshaun Watson pass to Jerry Jeudy.
Down by six, the Browns had three more chances to take the lead. The offense was moving the ball, but a fumbled exchange between Watson and Jerome Ford ended that threat.
Cleveland then turned it over on downs twice. First Watson was looking to throw on fourth-and-1 but the play was covered and he couldn’t scramble for the yard. Then Watson hit Cedric Tillman between the number on fourth-and-5 but the receiver couldn’t make the catch.
With the Browns out of timeouts, Singletary took a carry 43 yards down to the 1-yard line to effectively end the game.
Jones finished the game 24-of-34 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Nabers caught eight passes on 12 targets for 78 yards with two TDs.
Watson was 21-of 37 for 196 yards with two touchdowns. He also had 26 yards on four carries. Cooper finished with seven receptions for 86 yards with two scores.
Cleveland had several injuries impact its offensive line, with Wyatt Teller exiting with a knee injury, James Hudson a shoulder injury, and Jed Wills with a knee injury. The team ended up moving Joel Bitonio from left guard to left tackle. Nick Harris came in at center and Ethan Pocic moved from center to left guard.
Defensive end Myles Garrett also played limited snaps with his foot injuries, but was able to stay in for most of the contest.
For the Giants, receiver Darius Slayton exited with a thumb injury and linebacker Micah McFadden had a back injury.
New York has a quick turnaround for Week 4, as the club will host Dallas for Thursday Night Football.
Cleveland will be on the road to play the Raiders in Las Vegas.
