No need to worry for the Giants. They no longer have to deal with all the talk about them being the best team in the NFL. Not after they came back to Earth with a resounding thud in a thorough and embarrassing 35-14 loss to the Browns.
Consider this a reminder of what can happen when all sorts of football rules are broken. After 108 consecutive passes without an interception, Eli Manning threw three of them, the last one, with 8:07 remaining, a terrible pass intended for Amani Toomer that cornerback Eric Wright returned 94 yards for a touchdown. Manning gave chase and made a futile dive at Wright as he sped on by then pounded the grass with his right fist, a fitting slice of what this game was all about.
Just like that, the joyride the Giants were on came to an end. They were the last unbeaten team in the NFC. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is out for a month. Every other team in the division has at least two losses. Now the Giants (4-1) have their first defeat and gone is their incredible road winning streak. The Giants had won 11 straight games away from home.
The Giants were badly and completely out of it on defense the entire night, woefully ineffective when it came to getting the Browns off the field on third down. Derek Anderson operated in a cocoon of comfort, never touched, never sacked and rarely even hurried. The renowned Giants pass rush was non-existent. Usually reliable cornerback Aaron Ross was burned twice by Braylon Edwards for completions of 49 and 70 yards and a third time when Ross hit the ground with leg cramps, leaving Edwards alone for an 11-yard touchdown catch to make it 27-14 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Anything and everything dialed up by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was countered and beaten by a Browns offense that entered the game ranked dead last in the league.
Yet the Browns took it to the Giants, with scoring drives of 69, 74, 77 and 87 yards. Incredibly, the Browns did not punt. In the closing minutes, the raucous fans at Cleveland Browns Stadium serenaded the Super Bowl champions with chants of “Overrated!”
Ross had been a strong contributor early in his second season but he was roughed up by Edwards, who came into the game without a reception longer than 17 yards. He quickly went to work on Ross. Three plays into the game, Edwards ran a slant and made the catch for a short gain, but Ross was sloppy with his tackle attempt, rubbing off Edwards’ hips but barely slowing him down. Edwards galloped 49 yards.
In the second quarter, Ross slipped while running one-on-one with Edwards, giving Derek Anderson a wide-open target to hit for a mammoth 70-yard gain before Ross recovered to prevent the touchdown. That came two plays later with Jamal Lewis’ 4-yard run to put the Browns up 10-7.
That got the crowd buzzing and for the first time this season the Giants played flustered. They were called for three penalties in the next few minutes, the costliest (and most questionable) a block in the back call on Domenik Hixon on a 25-yard reception by Plaxico Burress. It got worse when the laboring Giants defense gave up a 77-yard drive, getting no pressure on Anderson as he picked them apart. When reserve tight end (and former Giant) Darnell Dinkins outran linebacker Antonio Pierce (playing despite a bruised quad muscle) for a 22-yard touchdown, it was 17-7 and the joint was jumping.
There was 2:15 remaining in the first half and the game was teetering for the Giants. Manning steadied the ship. As is his wont, he was brilliant in the two-minute drill, escorting the offense 80 yards in 10 plays, hitting Steve Smith four times before finally lobbing to Burress over cornerback Terry Cousin in the end zone. Manning left 12 seconds on the clock and pulled his club within 17-14 at the break.
It only got worse for the Giants.