Browns vs Giants Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 15

The Worksheet, a fantasy football overview by Rich Hribar, breaking down everything you need to know for the Week 15 Cleveland Browns at New York Giants Sunday Night Football game.

Cleveland	Rank	@	NY Giants	Rank
-3.5		Spread	3.5
24.25		Implied Total	20.75
26.8	13	Points/Gm	18.3	31
28.3	27	Points All./Gm	22.4	10
63.2	23	Plays/Gm	61.4	29
65.2	20	Opp. Plays/Gm	64.4	14
50.6%	3	Rush%	42.4%	13
49.4%	30	Pass%	57.6%	20
39.8%	8	Opp. Rush %	40.0%	11
60.2%	25	Opp. Pass %	60.0%	22

The Browns are 2-4 straight up and 0-6 against the spread as road favorites since the start of last season.
Games involving the Giants are a league-high 3-10 towards the under.
The Giants offense is averaging 61.7 non-passing fantasy points per game, ahead of only the Jets (55.0 per game).
The Giants have allowed opponents to convert 50% of their red zone possessions for touchdowns, tied for second in the league.
Just 43.8% of the offensive scoring plays for the Giants have been touchdowns, the lowest rate in the league.
The Giants are one of just two teams (New England) that still have single-digit passing touchdowns (nine).

Quarterback

Baker Mayfield: It was not completely his most efficient game of the season, but Mayfield is coming off his best game of the season because it was his first QB1 performance that did not come against a completely deplorable defense. Mayfield’s 30.0 fantasy points were a season high as he tacked on 8.3 rushing points after having 8.1 rushing points on the season prior.

The Giants are another legitimate defense against the pass and getting after the passer. They rank eighth in pressure rate (25.3%). Mayfield has faced three other teams in the top-10 in pressure rate (WAS, PIT, PHI) and in those games threw for 6.8. 6.6, and 9.3 yards per pass attempt with three touchdown passes.

The Giants rank 12th in passing points per game (14.1) and have allowed just three QB1 scoring weeks on the season. Mayfield bought some good faith a week ago, but is still considered a QB2 option.

Giants QB: After missing Week 13 with a hamstring injury, Daniel Jones returned to the field and was a nightmare, completing just 11-of-21 passes for 6.0 Y/A. His mobility was an issue as he took a season-high six sacks and did not record a single rushing attempt for the first time this season. We need Jones to run since he is 36th in the league in passing points per attempt (0.29).

That option seems doubtful at best as Jones also picked up an ankle injury on top his bulky hamstring, leaving him questionable heading into Sunday Night.

In Jones’s absence Week 13, Colt McCoy completed 13-of-22 passes for just 105 yards and 4.8 yards per pass attempt.

Cleveland is no defense to run from as they are 25th in passing points allowed per game (17.2,), but either Giants QB is a QB2 option and better served as single-game DFS options if you have to play the starter here. Giants wideouts tallied just seven catches for 64 yards with McCoy in Week 13, so Jones does add some viability to chasing any of this passing game.

Running Back

Nick Chubb: Chubb has now gone over 100 total yards in each of his past seven games played. Since returning in Week 10, Chubb is the RB2 in overall scoring and second in yards from scrimmage (546), trailing only Derrick Henry in both. The Giants are eighth in rushing points allowed per game (11.9), but are a touch worse at 14th in yards per carry allowed to backs (4.2 YPC). Chubb is a top-end RB1.

Kareem Hunt: While Chubb has been steadily producing, Hunt has been more volatile. With 110 total yards and two touchdowns, last week was Hunt’s first RB1 scoring week since Week 7 and just his second game higher than RB29 over that span.

Since Chubb returned, Hunt has cleared 62 yards just twice, but his performance was a strong reminder that you just have to take the low points as an RB2/FLEX because the ceiling remains high, and he has still averaged 15.3 touches per game even with Chubb on the field.

Wayne Gallman: After scoring in every game Week 7-12, Gallman has failed to find the end zone in each of the past two games as Alfred Morris and Dion Lewis have rushing scores in those games. Gallman still tallied 15 touches for 73 yards last week while the rest of the Giants backfield totaled five touches for 21 yards. The Browns are 19th in rushing points allowed per game (13.9) to backfields to keep Gallman as a volume-based FLEX.

Wide Receiver

Jarvis Landry: Landry has posted double-digit PPR points in each of the past three games with Cleveland not dealing with inclement weather. Landry has at least six receptions in each of those games while he has a team-high 48 targets since the team lost Odell Beckham for the season. The Giants are seventh in points per game allowed to opposing WR1 options (14.4), but Landry is a floor-based WR3.

Sterling Shepard: As this passing game has torpedoed the past two games Shepard has done the same, posting lines of 1-22-0 and 3-35-0. Shepard has just one touchdown on the season and is averaging a career-low 9.2 yards per receptions. If he is not stacking targets and receptions to create his floor, there is nothing to latch onto. Shepard had double-digit PPR points in each of his five games prior to Week 12, but he has just two top-24 scoring weeks on the season. Shepard is a floor-based FLEX, but an option better left for single-game DFS.

Rashard Higgins: After a combined 8-142-0 line on 13 targets Weeks 8-12, Higgins has seen nine targets (6-95-1) and 10 targets (6-68-1) come his direction the past two weeks. Despite the overall target gap between Higgins and Landry since Beckham went down, Higgins has posted more receiving yardage than Landry in four of those six games. Higgins does not have as high of a target floor as Landry, but maximized his targets more to keep him as a boom-or-bust FLEX and single-game DFS pivot.

Darius Slayton: Slayton has four receptions for 45 yards the past three games and has cleared 48 yards in just three of his past 10 games played. His eight targets last week were his most in a game since Week 8 to hang onto hope in single-game DFS, but he is not much more than a dart throw.

Tight End

Evan Engram: Engram continues to be a roller coaster. Catching 2-of-4 targets for 18 yards last week, Engram has 32 yards or fewer in three of his past four games and has cleared 48 yards just three times all season. To compound matters, he has been unable to save his floor since he has just one receiving touchdown all season. The Browns are 25th in points allowed per target (1.99) and 25th in touchdown rate allowed (8.5%) to opposing tight ends to keep the lights on for Engram as a lower-end TE1.

Browns TE: Austin Hooper missed Week 14 with a neck injury. While his status for this week is unclear, we do know that he is a tough chase for fantasy production. Since returning to the lineup in Week 10, Hooper has caught 8-of-11 targets for 81 yards and a touchdown over that four game span, accruing just 10.5% of the team’s targets. Hooper has more than 34 yards in just two games all season with two touchdowns.

With Hooper out last week, Harrison Bryant played 66% of the snaps, catching 3-of-6 targets for 18 yards and David Njoku played a season-high 61% of the snaps, catching 3-of-4 targets for 45 yards. Browns tight ends have combined for just 16.9% of the team targets since Week 10 after 28.7% prior.

More Week 15 Fantasy breakdowns from The Worksheet: