TOUCHING DOWN: Victor Cruz (left) beats Trevin Wade in the third quarter for one of his three touchdowns during the Giants 41-27 victory over the Browns. (Jason Szenes)
The sky was falling on the Giants, but it never rained panic. It was Browns 7, Giants 0 within a minute, and then Browns 14, Giants 0 within five minutes, and all it meant was that Eli Manning still had 55 minutes to bring Big Black and Blue back.
“I was [ticked],” Hall of Famer Harry Carson said. “You don’t just come into a defending Super Bowl champion’s house, and score a touchdown … just like that. And then score another touchdown … like that. I was fearing the worst.”
Have no fear, Eli and Victor Cruz are here.
“I’m nervous, obviously, and upset about how we’re playing,” Giants owner John Mara said. “But with Eli, you’re never out of a game. Because he believes that, so he makes the rest of us believe it too.”
None more than Cruz.
“We understand that with Eli, it’s never over,” Cruz said. “He’s going to make the great read, he’s going to find the open man, and we knew that. We’ve been in that position before, been down worse than that before, we knew we just had to keep our focus and keep plugging away, and Eli was going to find us and make the big plays, which he did today.”
It was Giants 41, Browns 27 when it ended, with Next Man Up surprises from rookie Rueben Randle (6-82), from safety Stevie Brown’s game-changing interception of a Brandon Weeden overthrow on third-and-1 at the Giants’ 25 in the second quarter, to Ahmad Bradshaw rebounding from a costly fumble on the first play from scrimmage for a 200-yard day, to Chase Blackburn’s end-zone pick in the fourth quarter, to rookie David Wilson’s 40-yard touchdown explosion.
It was Giants 41, Browns 27 because whenever Manning needed to throw a touchdown pass, he had Cruz to catch it.
The first one was a 3-yarder that capped a 92-yard drive and made it Browns 14, Giants 7.
“The first one was just play-action, making a great move to the outside, then Eli hitting me,” Cruz said.
The second one was a 7-yarder that made it Giants 24, Browns 17.
“The second one was a corner route off Eli making another good play-action in the green zone,” Cruz said.
The third one was a 28-yarder that made it Giants 34, Browns 17.
“The last one was just a play where I saw the defender kind of flatfooted and I ran right past him and Eli threw a great ball,” Cruz said.
With Hakeem Nicks still hampered by injury, it is The Most Underpaid Receiver In The Game who rises up as the money man for the money Mann.
It isn’t only his lightning quickness, it is his marvelous instincts, his knowledge of his opponent, his competitive nature and love of the game as well.
Manning said: “Teams are trying to take him away by double-teaming him and doing some different things, but he finds a way to get open. He has a great feel for what teams are trying to do, so he adjusts his route and runs it differently to get open.”
Cruz said: “We’re more on the same page. He understands exactly what my body language is on certain plays, and he really knows where I’m going before I do sometimes.”
The trust between Manning (25-37, 259 yards and 3 touchdowns) and Cruz (5-50-3 touchdowns) gives them a chance to develop a rare telepathy that Joe Montana and Jerry Rice would understand.
“That duo between him and Manning is probably one of the best duos in the league right now as far as their chemistry together and just knowing how to play certain things, and it’s fun to watch,” Justin Tuck said.
Cruz smiled when someone asked him his personal best in touchdowns.
“At any level? The most I scored was five in [Paterson Catholic] high school in the first half, and then coach [Benjie] Wimberly pulled me out of the game, which I was pretty mad at, but it is what it is,” he said.
Tittle-to-Shofner once titillated Mara’s Giants. Now it is Manning-to-Nicks … or Manning-to-Cruz.
“It’s a pretty nice weapon to have,” Mara said. “They seem to have confidence in each other, and it obviously shows.”
When he had finished patiently answering wave after wave of questions, Cruz consented to a radio interview outside the locker room and was warmly embraced by Carson.
“I love seeing Victor play,” Carson said, “Cause he’s so passionate about playing the game, and just being a Giant.”
Money Mann and Money Man both.