Giants suffer a Brown-out
CLEVELAND — With the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, the sellout crowd didn't chant for backup quarterback Brady Quinn or coach Romeo Crennel's head. Instead, Cleveland fans directed their taunts at the unbeaten Super Bowl champions, who rolled into town touted as the best team in pro football.
"Overrated," they screamed at the New York Giants.
Overwhelmed, too.
Playing one of their most-complete games in the past decade, the Browns breathed new life into a season that was quickly slipping away Monday night by stunning the previously unbeaten Giants 35-14 and ending New York's 11-game road winning streak.
The Giants, so dominant through four games, were no match for the Browns (2-3). Cleveland rolled up 454 total yards of offense, intercepted three Eli Manning passes and never punted.
"We turned the ball over, we didn't stop the run and we weren't very good on third down," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "Our offense wasn't very good when we got down there to put the ball in the end zone. There were outstanding plays from Cleveland. Let's not take anything away from them."
Through weeks of frustration, injuries and a near-quarterback change by Crennel, the Browns never lost hope in this season. They may have saved it.
With quarterback Derek Anderson outplaying Manning, Braylon Edwards making big catches and Eric Wright returning an interception 94 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Browns won on Monday night for the first time since 1993 and won some much-needed credibility.
Anderson, whose job was in serious jeopardy just a few weeks ago and may have been down to one more loss, threw a 22-yard TD to Darnell Dinkins and an 11-yarder to Edwards, who announced his team's return to the NFL's prime-time weekday slot by performing a cartwheel into a back flip during pregame introductions.
"I did it to give us a little extra," Edwards said of his tumbling run. "I think RAC (Crennel) nearly had a heart attack."
In their first four games, the Browns had shown no signs of living up to high expectations following a 10-6 season. They had dropped their first two games at home, lost three in a row overall and had only a victory over winless Cincinnati to show so far in 2008.
Now, they've got something to brag about.
"This is us," Anderson said. "These are the same guys who made plays all last season. I never doubted it."
Anderson finished 18-for-29 for 310 yards, Edwards caught five passes for a career-high 154 yards and Jamal Lewis scored on a 4-yard run in the first half for the Browns, who handed the Giants (4-1) their first loss and left Tennessee as the NFL's only unbeaten team.
Aside from 10 penalties, several of them for false starts, the Browns were superior in every phase over the Giants, who had reeled off 11 straight wins — 12 counting the Super Bowl — outside of New Jersey since Week 1 last season. But Manning was not himself and New York, which embarrassed Cleveland during the exhibition season, missed an opportunity to open a two-game lead in the brutal NFC East.
"I threw three interceptions," Manning said. "That's unacceptable. That's not the way we win games. You're going to lose a game every once in a while, but we don't like the way we played. That's what's disappointing."
