Those couldn’t possibly have been the Super Bowl Giants. Those had to be imposters wearing red, white and blue tonight against the Browns. That couldn’t possibly have been Aaron Ross trying to cover Braylon Edwards. That couldn’t possibly have been embattled Derek Anderson getting Edwards the ball downfield. That couldn’t possibly have been Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka rushing the quarterback. That couldn’t possibly have been Big Blue getting pushed back all the way into Lake Erie. Those couldn’t possibly have been the Road Warriors getting ambushed by the feeble Browns inside a howling Dawg Pound. That couldn’t possibly have been Tom Coughlin looking befuddled and anguished again on the sidelines.
Most of all, that couldn’t possibly have been Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
That couldn’t possibly have been a Brownout in Cleveland.
Read it and weep Giants fans: Your franchise quarterback and your Dream Team had one nightmare of a night.
And it came at a time when the 4-1 Giants, — losers, could have — should have — taken command of the NFC East in the wake of Tony Romo suffering a broken right pinkie that will keep him sidelined for a month, including for the Nov. 2 showdown at Giants Stadium.
In other words: Blue it. Blue it big.
Manning had thrown an interception on his first pass of the second half, a bomb for Burress that displayed a disturbing lack of communication between franchise quarterback and go-to receiver. Manning had thrown one interception through four games when the night began. Now he had three. The Browns led 20-14.
Manning was sacked on third down. No escape on this night, no David Tyree in sight. No Michael Strahan or Osi Umenyiora rattling the quarterback. Anderson began shredding Big Blue as if he were Otto Graham. He rolled right on the first play of the fourth quarter and hit Edwards, against a felled Ross, with an 11-yard TD pass and it was 27-14.
Fourth quarter. Winning time for champions.
Not these champions. Not this quarterback. Not this time.
Manning, whose go to guy last night was Steve Smith, began marching his team downfield. If he could beat the Patriots in the last two minutes in the Super Bowl, he could beat the Browns now. Falling backward at the Cleveland 9, pressured by Willie McGinest, Manning looked for Amani Toomer. The ball hung in the air and was intercepted by Eric Wright, who returned it 94 yards. Game.
It’s this simple: Anderson was the better quarterback and the Browns were the hungrier and tougher team.
It started terribly for Manning and ended the same way.
Manning, looking downfield to his left for Plaxico Burress from the Cleveland 31, telegraphed the throw and was intercepted by Brodney Pool on his first possession.
One mistake by the lake was not about to deter Manning. Manning found Kevin Boss over the middle for 24 yards. Then Derrick Ward, behind a crunching block by David Diehl, exploded for 17 yards. Manning, third-and-4, found Steve Smith for 4 yards to set up first-and-goal at the 7.
Now Brandon Jacobs, who had started the game, took a pitch left from Manning, lowered his head at the 3 and bowled over safety Mike Adams on his way to the end zone. Then he mocked the Browns, who accused him of tiptoeing in the NFC Championship once the Packers started hitting him in the mouth, by tiptoeing to the Giants sidelines.
Anderson promptly bootlegged left and Edwards, who had beaten Ross earlier on a 49-yard slant, ran an out-and-up and Ross bit on the out and stumbled, and the 70-yard bomb set up Lewis’ 4-yard TD run. When Anderson, his job on the line with Brady Quinn nipping at his heels, hit Darnell Dinkins with a 22-yard TD pass over Antonio Pierce and it was 17-7.
Manning, 2:15 left in the first half, found Smith again and again and again and again, four completions worth 56 yards, before hitting Burress with a 3-yard TD against Terry Cousin on the left side of the end zone 12 seconds before intermission.
It was his last gasp. Hold the Peyton Manning comparisons for now. He didn’t even look like Eli Manning last night.
Imposter wearing No. 10. Imposters everywhere around him.