New York Giants Week 15 Report Card

After their fourth straight game failing to score at least 20 points combined with struggles on defense, the New York Giants grades this week are detention worthy.

If we've learned nothing else about this Giants team, it's that even if they're fortunate enough to win the division--a big "if" given how Week 15 unfolded--they do not appear to have a fully locked and loaded roster that should enable them to stand toe-to-toe with the higher competition levels they'd face.

Then again, neither does the rest of the NFC East teams, but I digress. Here are this week's grades from the Giants' 20-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Passing Offense: C

There were no interceptions or fumbles this week, and the offensive line only allowed one late-game sack. That's the good news for the Giants passing game.

The bad news, though, is there were no touchdowns. The even worse news is that there were a handful of poorly thrown balls--one to Darius Slayton and another to tight end Evan Engram in the end zone, both passes that were thrown short--that make you wonder how much different the outcome might have been if those deep passes had been completed.

Rushing Offense: C

The Giants averaged a steady 3.6 yards in the first half, going 15 for 54 yards. That's good (but not great) production. But then, in the second half, the coaches went away from the running game, making it almost unfair to give them a grade.

With that said, the inability to convert on short-yardage situations is a big reason this unit doesn't get a more respectable grade. The Giants ran heavy packages and still got minimal movement upfront.

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Run Defense: C-

The Giants went into the game determined to stop the run, and for the most part, they did so, holding Cleveland to 106 yards on 30 carries, one of the Browns' lowest rushing totals of the year.

But Nick Chubb still recorded a rushing touchdown in his 15 carries and 50 yards, and there were three long runs of 10+ yards, the longest of which a 21-yarder by D'Ernest Johnson.

Pass Defense: F

No pass rush meant Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had all night to throw the ball.

Granted, the Giants didn't have the ideal personnel to play man-to-man coverage, which is part of sending the dogs after the quarterback. Still, the defensive front lost its one-on-one battles with a very good Browns offensive line, making things a lot harder on the Giants than it needed to be.

Mayfield completed nearly 84% of his pass attempts, averaging about 9.2 yards per attempt. James Bradberry or no James Bradberry, these are not good numbers for a unit that should be a lot better than that.

Special Teams: F

Head coach Joe Judge is correct when he says if the fake field goal worked, everyone would be hailing it as genius.

But the execution--punter Riley Dixon, a college quarterback, locked in on the receiving options in the middle of the field, throwing to a triple covered Nick Gates instead of to a wide-open Graham Gano who was running something of a crossing pattern in the end zone.

And how much longer can the coaches continue to put Dion Lewis out there as the kickoff returner if he's going to have ball security issues?

Lewis had another fumble this week, though thankfully tight end Levine Toilolo recovered it. Still, how many more does he have to fumble while receiver/return specialist Dante Pettis sits on the inactive list collecting dust every week?

Coaching: D

Down 13-3 at the half, the Giants went away from the running game in the second half, rushing just six times for 20 yards--despite having better success with running the ball in the first half. Oh well.

Joe Judge isn't afraid to be aggressive, and that's a good quality to have. However, there needs to be a time and a place to be aggressive, and with all due respect to Judge, right now isn't the time.

This is a Giants offense that has not scored over 20 points since returning from its bye week. While Judge is hoping to find a spark, he also needs to be careful that this doesn't backfire.