Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield started hot and stayed that way throughout the night, leading the Browns to a 20-3 victory over the Giants on Sunday Night Football.
Mayfield passed for two touchdowns in the first half and kept Cleveland’s offense on the field to control the ball and the clock. He finished 27-of-32 passing for 297 yards with two touchdowns.
The Browns ended the game with 392 total yards, averaging 6.2 yards per play and recording 24 first downs. They won the time of possession battle 34:03 to 25:57 in large part by going 9-of-13 on third down. Cleveland had a pair of 95-yard touchdown drives — one in the second quarter and another that ended in the fourth. Per the NBC broadcast, that’s the first time a team has netted two 95-yard TD drives in the same game this season.
Rashard Higgins was Cleveland’s leading receiver with 76 yards on four catches. Jarvis Landry had seven catches for 61 yards.
It was tough sledding for Nick Chubb, but he had 50 yards rushing on 15 carries and a one-yard touchdown.
Starting backup quarterback Colt McCoy for the injured Daniel Jones, the Giants started the game with a failed fake field goal and didn’t score a touchdown in 60 minutes. Head coach Joe Judge was aggressive in going for it on fourth-and-2 from Cleveland’s six-yard line, but running back Wayne Gallman was stuffed for a one-yard gain.
New York netted just three points out of three red-zone possessions.
McCoy finished 16-of-28 passing for 194 yards. Alfred Morris was New York’s leading rusher, gaining 39 yards on seven carries.
The Browns improved to 10-4 with the win, maintaining their spot as the current No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff race. It’s only the second time the Browns have reached 10 wins since rejoining the league in 1999.
New York missed an opportunity to tie Washington at the top of the division after the Football Team lost to the Seahawks on Sunday. But at 5-9, the Giants are still alive in the NFC East.