What will Giants offense look like Sunday vs. Browns if Colt McCoy starts again?
It’s looking more and more likely that Colt McCoy will be getting the start for the Giants on Sunday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns this week, and that might not be a bad thing.
Yes, the Giants want to continue developing Daniel Jones, and he’d certainly get the nod if he were fully healthy, but Jones is coming off a hamstring injury he suffered just a few weeks ago and is now dealing with a left ankle sprain as well. He’s officially been listed as questionable to play Sunday.
The last time McCoy started for the Giants, they wound up upsetting the Seattle Seahawks on their home field, so it’s not like New York is going blind into this matchup with Cleveland.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Giants approach this game against the Browns when it comes to their offense, which has struggled all season no matter who’s been under center.
“Whatever it takes for us to have success, we’ll go ahead and adjust in the game to make sure that we’re moving in that direction,” Joe Judge said ahead of Friday’s practice. “We always expect to have success. We work for it the entire week throughout.
“Look, we’re not afraid to make this a grinding game in any way, shape or form against any team. I think we’ve shown that throughout the year. …Offensively, look, we want to be able to run the ball and throw the ball effectively when we need to. Some games, it’s more running. Some games, its more throwing. Whatever presents itself, whatever is working within the game, we’ll always make the adjustments to keep that going.”
The Browns defense is 18th in total yards allowed and 26th in total points allowed this season, with their stats being split at 16th in rushing versus 20th in passing. So although they’re close, the better way to beat Cleveland might just be in the air.
But when the Giants had McCoy under center against the Seahawks, they had their best rushing game of the season, with Wayne Gallman putting up 135 yards on the ground on 16 carries and Alfred Morris adding another 49 and a touchdown on eight carries.
McCoy threw the ball just 22 times that game, completing 13 of his passes in the process.
“The game plan kind of evolved in the Seattle game,” McCoy said after Friday’s practice. “I didn’t really know where it was going to go. …We like to take shots, we like to push the ball down the field.”
“I’m a believer in what ever’s working, let that work. I believe in our receivers, I believe in our running backs, I believe in out guys up front. Our call sheet is pretty heavy, one of the heavier ones that I’ve been around so there’s a lot of options there.”
With Jason Garrett out with COVID-19, Freddie Kitchens handling play-calling duties, and Evan Engram also questionable with a calf injury, Sunday’s game looks to be the most challenging 60 minutes of the season for the Giants.
