NEW YORK -- The beard is gone. The confidence is not.

A clean-shaven Daniel Jones said Wednesday that "everyone realizes our record" but "no one is discouraged" on the New York Giants (0-2) entering Sunday's must-win in Cleveland against the Browns (1-1).

"We're a good football team," Jones said at his locker. "We have a high standard for ourselves and what we can be. We're confident in getting things going and working hard to do that. Nobody's happy with where we are from a record standpoint, but we know what we need to do to turn it around and catch some momentum. No one's freaking out."

Jones is coming off a bounce back game personally.

He led three touchdown drives in a Week 2 loss at Washington, threw for 178 yards and two TDs and might have directed a game-winning touchdown drive if rookie receiver Malik Nabers hadn't dropped a nice fourth-down throw in the red zone.

"DJ stuck to his process and it translated to the game," tight end Chris Manhertz said. "We're behind him."

Unquestionably, one of the keys to Jones and the Giants thriving is establishing their running game on offense.

They didn't run the ball in Week 1 against Minnesota, and the offense never got in the end zone. Sunday at Washington, though, Devin Singletary averaged 5.9 yards per carry for 95 yards rushing and a touchdown.

The result was scoring drives of 53, 69 and 66 yards, respectively. And that's going to be a priority again Sunday at Cleveland to keep Myles Garrett and the Browns' pass rush off Jones and to give the Giants' defense a breather.

"Over time you establish an identity," Manhertz said. "Having a bread and butter, something to rely on to open up the rest of the offense is important. For us that's the run game. And the good teams do it again. And again. And again. And again."

Left tackle Andrew Thomas said the Giants' offensive front "had a few missed assignments or wrong IDs the first week" against the Vikings in their run blocking, but they corrected those issues and smartly attacked the Commanders' aggressive run defense scheme.

"Against Washington we got on the same page and played with a physical mentality," Thomas said. "If you're finishing blocks, no matter what happened on the play, good things will happen."

Thomas said Singletary's 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was a good example of the strides they made.

Washington's defenders like to "rush-crush" up the field, he said, attacking gaps to try to blow up plays instead of taking on linemen with a hat on a hat.

On Singletary's TD, the Giants' used a wham-trap run call and had Manhertz and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor eliminate the penetrating defensive linemen. Then wide receiver Darius Slayton made a strong block, and Singletary juked and broke two tackles to score.

In the passing game, meanwhile, Jones and the Giants know that they need Nabers to move quickly past that costly fourth-quarter drop. And they're confident he will.

"He's a confident guy, and I think it was pretty clear we wouldn't have been in that situation without his performance and all he had done throughout the game," Jones said. "He'll be back, and he'll continue to be a huge part of what we do."

Nabers was asked if the Giants have lost confidence.

"No, sir," he said.

So how does Nabers expect the Giants to come out in Cleveland on Sunday?

"We've got to go in there with a great attitude," the rookie wideout said. "If you go in there with a sloppy attitude, you're going to [come] out [of] there with another loss. Try to put that attitude back into a positive attitude into the locker room and just go in there and try to get a win."

Manhertz, 32, a ninth-year veteran, said the Giants can build on their progress by focusing on that. And only that.

"All the good teams I've been on, regardless of outcome, the process is consistent," Manhertz said. "We're not gonna be driven by outcomes.

"We're not far off," he said.

Thibodeaux on injury report

Corner Nick McCloud (knee) did not practice and is trending toward missing a second straight game. Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux (shoulder), inside linebacker Darius Muasau (knee) and defensive back/linebacker Isaiah Simmons (not injury related/personal) were limited. Simmons was on the field for the open portion of practice.

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