Say this for Stevie Brown: He makes good on a promise.
The way the day began for Brown Sunday, it looked as if it might be one he’d like to forget. Instead, it turned into one he’ll savor forever.
Just four minutes and 57 seconds into the Giants’ 41-27 victory over the Browns, the Giants reserve safety went brain-freeze vapor-lock on a simple coverage and was responsible for a 62-yard Brandon Weeden touchdown pass to Josh Gordon that gave Cleveland a stunning 14-0 lead.
His mistake left 6-foot-3, 242-pound linebacker Chase Blackburn futilely chasing speedy Gordon in a clear mismatch. Everywhere, angry Giants fans were screaming into their TV sets: “A linebacker on a receiver? What are they thinking?’’
Well, it was Brown’s fault for biting on a play-action fake and not playing deep enough in his cover-two responsibility. That left Blackburn and safety Antrel Rolle making the futile chase of Gordon.
Two important things occurred at that moment. Rolle told Brown to forget the play and move on and Brown made a promise to his teammates to repay them for the gaffe.
Brown heeded the advice of Rolle and he made good on his promise.
With the Browns leading 17-10 and driving deep into Giants territory late in the first half, Brown picked off an overthrown Weeden pass to Gordon and returned it 46 yards to the Cleveland 40. Two plays later, the Giants tied the game at 17-17.
Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Brown picked up a Josh Cribbs fumble forced by Will Hill and gave the offense the ball back on the Cleveland 29. That led to another Giants touchdown and a 24-17 lead they would never relinquish.
In a head-spinning span of 69 seconds, Brown changed the game with his two turnovers.
“I owed the team after the big touchdown,’’ Brown, who was starting in place of the injured Kenny Phillips, said. “It was good to go out there and make a play and give back.’’
Brown called the TD he allowed “a standard cover-two and I wasn’t deep enough.
“As soon as it happened, I looked at Chase and Antrel and said, ‘I owe you guys one. Don’t worry, I’ll get you guys another one.’ ’’
He got them two.
“They were both huge plays,’’ Rolle said.
Rolle said he had a motto playing secondary called “FIDO.’’
“Forget it and drive on,’’ Rolle said. “I went to Stevie [after the TD] and told him, ‘Forget it and drive on.’ That’s how we play in the secondary. You have to have amnesia. He forgot about it and made two excellent plays for us.’’Tom Coughlin had high praise for Brown because of the way he fought back from the early adversity — always an endearing trait to the Giants head coach.
“He gave up a big play, came back and got the pick (and) picked up a fumble and put us in good field position. We’re starving for that kind of stuff,’’ Coughlin said.
“It’s never a good feeling to give up a touchdown knowing you blew your responsibility,’’ Brown said. “But there were still 56 minutes to go in the game and I knew I had to bounce back and continue to play.’’
He did, after all, have a promise to fulfill.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com