The NFC Wild Card picture seems to be getting clearer. A top of the NFC Wild Card picture is the New York Giants, who will try and get their sixth straight win in the season as they head to Cleveland to play the Browns in what should be a one-sided victory on paper. This is the first meeting between the two teams in four years as the Giants routed the Browns in their last meeting by the score of 41-27.
Let us first look at the New York Giants. They are entering this game with a record of 7-3 and sit right atop the NFC Wild Card. This five-game winning streak saw the Giants get wins over the Ravens, Rams, Eagles, Bengals, and the Bears. Some people are saying that this game coming on Sunday as a very winnable game and one that the Giants should route the Browns, it may not happen.
I fully suspect the Giants will win on Sunday, but if you look at the scores of the Giants game over this five-game winning streak, the biggest win was a touchdown over the Rams. Every other win that they have had have been within six points, and the Giants have a tendency to play to the level of their opponent. I suspect that the Browns biggest problem this week is trying to slow down OBJ, Victor Cruz, and Sheppard who are all clicking now and are turning into a difficult trio to stop.
On the other side, you have the Cleveland Browns. They are entering this game with a record of 0-11 and are cursing into almost a full calendar year since they last won a game. If you look at where the Browns are as far as rankings, you can easily tell why they are 0-11. They are 30th in points, 29th in Yards per game, 27th in Passing Yards, and 27th in Rushing Yards.
Another reason why the Browns are playing poorly this season is that they are approximately 36% in converting 3rd downs. I have said for a while that to win games in the National Football League, you need to convert on third downs as often as you can as it will keep the other teams offense off the field.
Date: Sunday, November 22, 2016
Time: 1:00 pm
Radio: www.wkrkfm.radio.net ( Cleveland Browns), www.wfan.radio.net (New York Giants)