The New York Giants should take note of what the Cleveland Browns showed in their upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

Sometimes just having competitive players is enough for teams with losing records to prevail against the top playoff contenders. The Giants didn’t show much fight in their embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now rumors are swirling about Giants coach Brian Daboll’s job security. He bears the brunt of the blame as Daniel Jones enjoys being courted by competitors during his freelance career. Maybe Jones should consider joining the Browns because they haven’t been eliminated this season and are having a productive run under coach Kevin Stefanski.

But Jameis Winston is making a strong case to be in the mix for the starting job in Cleveland next season, as it appears the team is finally considering benching Deshaun Watson when he’s healthy.

For this week’s Fact or Fiction, let’s take a look at the Browns and Giants situations.

Manzano’s view: fact

Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy appeared to be in for another disappointing season, with the only difference being that he is now with the Browns after spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos.

But Jeudy has made an impact over the last four games, including six catches for 85 yards in Thursday’s surprise win over the Steelers. A week earlier, Jeudy had six catches for 142 yards and a touchdown in Cleveland’s loss to the New Orleans Saints.

It’s probably no coincidence that Jeudy is now playing with Winston at quarterback in Stefanski’s scheme. The same can be said about second-year receiver Cedric Tillman — but perhaps it’s more about opportunities that opened up after the team traded Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills.

By now, the Browns must know that Stefanski is not the reason for Watson’s problems in Cleveland, because virtually every quarterback not named Watson has succeeded in this plan, from Baker Mayfield to Joe Flacco to Winston. And the Browns front office and ownership have known this for some time, because they extended Stefanski’s contract over the summer. But maybe they’ll now admit that Watson is the problem after watching how productive the offense was against Winston in the Snow Game last week.

A lost season could force the team to choose between Watson and Stefanski in the offseason, and it looks like the head coach could win that battle after that Sports IllustratedAlbert Breer reported this The team is now considering adding competition for Watson.

Winston should be there if he can pull off a few more surprise wins, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Browns signed a quarterback. They probably won’t be able to get rid of Watson’s monstrous contract next offseason, but based on the results Winston has shown over the last month in getting Jeudy and Tillman to make impactful plays, they’re finally considering options.

Manzano’s view: fiction

The Los Angeles Chargers really missed running back JK Dobbins in the second half of Monday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. It was a reminder that this team doesn’t have enough depth and star power to properly execute Jim Harbaugh’s plan and values ​​against the better teams.

Justin Herbert has managed to keep rookie second-round receiver Ladd McConkey and veteran tight end Will Dissly as his top two targets for most of this season. But Herbert struggled to get them the ball and lost their balanced attack when Dobbins left with a knee injury. Dobbins had a team-high 40 rushing yards despite missing most of the game.

Harbaugh has helped the Chargers (7-4) build a strong foundation by improving the offensive line and rushing attack, while GM Joe Hortiz repaired the salary cap by bringing in the team’s best wide receivers from recent seasons ( Keenan Allen and Mike Williams) fired. . Perhaps next offseason will begin when the team begins to prioritize the wing positions so Herbert can compete with the best offenses in the league. (Sophomore wide receiver Quentin Johnston had a brutal drop on third down that took the team’s breath away in the second half.)

The defense could also use more youth and talent, but defensive coordinator Jesse Minter managed to mask the Chargers’ weaknesses with a strong scheme that stifled bad teams. But all of the flaws came into play against the Ravens John Harbaugh records a third win against his little brother. Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers are off to a good start in this new era, but it will be another year before they really make a splash in the AFC.

Manzano’s view: fact

Jones is reportedly taking his time when deciding which team to join and is strongly considering serving as a backup for a rival team. If that’s true, Jones has the right approach after six difficult seasons as New York’s starting quarterback.

Learning from the sidelines and seeing how a good team operates could be the key to reviving Jones’ career next season. Mitchell Trubisky opened up opportunities by being Josh Allen’s backup for a season and Bills players and executives raved about him after his one-year deal expired in 2022. That didn’t work out because Trubisky struggled in the games he started for the Steelers in ’22 and ’23, returning to Buffalo that season to be Allen’s backup.

But a change of scenery worked for Sam Darnold and Mayfield before they moved to the Minnesota Vikings and Buccaneers, respectively. Coincidentally, the duo were teammates on the Carolina Panthers in 2022 and needed one more stop before fully igniting a career rivalry. Darnold studied under San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan last season, and Mayfield attended Sean McVay’s quarterbacks school with the Los Angeles Rams for the final five games of Season 22 before taking the starting job in Tampa Bay the following season won.

If Jones goes that route, the 2019 first-round pick will require patience, but he might be okay with it after the Giants’ dysfunctional past six seasons.

Manzano’s view: fact

Speaking of dysfunctional Giants, without Jones they might have hit rock bottom in their first game, and for Daboll’s sake it better not get worse than the 30-7 loss to Mayfield’s Buccaneers.

A home loss this bad after a bye week is the type of game that sticks in the minds of NFL owners. Daboll is a talented offensive player, but it doesn’t bode well for him as players begin trying out this season. Breer had an interesting comment about this Giants owner John Mara may be leaning toward keeping Daboll and GM Joe Schoen beyond this season, but mentioned that the worrying quotes that came out of the Giants’ locker room after the embarrassing loss could change the top brass’ mindset. You better believe Mara pays attention to what his best players say after games.

It would be an exaggeration to say that the Giants need a decent performance on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys to save Daboll’s job. A pathetic performance in a prime-time game could land Daboll in a red-hot seat. As for Schoen, he may not be able to overcome his poor judgment in the way he handled contract negotiations with Saquon Barkley. As we have all seen Hard hitsMara made it clear that he did not want Barkley to leave and join a division rival in the NFC East. Now Barkley is an MVP candidate for the rival Philadelphia Eagles.

Schoen and Daboll definitely need Tommy DeVito or Drew Lock to pull off an upset on Thanksgiving. That’s where the 2-9 Giants stand in 2024, but we’ll soon find out if they’ve bottomed out.

Manzano’s view: fiction

A few weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks were considered by many to be the fourth-best team in the NFC West after losing five of six games.

Coach Mike Macdonald may have agreed with those assessments, judging by the aggressive moves the team has made to drive defensive improvement over the last month. First, the Seahawks traded linebacker Jerome Baker to the Tennessee Titans for linebacker Ernest Jones IV. The team was aware of Jones’ talented abilities and played him twice a year during his three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

Ironically, the Rams desperately miss Jones and now he could get a contract extension in Seattle since he’s playing so well under Macdonald. The team also cut linebacker Tyrel Dodson because he didn’t fit the plan after the team signed him to a one-year deal in the offseason.

Now the moving parts are starting to fall into place for Macdonald after the defense has gotten them back to the top of the NFC West standings following wins over the 49ers and Arizona Cardinals in back-to-back weeks. This is likely no coincidence and could be the start of a dominant defense in Seattle. Macdonald made the Ravens the league’s best defense last year, and Baltimore has missed its former defensive coordinator.

If the Seahawks improve with Geno Smith’s offense, they could be considered the favorites in the NFC West, something few expected a few weeks ago.