Giants vs. Browns: 2 Things to watch for each team in Preseason Week 2

The New York Giants and Cleveland Browns face off in Week 2 of the 2021 NFL preseason and here are a couple of things to watch for each team. 

Matchups in the NFL Preseason sometimes don’t hold the weight that they should. That doesn’t mean they can’t be entertaining and informative but it does mean that some of the pieces you would like to see won’t be out there. Such is the case for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants as they’re set to meet on Sunday afternoon.

It’s unlikely that we’re going to see the full array of stars like Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett and Odell Beckham Jr. for the Browns on Sunday — and if we do, it’ll be minimal work at best. The same is likely true for most of the Giants key pieces and we are certain not to see Saquon Barkley as he continues to recover.

So if the big names aren’t on the field, what should fans be watching for? We have a couple of things that should pique interests coming from each team in this matchup from Cleveland.

What Browns fans should watch for vs. New York

Answers at Linebacker – Second-year linebacker Jacob Phillips figured to play a key role for Cleveland this season as they looked to evolve at the position. Unfortunately, he went down this week with what is expected to be a season-ending injury, taking the Browns back to the drawing board.

While rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah looked fantastic in his preseason debut, he has a special role not suited to a traditional linebacker. That means we’ll likely see him, Mack Wilson, Sione Takitaki and others moved around on Sunday in an attempt to find some answers. What results will inform the Browns quite a bit on how they should proceed in that capacity.

Quality Offensive Line Depth – Kevin Stefanski and the Cleveland coaching staff has already affirmed that we won’t see much from the starting offensive line if at all. But given how the backups struggled a bit at times last week and had some issues against the Giants in practice, that is something to watch in this game.

When healthy, the Browns clearly have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. But if they start to get a little unhealthy, that’s where things could start to change. Thus, they need to see their depth pieces in the trenches start to step up and become more consistent presences against New York to help instill some confidence in the unit as a whole no matter the circumstances.

What Giants fans should watch for vs. Cleveland

Wide Receiver Consistency – Throughout training camp, one of the most troubling drum beats out of the Giants has been the struggles of their two big additions at wide receiver, Kenny Golladay and rookie first-round pick Kadarius Toney. Whether health or just poor play, both players have struggled to have the impact immediately on the offense many expected them to.

While we probably won’t see much of either player in this game, that does put a larger focus on the depth pieces. Guys like David Sills and the like are going to have big opportunities to step up and prove they are worth keeping on the roster in case they are needed to step up if Golladay and Toney really don’t work out.

Evolving Pass Rush – New York’s defense took a big step forward last season with the arrival of Patrick Graham. Having said that, the one area where they continued to be lacking was with their pass rush as they were simply inconsistent at getting after the quarterback.

Throughout joint practices with the Browns, though, the defensive front was getting after Cleveland consistently. It’s been a point of emphasis for the Giants all offseason, so seeing how they can put it together — especially against their opponents’ backups — will be interesting to see from Big Blue.