There’s one play that works better than all the others for the New York Giants: throw the ball anywhere in the vicinity of Malik Nabers.
The rookie wide receiver caught two touchdown passes from Daniel Jones, made a sensational grab over a defender down the sideline and even broke up a potential interception as New York held off the Cleveland Browns 21-15 on Sunday for its first win.
Jones and Nabers connected twice in the first half as the Giants (1-2) built a 21-7 lead before holding on for dear life.
“I have a lot of trust in him going up and getting the ball,” said Jones, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 236 yards as New York shook off a loss at Washington that prompted a week of criticism toward coach Brian Daboll.
Despite losing three offensive linemen to injuries, Deshaun Watson rallied the Browns (1-2) and Cleveland had three chances to take the lead in the fourth quarter. But the Giants recovered a fumble and stopped the Browns twice on downs.
The Giants were hardly perfect. They fumbled the opening kickoff and fell behind 7-0 in the first 11 seconds, and newly signed kicker Greg Joseph missed 48-yard field goal that could have helped ice the game.