Browns Lead Giants 7-3 At Halftime; Three Takeaways From The First Half

The Cleveland Browns are leading the New York Giants at halftime of their second preseason game 7-3. The Browns had a lot of good moments and also some learning opportunities against a very talented New York team.

Before the second half begins, here’s three takeaways from the first half.

1. Gregg Williams’ Defense Showing Exciting Flashes- When Gregg Williams became the defensive coordinator for the Browns this season, many fans’ eyes lit up. Williams was known for his rather physical defense in New Orleans which was dubbed “Bountygate” because of allegations Williams was paying his players bonuses for dirty hits. The big talk around town tonight is regarding a brutal hit from Briean Boddy-Calhoun on Giants star receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Calhoun went low and laid out Beckham’s legs, resulting in an incompletion and Beckham leaving the game after writhing in pain. Beckham would collapse after trying to reach the locker room, drawing concern about the seriousness of the injury.

Twitter has exploded debating whether the hit was dirty. Either way, hits like those and many others in the first half are encouraging to see out of the young defense, who stifled Eli Manning and the first-team offense for most of the half.

2. Kizer Shows Rookie Tendencies, Still Outperforms Osweiler- Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer did not look as great as he did during the first appearance of the preseason, but he still looked better than Brock Osweiler. Kizer put up 40 yards and rushed for a touchdown, where Osweiler put up 35 yards and threw an interception. Both quarterbacks had some setbacks during their performances, looking rattled behind a line that is missing Joe Thomas and Joel Bitonio. It will be interesting to see what happens as the preseason moves on.

3. Duke Adding Value To His Game- Duke Johnson was the odd man out when Isaiah Crowell became the primary running back last year. Johnson would only make a few appearances a game, more so for another option in the passing game.

This year, Johnson converted to a slot receiver and it has paid dividends for the former Miami Hurricane. Johnson has been used creatively thus far, making catches over the middle and even getting some time in the backfield while Crowell sits. He has looked impressive again tonight and can continue to convince the coaching staff to implement him more into the offense.