- Associated Press - Thursday, December 17, 2020

CLEVELAND (9-4) at NEW YORK GIANTS (5-7)

Sunday, 8;20 p.m. ET, NBC

OPENING LINE - Cleveland by 3

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Browns 5-8; Giants 9-4

SERIES RECORD - Browns lead 27-22-2

LAST MEETING - Giants beat Browns 27-13, Nov. 27, 2016 at Cleveland

LAST WEEK - Browns lost to Ravens 47-42; Giants lost to Cardinals 26-7

AP PRO32 RANKING - Browns No. 10, Giants No. 20

BROWNS OFFENSE - OVERALL (11), RUSH (3), PASS (25).

BROWNS DEFENSE - OVERALL (19), RUSH (16), PASS (20).

GIANTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (31), RUSH (14), PASS (30).

GIANTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (11), RUSH (7), PASS (17).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — The Browns and Giants meet with playoff implications on the line for both teams . … The teams partnered on a blockbuster trade last year, with star WR Odell Beckham Jr. going from New York to Cleveland. Beckham will miss the game after suffering a season-ending knee injury in October. … The Browns are closing in on their first postseason spot since 2002, the NFL’s current longest drought. … Cleveland is making its second straight prime-time TV appearance after Monday night’s thriller against Baltimore. This game was flexed from the afternoon. … Sunday’s matchup is the first of two straight games for the Browns against New York teams. They’ll face the Jets on Dec. 27. … The Browns are 3-0 against NFC East teams this season. … Cleveland is 9-4 for the first time since 1994. … With one more win, the Browns will match their highest win total since their 1999 expansion rebirth. They went 10-6 in 2007. … The Browns have scored more than 40 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 1968. … Cleveland’s defense has allowed 82 points in the past two games. … The Browns have lost five of their last six games against the Giants. … Browns QB Baker Mayfield reached season-highs in completions (28) and yards (343) against the Ravens. … Mayfield threw his first interception in 178 attempts on Monday. Mayfield has eight touchdown passes and one interception in his last three games. … Browns RB Nick Chubb had two TD runs against the Ravens, his third multi-TD game this season. … Browns RB Kareem Hunt has scored a touchdown in three straight games against NFC East teams. … Browns WR Jarvis Landry had 11 catches for 99 yards in his only game against the Giants, on Dec. 14, 2015 for Miami. Landry has caught at least two passes in 108 straight games, the fifth-longest streak in league history. … Browns DE Myles Garrett is third in the league with 10 1/2 sacks despite missing two games. … Former Giants DE Olivier Vernon had two sacks against the Ravens. … Freddie Kitchens, fired as Cleveland’s coach after last season, coaches New York’s tight ends and will act as offensive coordinator with Jason Garrett on the COVID-19 list … The Giants saw their four-game winning streak end last week, falling to second place in the NFC East behind Washington. … The offense was limited to a season-low 159 yards. … QB Daniel Jones has thrown for 270-plus yards and two-plus touchdowns in two of his last three against the AFC. Returning from a hamstring problem, he did not have a rushing attempt for the first time in 25 career games last weekend. He leads all quarterbacks this season, averaging 7.3 yards rushing, but also has an ankle issue. … The line gave up eight sacks last weekend, with Jones going down six times. … RB Wayne Gallman has rushed for career highs of 561 yards and six TDs. … WR Sterling Shepard needs five catches for his fifth consecutive season with 50. … Evan Engram is one of three NFC tight ends with 50-plus catches. T.J. Hockenson of the Lions and Dalton Shultz of the Cowboys are the others. … LB Blake Martinez is tied for fourth in the NFL with 118 tackles. It’s his fourth consecutive season with at least 100 tackles. … DL Leonard Williams leads the Giants with 8½ sacks. … Former Browns S Jabrill Peppers had a career-high 13 tackles against the Cardinals. … CB James Bradberry has a career-high and NFL co-leading 17 passes defended this season. … DB Logan Ryan had eight tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and an interception last season against the Browns while playing for the Titans. … The Giants are 4-1 when they score first and 1-7 when their opponents do. … Fantasy tip: Landry has at least six catches in his past three games and he’ll be motivated to have a big game on the national stage to honor Beckham, his best friend and teammate in Cleveland and at LSU.

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